How to Make a Map Coordinates Pillow - Ikea Pillow Hack

I rank map coordinate pillows right up there with monograms. Just like

monograms, they're graphical and they tell a story. I can't get enough

of monograms and numbers - they're all over my house, so it's really no

surprise that I've been wanting to make a map coordinates pillow for quite

some time now. In order for the graphics to be the star of the pillow,

 I began with a plain, jute Helgonort pillow cover from Ikea for only

$10.00. The matching cushion was $3.99. I loved the simplicity of the

pillow cover and the fact that it looked like burlap but was a softer, less

smelly version of it! As you can see from the catalog picture below, the

black zipper is supposed to be on the front of the pillow. But I don't like it

on the front so the zippered side became the back of my pillow. The zipper 

makes it very easy to insert the cushion.       

I made sure to iron it first before doing anything else. I set my iron to its highest

setting (linen) and then I sprayed the fabric with water from a spray bottle. I'm

sure you can use the steam function on your iron, but mine is old and crappy

doesn't work right so I used a spray bottle instead. Once the creases are ironed

out you're ready to stencil.  I used my 2" alphabet stencils because I knew they

would work well with this sized pillow (16" x 26"). After googling the coordinates

for my town, I knew I'd be stenciling this:

Wayne 

 41 56' 58'' N 88 15' 31" W 

There should be a degree sign after the 41 and the 88, but my keyboard

shortcut was not cooperating so I skipped it here. Make sure you insert it 

on the real thing. For your town, or whatever geographical location you want

the coordinates for, just google "My Town USA coordinates" and that should

work.

I also researched Google images for some examples of other map coordinates pillows to get an idea of how I wanted to set up my graphics. Some pillows had all the numbers running straight across the pillow, while others had them separated into two lines. I chose the latter since I thought it would look best based on my pillow's shape and size. It's also up to you whether or not to include the town name. Some versions just list the coordinates while others also list the city.

I've included a few more examples of various formats you can use

to create your pillow. Etsy is chock full of map coordinate pillows to choose from.

Etsy sites are provided below each picture.

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To make your own map coordinates pillow you'll need the following:

DIY Map Coordinates Pillow 

Supply List

- pillow cover (Ikea)

- pillow form (Ikea)

- acrylic/craft paint

- paint brush (es) 

- stencils 

- masking tape or painter's tape

- cardboard

First I placed cardboard inside the pillow cover so that the paint would not seep through the material onto the back side of the cover. Then I spaced out the stencils the way I wanted them, and taped the first few onto the cover with painter's tape so they wouldn't slip or move while I was painting.

I continued to tape the stencils to the cover as I went along. I'm feeling pretty comfortable painting fabric now after doing a number of other DIY projects involving burlap and paint. See some of my other projects below: 

DIY French burlap storage ottoman,

 DIY burlap farmhouse table runner  

 Ballard Designs dog toy storage

 I'm really excited and happy with how this project turned out.

And here it is on THAT chair -- the one that I couldn't decide WHICH pillow to put  on it. Oh well, guess I have another pillow to add into the mix now! Like I always say, you can never have too many pillows!

I also chose the stencils for their industrial look. You can buy stencils or make
your own. Just go to my DIY stencil tutorial. I swear, sometimes for me the
hardest part is deciding what font to use. Do you ever have that problem?

I hope my tutorial provided you with some inspiration to make your own

map coordinates pillow!

So what are YOUR coordinates?

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