Recently we remodeled our kids bedroom. Here is what we had before….
We live in a cool art deco 1940 style house, and part of the remodel was to make sure that our efforts were true to the style of the house. Honestly, I didn’t know much about the art deco style before we bought our house. It has been fun to learn more about it and incorporate it into our remodel. For their bedroom we built a window seat. I needed a cushion for it, and this is what I came up with. I love the way the piping around the edges turned out, and it wasn’t as hard to do as I dream it would be. I love the way it compliments the channel tufting on the walls surrounding it. Want to make your own? Here is how…
Materials:
- Fabric
- Foam cushion form
- Cotton Batting
- Spray adhesive
- Cord or rope
- Sewing Machine & zipper foot
- Thread
- Zipper/ velcro
- scissors
Buying Fabric.
This step is important for the overall outcome of the project. I found my fabric at Joann’s. It was in the back with some other upholstery fabric. I chose to use thicker upholstery fabric because I knew this cushion would receive some wear and tear over time, and this fabric is made for that. It has no stretch, which isn’t crucial to the outcome, but I wanted it to be sturdy and not wear out fast. Mine was $12 a yard. It has a slight velvet like texture on one side, and DOES NOT fray easily when cut, which I love. I bought 2 yards. Another bonus with upholstery fabric is, it is usually a little wider than the fabric on the bolt, so 2 yards goes a long way.
Step 1: Cutting
I measured my space, and cut the top and bottom pieces of the cushion first. Don’t forget to account for seam allowances.
I also cut 2.5 in. strips in the length of the front 3 edges of the cushion. I knew I wanted the piping to extend to the front 3 sides, and not to the back. I cut a piece the height of the cushion in the same length. This is what I was going to sew all of the piped pieces onto.
I also cut a piece in the same height as the cushion for the back piece and then cut it in half long ways so I could put a zipper in between the two pieces.
I cut the rope in 5 pieces to the same length as the strips.
Step 2: Covering the foam
Next I used the cotton batting to wrap it around the foam. I sprayed the spray adhesive on the foam, and then wrapped the batting around it, folding the corners like I would wrapping a present.
Step 3: Sewing the piping strips
You will need a zipper foot for your sewing machine. It looks like this.
I then took each strip and wrapped it around the piece of rope.
I placed the strip under the sewing machine foot, sewing as close to the rope as possible. The open ends get sewed together and the zipper foot presses up against the rope.
I did this 5 times, overing each piece of rope with the fabric strips. You may need more or less depending on the height of your foam cushion.
Step 4: Attaching the piping strips to the fabric piece.
Next I laid out each piping piece onto the fabric that I cut for the front 3 edges of the cushion. I used my zipper foot again, and sewed them on following the seam I already made.
I tried to get them as close as possible so that they would overlap and cover the previous seam edges. In hindsight I would make the piping piece strips a little wider to make this easier. There were a few raw edges poking out in some spots I had to fix later…
Step 5: Sewing the pieces together
The last step is to sew all of the pieces together. I put the zipper onto the two back pieces, and attached it to piped edge piece so I had one large rectangle edge. I flipped in inside out and un-zipped the back.
I switched back to my regular sewing foot. Then, I sewed the top rectangle piece to the now piped piece first, making sure to put right sides together so all seams would be hidden inside once we flip it back right side out. Then I sewed on the bottom piece to the other side.
I flipped it right side out, and I had a cushion cover! I stuffed the batting covered foam inside and zipped it up!
We decorated with a cute pillow and a throw, and my girls love reading there every chance they can.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Amanda