Materials:
- Foam
- Spray Adhesive
- Thin backer board or underlayment wood if your piece doesn’t have it
- Staple Gun
- Staples
- Scissors
- Blanket or fabric
- Batting
Step 1: Cutting the foam
After sourcing all of the materials I needed to make this no sew cushion, I started with the foam.
I knew the size of the seat it was going to go on, so I used that as a measurement.
I cut the foam to the measurements of the wood seat piece. I made 3 of these, since the foam was thin. I chose this foam because it was inexpensive, and I could customize how tall I wanted the cushion to be.
Step 2: Glue the foam pieces
The next step after cutting all of the foam is to glue to together. I used gorilla glue spray adhesive to glue the foam pieces together.
I did this in my living room, and to prevent overspray from getting on the carpet, I laid out a piece of plastic garbage bag that I had ripped open to cover as much area as possible.
Other drop cloths or tarps would work well to prevent overspray from getting wherever you are working as well. I sprayed directly onto the foam and to the wooden piece to do the first layer. In subsequent layers, I sprayed the bottom foam piece, and the one sticking on top and gave it a firm amount of pressure when stacking them. I did this for all three layers.
Step 3: Cut the batting
The batting is what helps the foam be super smooth. I laid out the batting and stuck the foam and wood pieces on top.
After cutting enough to cover the size of wood, I gently pulled the batting around to get enough to cover the sides and slightly go over onto the wood piece on the back.
Next I used my hand held staple gun and gently pulled the foam from the front to the back and stapled it in place. I made sure to pull it tight, going along each side so that there were no wrinkles on the front.
Step 4: Cutting the fabric
I ended up using a blanket to make this seat, because after searching for MANY different kinds of fabric in various fabric stores, I couldn’t find the color of fabric that I was looking for in any of them. The blanket I used isn’t available anymore, but I linked similar ones in the materials list.
I opened the blanket and cut the fabric in the same way that I cut the batting. I wanted to make sure that it will fit over the size of wood of the seat. I cut the fabric, using my fabric scissors and saved the rest of the blanket for future projects.
Step 5: Staple the fabric
Stapling the fabric to the wood backer is the last step for upholstering this piece. Eventually you will have to attach the wood to the actual seat or bench, and that part may vary depending on the construction of the piece you are working on.
I went through the same process for stapling the fabric to this piece as I did the batting.
I laid the fabric on the ground and put the piece right side down, so that the wood is facing up. I gently pulled the fabric to the back of the piece, stapling it with my hand staple gun to the wood as I went along.
I did all four sides first, and then tackled the corners. I wanted it to lay flat, so I made sure to go as tightly as I could, pulling, so that there was no wrinkles on the front side.
After this, I began to lay the corners flat, cut off the excess fabric, and then staple any loose ends where needed.
After I was all done stapling every single corner, and made sure that there was no loose or unattached spots, I was able to screw the wood- backer onto this small bench for the completed look. I did this from the bottom side of the bench, which is the way this piece was designed.
I love the way it turned out for my daughter’s room, giving a little pop of contrasting color to the space. It was super easy to finish this project and only took me one afternoon.
Thanks for being here!
-Amanda