chair cushions

Hi Everyone!

Ever since I made my first dining room chair cushions for my wrought iron table, I was thinking they weren’t exactly what I wanted. To be honest, I didn’t have a sewing machine at the time (….I didn’t even know how to sew?…) and did everything by hand (….yeah, believe it or not, they still looked decent enough =)

But now that I have my machine…. (….you should see her at work….she sounds like a freight train rumbling through town!…) ….I thought I’d now made some “professional” looking cushions since my living room has (...no, HAD....) an old world Italian theme. (….It now houses my 14 month old daughter’s basket of toys, bazillion stuffed animals, play pen turned on it’s side to resemble a “house” where she hides, and her little shoes which she likes to throw off…..but yes, it’s still my beautiful living room which I created before my “baby” days =) Now, since our toddler is not allowed on the chairs, I can still admire the beauty of my work! So here we go, simple and so easy to do =)

Here is the beautiful fabric I inherited from my parents on our last trip out to California for Christmas. It’s so rich and deep in colors that I knew it would be perfect for my dining room chairs since I was becoming exasperated finding material I liked. It was left over material from a sofa cover they made. And at $45 a yard, there was no way I could afford it nor would I even try! Thanks mom and dad =)

chair cushions

chair cushions

I was able to cut up the fabric for the 6 chairs (...there wasn’t even a thread of fabric left!) How I did it, I don’t know? Anyway, when cutting up the fabric, I basically added 3\4 of an inch to the LEFT AND RIGHT sides of the cushion and 1 inch to the TOP and BOTTOM sides for seam allowance. Notice that I didn’t even bother taking off the old fabric. I just covered over it. Once you’ve cut up your fabric, lay it wrong side up. Center your cushion, being careful that any designs the fabric may have, all align up. Then create a lip by pinching your fabric together. On one side, I used a binder clip to hold it together with the edge of the fabric.

chair cushions

Carefully slide out the cushion and sew the entire side of the fabric closed.

chair cushions

Repeat for the other side of the fabric. You should now have both sides sewn up. Don’t worry about the center fraying…it won’t be seen! (….If you aren’t lazy like me, you can sew up all the raw edges before sewing the sides up =)

chair cushions

Next, turn the fabric inside out. I used a bone folder to help the corners get pointy again. However you could use anything you have on hand.

chair cushions

Insert your cushion inside and you’ll see the raw center edge folds inward, so it’s not visible. I ironed the cushion at the center to help create a nice crisp fold. This is the front….

chair cushions

And this is the back. Nice and neat. And the best part, it’s washable! Now, if you are wondering how these will stay on the chair…..ahhhhh, I’m glad you asked! Since I didn’t want to add any chair ties, I simply cut out some squares (smaller than the cushions) of non-skid shelve liners and placed them underneath the cushions, on the seat of the chair. No need to secure them…they stay in place and the cushions don’t move =)

chair cushions

So go ahead and give it a try….It’s way easier than you think and you’ll love the new look =)

Happy cushion making!

Wanita =)