Cushion Makeover
/An old friend messaged me and said hey can you recover these cushions for me? Some measurements and photos later, I gave her the yardage and supplies needed and sent her to pick out some decor fabric and bring ‘em on by.
These cushions are very simple construction - two panels, not boxed, easy peasy. The back cushion was tufted with upholstered buttons, but she didn’t want that, so I left that part out. Everything else is a basic replica of the original.
I started by taking the foam out of the cushions and turning them inside out so I could get at the seam allowances. I smoothed them out nice and flat and pinned them to the new fabric, which was double-folded. I traced the basic shape, leaving over an inch to spare around the entire piece to rough cut it.
Once I had the basic shape cut, I then marked the center points of the original cover and cut the new fabric about 3/8” away from the original piece (I wanted to make these slightly bigger to make it easier to get the foam in). I cut one half of the new fabric this way.
Then, I removed the original cover pattern piece and folded the new fabric in half so that I could get the pieces to be perfectly symmetrical. Using my center point markings, I carefully folded the new fabric in half and clipped it down the center and smoothed things out to ensure everything was nice and flat.
Then, I just cut the remaining half to match the first half.
The back piece also had two fabric loops to hang over the chair to hold the cushion in place, so I cut out two 2” x 6” strips of the new fabric and folded them to center and then in half to create new loops. I sewed those right down the middle and set them aside.
Next, I took a zipper and placed it right side down on the right side of one of the new pieces and sewed in place using a zipper foot.
Then, I placed the remaining raw edge of the zipper tape right side down on the right side of the other piece and sewed in place. In my case, the zipper was extra long, so I trimmed it down.
Once both pieces were attached to the zipper, I flipped it right side up and topstitched along both sides of the zipper.
Next, I folded them right sides together and pinned around all of the raw edges. At each top corner of the back cushion, I sandwiched the 6” loops between both pieces and made sure they were evenly placed on both top corners.
Once everything was pinned, I made sure the zipper was at least halfway open and then sewed the raw edges closed. I made small clips in the corners around the curves before turning it right side out.
Turned the sucker right side out and wrestled the cushion foam back in, and voila. New cushion.
And there we go. Refreshed seat cushions! BAM!
Happy birthday, Habush! =)