I took a break from working on my pieces for the exhibition, to make some cushions for the bag and quilt raffle. I had recently bought this remnant of farmyard fabric
and on measuring the piece, I found that I could cut three strips, eighteen and a half inches wide. I stacked them on the cutting mat
and cross cut the strips, to give me three squares for the cushion fronts
then I cut the remaining fabric in half, to make the two pieces for the backs
I turned in and pressed hems on the two long edges of the back pieces, which I then top stitched
I forgot to take a photo of the next stage, which was to pin the fronts and backs right sides together, overlapping the back pieces. I then stitched the four sides. I prefer to stitch right across each side, rather than pivoting at the corners, as I think this is more accurate
I snip the corners off, so that the corners are easier to poke out
the cover pressed, ready for the next stage
having marked lines an inch and a half from the edge, I top stitched the cover, this time pivoting at the corners (don't worry, the red line disappears with a hot iron)
the first cushion finished - the pad in it isn't quite big enough, but I have the correct size ordered
the three covers, ready for their pads
after making the fun children's cushions, I thought I would do some for the grown-ups, and looked out this beautiful length of silk from my stash. As you can see, it changes colour depending in how the light strikes it
a detail of the embroidery
I used a slightly different method for this one. As the embroidery isn't directional, I didn't have to cut the back separately, so simply cut three long strips. After hemming the edges, I folded the strip to give me a square, then only had to stitch the two sides
the cover turned through and pressed, ready for the top stitching
and the finished cover. I ran out of time to stitch the other two, so I will get them done next week