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Summer Sewing ~ Perfectly Portable Cushion
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From Beth: You’ll enjoy Autum’s Perfectly Portable Cushions both inside and outdoors, all through the year! Autum has lent her sewing expertise and design savvy to the blog before, with her excellent Bag Month Lining Tutorials and Zippered & Slip Pocket Tutorials. Her creative little daisy blog is an ongoing source of inspiration. Enjoy Autum’s Perfectly Portable Cushion Tutorial below, then be sure to visit creative little daisy (regularly!). |
Perfectly Portable Cushion Tutorial by Autum
Materials:
- Fabric for top and bottom of cushion, gusset and piping. Go wild and choose three different fabrics. A heavy weight fabric such as home dec wt. is recommended. For the pink and red floral cushion I used three different Martha Stewart dishtowels.
- Foam insert. You can buy foam inserts or foam by the yard at most fabric stores or you can recover an existing cushion.
- Cording
- Heavy weight interfacing for handles
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- The amount of fabric needed will depend on the size of your cushion. For this tutorial I am covering a 15 inch square piece of foam that is 3 ¼ inches deep.
- To determine how much you’ll need, measure the length, width, and depth of the cushion you’ll be covering.
- To determine the amount of cording you will need add the length + width of your foam cushion and multiply times four. Cording is fairly inexpensive, I usually buy it 20 yards at the time so I always have some on hand.
½ ” seam allowances unless otherwise specified.
Cut your fabric
Cut one top and one bottom piece (length + 1″ x width +1″)
For gusset cut one: (length + width + 1″ x depth + 2″) cut one (length + width +1″ x depth + 1″)
For handles cut two of fabric and two of heavy weight interfacing 4″ x 6″.
Cut bias strips for piping
This is the best method I’ve found for cutting bias strips. I first saw it described in one of my aunt’s quilting books and I’ve seen it around online. It’s one of those things I file under how did they figure that out? Who was the first to say, hmmm…. I think if you cut this like that and sew this here and cut again, you’ll get a continuous strip of bias cut fabric.
It looks kind of strange but after you’ve done it a time or two, it’s a breeze. What I love is that it yields a lot from a small amount of fabric. I’ll demonstrate using a 13.5″ square of fabric and end up with about 3 yards of 1 ½” bias strips.
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Start with a square of fabric, fold it in half and press. Cut in half along the fold. |
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Pin with right sides together and sew using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Press seam open. |
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Mark lines on the wrong side every 1.5″ (If you use this same method to cut bias strips for binding or if you have thick cording, you will need to adjust this number accordingly). |
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Now, this next part seems awkward as all get out to me, but trust me, it works. Bring the fabric together to join the ends of the lines you marked. Skip the first line, as shown in the picture (a critical step). |
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Stitch, using 1/4″ seam allowance. |
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Press seam open. |
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Your lines should meet and if you skipped that first line like you were supposed to, you will be able to cut along the lines and end up with a very long bias strip. |
Now all you have to do is cover your cording and you will have lovely custom piping for your cushion. Of course, you could buy piping already made, but how boring would that be?
Prepare your cording
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Turn under one short end of the bias strip; encase the cording by folding the bias strip around it– starting the cording about 1/2″ from the end. |
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I like to use pins every few inches to keep the fabric even around the cording, but you pin haters can skip that if you like. I don’t judge. |
A zipper foot or a cording foot is pretty necessary for this, it allows you to stitch right next to the cording, encasing it tightly in the bias strip. Continue stitching staying very close to the cording. When you are finished, admire your beautiful custom made piping and wonder why you haven’t done this before.
Attaching piping
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Pin the folded end of the piping to your cushion top piece. Start in the center of one side, placing a few pins to hold things while you start stitching. I don’t pin all the way around, but you can if you like. Begin stitching about ¾ from the beginning keeping your stitches along the line of stitching next to the cording. |
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When you reach the corner, pull the piping around the corner, clipping the seam allowances of the piping to allow it to ease around the corner. Allow your needle to follow the curve of the piping. |
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When you reach the end clip the piping so that it meets the cording at the beginning, tuck it into the folded edge and stitch in place. |
Again, marvel at your beautiful work and be amazed how easy it was to apply your own piping. When you’re done admiring, do the same thing for the bottom of the cushion.
Now let’s make a gusset.
Take the wider of the two strips and fold it in half the long way, press the fold in place. Cut along the fold.
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Lay the fabric wrong side up and center your zipper on the fabric. Make a mark on your fabric at the zipper pull and stop. |
With right sides together, stitch, using ½ inch seam allowance. Machine baste between the marks you made by selecting the longest stitch length on your machine. Backstitch at the beginning and end of the basting stitches. Use regular length stitches before and after the marks.
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Press the seam open. Apply a strip of ½ inch fusible tape to the seam allowances. If you don’t have fusible tape, you can run a very thin bead of Elmer’s school glue along both sides of the seam allowances. |
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Place the zipper teeth side down centering it between the lines with the teeth over the seam. Press to fuse in place. |
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Using your zipper foot with the needle positioned to the right, stitch down both sides and along the top and bottom of the zipper. |
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Turn fabric to right side and remove basting stitches. Marvel yet again, at how easy it was to insert a zipper. Why have you been so afraid? |
Sew the gusset pieces together at each short side to make a tube. Press seams open.
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At this point, I like to place the gusset on the foam to be sure everything is fitting nicely. |
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Arrange it like it will be once completed, and make a mark on the wrong side at each corner. |
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Remove the gusset and stitch a line (about an inch or so) ½ inch in from the raw edge at each corner mark. Clip the corner up to but not through the stitching. |
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Place the gusset back on the foam, wrong side out and pin the top piece to the gusset. |
Stitch the gusset to the top piece using the zipper foot so that you can stitch right next to the piping. It may be helpful to sew with the seat piece on top so that you can follow the stitching line made when you applied the piping.
We’re in the home stretch now. Place what you’ve just sewn back on the foam to check fit and mark for your handles (the portable part).
I guess we should make those handles first though.
Making the handles
Cut two pieces of fabric and two pieces of heavy weight interfacing 4″ x 6″.
Fuse interfacing to wrong side of each piece.
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On each 4″ side, fold the raw edge under about ¼ “. Fold in half the long way, press. Open and fold each side in to the center. Press again. |
Fold in half so the raw edges are hidden.
Stitch along both sides.
Repeat with the other handle.
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Find the center of the sides of the gusset, where you would like to place your handles, and make a mark on the fabric at either end of the handle. Pin in place. The marks will be a guide, just in case the handle were to shift between pinning and sewing, and end up crooked, even though you had them pinned and thought they were straight. I’m just sayin’. |
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Stitch the handles in place. (I made a square with an X in the center at each end to be sure the handles aren’t going anywhere.) |
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Can you believe it? We’re almost done. Just to sew the bottom in place and you’ll be sitting pretty. Pin the bottom to the gusset. Very crucial step: UNZIP the ZIPPER first! Now pin and stitch just like you did the top piece. |
Now prepare to really marvel! Place your foam insert into the magnificent cover. Close that zipper and admire your beautiful, perfectly portable cushion. You can be sitting pretty (and comfortably) wherever you go!
wow- that is a great tutorial!
What a great tutorial! I’m going to have to try this.
This is such a fantastic idea! Thank you for sharing.
Wow! What a great idea! I’m going to make a couple of these for my mom to take to football games, etc.
I have lived in FEAR of piping, and have talked myself out of more than one project because of it. Thank you so much for making this so clear.
GREAT TUTORIAL!
Piping, here I come!
OMG. this is the neatest tutorial ever. Thank you so much for sharing!
What a great tutorial! Thanks so much to Beth for sharing it with us.
I have a question for the webmaster also… I’ve tried printing tutorials from the SMS blog (to look at while at my sewing machine) and the images never show up in the printed version. I’m wondering if there’s a print css style sheet that’s telling browsers not to display images in print view. Or maybe it’s just me? Anyway, just thought I’d mention it, in case anyone else has had problems printing blog entries with photos.
Thanks!
this is great!! i am reupholstering my sofas and this really helps with the cushions. one question though… how do you measure the depth?
This is a great tute! Thanks Autumn! So many great pix, definitely very helpful! Just in time for all those summer concerts sitting on uncomfortable benches!
Candy in CA
Emily,
The depth of the cushion is the thickness of the foam. For instance mine was 3 1/4 inches thick. Sorry that wasn’t more clear.
Oh my you make it look so easy!! What wonderful cushions & when people ask where did you get that fantastic cushion you can reply” I made it”. They probably won’t believe it. Thank you so much.
Autumn, this is a fantastic tutorial!! I just saw some cushions like these in the Crate & Barrel catalogue and was thinking how I’d like to try to make them myself. It’s like you are reading my mind or something!! You make all the steps sound so easy that I am definitely going to try it out. Thanks.
What a great way to make bias tape! I may bother to make some now!
Many thanks.
Sorry Autum, I just noticed I spelled your name wrong in my comment. Oops. Thanks again for the tutorial!
Great Idea!!! I am going to whip some of these up this fall!
You make this project look so easy that I want to run home right now to make this. I have just the right fabric waiting for this project. Great tutorial! Thanks for sharing this great idea with such easy-to-understand instructions.
Yeah, that really was a great tutorial. I learned a few different techniques all at once! Now to find a minute to go and practice them…
This is amazing! I have been thinking about recovering some couch cushion, but the piping aspect had me clueless. Now I am ready to go on the project and possibly on some of these as well! Woohoo!
This is the greatest tutorial. My little quadruplet grandbabies want to have their own special “pillow”, so I’m gonna try this to make one for each of them. By the time I make four of them, I should know what I’m doing!
Sarah
http://SewingBusiness.com
http://SarahJDoyle.com
Yay!!!! I’ve actually had all of the required materials since Feb. but have put off making the cushions because I didn’t have a tutorial or a pattern…thanks a mil!
Oh this is simply wonderful!! I’ve struggled through several cushion covers in my lifetime by taking their predecessors apart and trying to copy them, but it’s never been simple (or fun) for me. This tutorial makes me finally eager to stitch up a new cushion for my porch swing. Thank you for your fabulous blog.
oh what a really great tutorial!
Thank you, Thank you!! This is a much needed tutorial for me. I have some outdoor chairs that need new cushions…..
I especially love the bias strip cutting–how she puts her arm through it! I’m usually afraid of cutting through both sides! Genius! Great idea. Thanks!
That’s a great tutorial. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make continuous bias tape for the longest time. Thanks so much.
Wow, what a great tutotial! I’m especially excited about the bias tape part — I was just needing some tonight and that just made my night a whole lot easier. Thanks.
Just in time for Football season!
Thanks so much for the wonderful tut! I’ve been scouting around for a way to make something similar to a stadium seat now that my girls are both in sports and I’ve been spending a lot of time in the bleachers. This will be perfect! Thanks again. ~mary
This is a really great tutorial! You’ve made it look so easy and fun — I’m adding this project to my ever-growing list. Thanks so much, Autum!
I could never understand how I was supposed to make bias tape before. Thank you for such a great explanation and especially the pictures.
I love this!! Will defintely give it a try!
Hi! Great tutorial, I am already planning my fabrics! However I just need to clarify something… What is Fusible tape? I live in Australia and can’t find it on the Australian ebay… And also I can’t really see what it’s for in the zipper step? Is it just a temporary measure to hold the zipper in place while you stitch it? Can you link me to somewhere that I can buy some? Also, I would love to buy some of Amy Butler’s home dec weight fabrics, but other then her own site http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/fabrics.php?fabric=nigella&flid=11 I can’t find them for sale anywhere. I am not having much luck with the internet today!
How is it that when you have actual pictures instead of diagrams for a pattern that everything falls into place? Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful tutorial. I had been intimidated by both zippers and piping until now
What a great tutorial! This has to go into my things to do folder.
Beautiful! I also had a fear of piping. No more!
Thank you!
PS- I also can’t seem to print this with images.
Agree this is a wonderful tutorial. Have the same question Jujubee had: want to print with all the great pictures to view while I’m sewing but they aren’t printing with the directions as seen in the tutorial. How can this be remedied? Thanks for any additional help
Thanks so much for the tutorial. I’m going to try using the foam to help me pin the next time I make a cushion cover – so simple and it seems like it will really help things line up nicely, especially for attaching the bottom piece … always the trickiest part for me.
those are too cute!!!
Fantastic tutorial! A great project and SO WELL WRITTEN! I love it!
I love this! I am definitely going to have to try this out. Thank you so much for always posting great tutorials…such fun!
Lauren.
The reason for the fusible tape is to hold the zipper in place instead of using pins. Glue works fine too. Use the white, washable school glue. The fusible tape is made by Steam-A-Seam. I use the light weight.
what a great idea! thanks for the tutorial.
I love your sense of humor! I’ve written sewing instructions before and it’s not easy so a little humor helps!
What a beautiful tutorial, and you make it look so easy!
Very nice! Thank you for sharing!
Oh My God…I had tears in my eyes after reading this. Seriously. Thankyou so so so much for sharing. I will be making some cushions for our swing seat ready for our Aussie spring/summer. The tutorial is just so terrific!!!
Fabulous. Thanks for the great tutorial!
Thank you for the nice tutorial. I made two cushioncovers yesterday evening. Sad enough without zipper (I closed the cushions by stitching with needle and thread) ad no piping. Promise: next time I’ll sew a cushioncover with at least a zipper. The fusible tape can be helpfull to make it perfect. And I plan to do some experiences with piping.
One little comment: in my opinion the ripperknife at the picture is held upsidedown. The red bulb is ment to slide smoothly over the fabric. The sharp tip may catch into the second layer and carve the fabric. Hope this explanation is clear, english is not my native language.
you make it looks so easy…something like that always intimidated me a fairly expericence seamstress! thanks….would have love to seen this during the days of watching my darling daughter play volleyball in HS!
What a wonderful tutorial and I love the finished product!!
Amu
I love this tutorial and I might have to use it to cover some of our outdoor cushions!
This just might have to be my weekend project!
So cute!!!
Thank you for the details. All the pics will make this much easier to try.
What pretty cushions!
Great tutorial for cushions! Thanks for the inspiration!
Maybe this will be my “lucky” week to win ???
This would be so handy to have around!
So pretty! And kitchen towels. Wow, that’s impressive.
Fantastic! Now I have yet another reason to use my cording foot (I LOVE my cording foot!). I’ll have to make up a few for floor cushions when we have lots of people over. Using fusible tape with the zipper is so sensible. Those things are always slipping around.
Love this tutorial – thanks!
I love the Chrysanthemum fabric.
Thanks for the detailed pics/instructions on bias strip piping. I am gradually working up the courage to try cutting bias strips that way (instead of one by one with the ruler).
Wow, great tutorial! I can’t wait to give it a go!! Thanks for sharing.
My mother in law will love this for her Seahawks Games.
Wonderful project and timely too. I need new cushions for two deck chairs. Thank you!!!!
These are great! I’m adding them to my list to make right now.
Great tutorial! I love floor cushions and now I can get them in any color and design I want by making them myself. They are so nice for throwing around when you need more seating or want to cuddle up on the floor.
These would make great floor cushions!
I am a first time visitor and quite the beginner! I have to say this tutorial is done so simply that even I think I can achieve it! I am curious where you find foam of that thickness. Our local fabric stores never have anything thicker than say 2 1/2″. Do tell. I am heading onto your fabric site now to snoop around, maybe find some great buys. I am wanting to make a cushion for a large window seat but I think I can modify the project to work. Thanks so much for your great walk-thru and sharing your experience! Best, Elle
Wow, you make it look so easy! I might have to give it a try.
Kimberly
I love this idea! I’m thinking of trying it out with some vinyl tablecloths so they’re easy to wipe off. Anybody know if it would be okay to try sewing one with vinyl? I guess it’s pretty easy to wash and go with the zipper if vinyl is too hard to sew with.
I’d love to try this… I’ve only ever done really simple sewing projects. I have to work up the courage to try making one of these!
These are just too cute!! I might have to make these sometime in the near future!!
Oh my goodness – this tutorial is fantastic!!
I love this project! My bony bottom needs a few of these in the car trunk for baseball games!
This was so neat, I am sew going to save this tutorial just for the zipper advice and the piping. I have been sew afraid of both……
Ooh..love the tutorial! Thanks!
Great tutorial, Autumn (I read your blog). I learned a few tricks in an upholstery class I took, but forgot most of them, so these pics & how tos will help. One thing I remember was when stitching the bias tape onto the cording to not get too close to the cord, but rather when you sewed the piping onto the fabric then you sewed it closer (thus, hiding the first line of stitching)…this was easier ‘cuz we used such bulky fabrics & couldn’t always get right onto the first stitch. ‘Course, if you are making piping other than cushions for a piece (like the decorative edges), then you would sew it very close since you’d then be stapling/tacking an outer fabric over the stitches. thanks!
So cute!!
I am so loving this! What a great way to use the Amy Butler home dec fabric… and big enough for big prints, too.
You make it sound so easy! Another project for the list…
These are adorable! I wish I actually had a yard to use these.
Great tutorial. I can’t wait to try it!
I love making piping and this tutorial comes just in time for me to make a cushion for upcoming summer concerts. Thanks. linda
Love it!. I’m going to make a cushion for our coffee table (we have a toddler) using this method.
These are a great idea! I think it would be wonderful to make these in team colors to use on the bleachers during football season! I’m really excited about the piping technique too, because I have never had a chance to do that before. Adding this one to my “list”…
I love this!
At 32 weeks pregnant hard chairs and benches and I are not friends, and this looks like just the solution!
I need to make these! Great idea!
This is one project I’ll be making, as my yoga teacher partner is in need of a cushion just like those.
Love these, also great for a little dog bed for my Daisy.
My sister just bought a house and these will be the PERFECT housewarming gifts for her new patio!! Can’t wait to make ‘em!
This is a great tutorial! Easily transferable to couches and chair redos! Thanks
Great tutorial. Thank you.
these would be cute to make just for our sporting events.. I hate those benches!!
I love these! Thanks for the tutorial!
I really like this, but I’m not sure I’m ready to try it yet!
What a great tutorial and I need soem new cushions for my patio chairs!!!
Fabulous tutorial! These would be great for our little cottage… especially with a nice cold mojito in hand!
This is perfect timing, I was just getting ready to make new pillow cushions for our dining room.
thanks!
I have never tried piping, but thanks to this tutorial, I think I might! I love the look of these cushions, and I’m planning to make a set for our playroom–the kids would love them!
Wow- nice job! I want to make some for my hippie-esque livingroom, where the futon keeps breaking and we often sit on the floor.
What a great tutorial. All the ateps are clear and make sense! Can’t wait to try this one out!
what a great project! Love the fabrics used also
This is so inspiring! I might try it with some leftover laminated cotton from Moda.
This is a great tutorial!! I don’t know if I’m brave enough, but I want to make a cushion.
i am going to tackle the cushions in the sailboat cabin. this will help so much. thanks.
I love this project! We could use a few just for our living room (as we often eat pseudo-Japanese-style around the coffee table)….
Thanks, this is a really well-illustrated tutorial. Great job!
So great! I think I might use this idea to make cushions for some repurposed chairs! WONDERFUL PICTURES!
what a wonderful idea! and a great resource–i might be brave enough to try piping something now. thanks.
These would make excellent stadium seats as well! Awesome tutorial!
this would be perfect to use for summer soccer games and then again for fall football games thanks!
Yay! I have been searching for a gusseted box cushion tute for a LOOONG time. I haven’t found one with so many pictures before. I’m so excited. I hope I can try it on a small cushion and then translate it to a bigger one. I had a box cushion for a window seat done…and it was $500! I hope to save myself that money next time.
THANKSSSSSSSSSSS
I cannot wait to make one of these! Great tut!
I’ll have to give this a try sometime. Thanks for the great tutorial.
Thank you…I cannot wait to make these cushions!
Wow – I can see a pile of these at vacation homes!
Great tutorial! You could probably make it water resistant by using duck cloth too! i’m going to have to try this one!!
Brilliant. Baseball game knitting, here I come!
great idea – thanks!
This project looks like a great way to use some of those bright and bold new home dec weight fabrics. I like them, but some would overpower my interior. But for outside? Fun!!
how cool!!! these are fantastic!
I just spotted some outdoor pillow forms the other day (extra holey so they drain quickly), now I just need to find some great fabric to go with this great tutorial! Thanks!!
I love this tutorial! I’ve tried the continuous binding before, but it never worked for me-your pics make it look sooo easy, I’m going to try this! Thanks so much!
I can’t wait to make these! So cute and so very useful!
I love the red fabric too! This looks easier than I expected.
I’ve never tried to do piping before, but it didn’t look too difficult. This tutorial is wonderfully put together! I need one of these cushions, so I might be giving this a try this weekend. Thank you.
I love this. Ill defently be trying it out
What a great tutorial…Thanks for sharing!!!
I am blown away by this bias tape tutorial (the cushions are beautiful, but the bias method!) Ky friend tried it out while I was at her house and it’s amazing!!! I can’t wait to try!!
Thanks for the tute. You make it look easy!! I may be brave enough to try it soon.
Such a great idea!
Love this!
I’m totally into piping these days and love to make my own. It was fun to see your use of it with these cusions! Great job!
I plan to recover the cushions on some of our living room chairs. This tutuorial will be an excellent resource.
This tutorial is so easy I might even try this!
thanks so much for a great tutorial.. I have the fabric out just need to find some fabric. Maybe they will be ready to take to a picnic on Sunday.
Mary
This was an excellent tutorial, thank you. I read through most of it even though I don’t have plans to make any. I have too many other projects first. But I learned a lot of cool techniques and will definitely need to come back to this one for future reference.
Thanks for another great tutorial…this will go in my “gotta do” file.
That’s the best bias binding-maiking-explanation-thing I’ve seen!! I can see my future with bias binding expanding…. instead of me running away from it.
To answer a couple of questions, Elle Doughty, the foam is some I’ve had for quite a while. I found it on ebay. You could buy the thinner foam and use two layers covered in a thin layer of batting.
Alissa, I’ve made pillows for my porch using a vinyl table cloth. The vinyl wasn’t difficult to sew, but when I put the insert into the cover, it tore the seam a little. The vinyl doesn’t have any give like fabric would, so you would need to be sure your opening is more than large enough to insert the cushion. Another though is that this cushion involves sewing through several layers of fabric because of the piping, and that many layers of vinyl would likely not be much fun to work with.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it…
I need to make these for my chairs outside! Great job!
So fantastic – thanks! I would even attempt to conquer my fear of zippers for this one . . .
What a great tutorial. These would come in really handy. I might just have to make some.
I actually was looking for a tutorial on a box cushion to use for a chair, and one with a zipper, too! This is perfect. It even made me feel less afraid of piping! Thanks!
Thank you for such a great tutorial. Great detail on making piping.
I need one of these for my husbands soccer games!
Love this!
I love these! SUCH a great idea!!!
Great photos! Thanks for all the great ideas!!
I am so excited to try this out! We just got new patio furniture and these would be perfect. Yay!
I’ve been needing a tutorial for something like that. I think it’ll work for a piano bench cushion.
What a cute idea for a child’s room or the family room… in a huge basket by the fireplace!
Thanks for such a great tutorial, and wonderful fabric choices!
Oooh, I need cushions like these for my family room for the kids to watch movies. Thanks for the tutorial!
Oh I love this idea! I can see myself making a few of these this Summer!
Very pretty & professional — thanks for the tutorial. BTW, LOVE those fabrics!
Great tutorial – thanks!
These are wonderful. Thanks for the tutorial!
What a fantastic idea! I would love to make some of these to use on our deck.
b.
I love these! they are great to just keep in the trunk and pull out when you need them!
Excellent tutorial! I sent this one to all my sewing friends! THANKS!
Excellent tutorial… I sent it to all my sewing friends! THANKS!
Your tutorials are great. I’m going to have to make a couple of the cushions to keep in my truck for those hard benches and chairs I come across at times.
Keep up the good work!
I love these cushoins. I recognized the martha stewart towels right away!
love the cushions, would look great outdoors at our beach house.
The summer sewing tutprials have been great. I LOVe this one……..having just returned from a wet wet wet folk fest…..next year I will bring some of these sewn with oil cloth!
I also plan on making the kids tipi…….
thanks so much
How cute! Love the fabric!!
I love this project! thanks so much!
Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing :^)
Great tutorial !!!
I have to give it a try pretty soon !!! 
I almost shelled out money for cushions thinking they would be too hard to make. Thanks for the tutorial.
I just got your link from a friend. In my last post I talked about How lost I was with trying to work with piping. This is exactly what I needed, thank you!
Thank you! This is great, I was just looking for a tutorial on piping in particular and this offered that and soo much more.
I just got new patio chairs that are going to need cushions
Thanks so much for the tutorial.
Thank you so much Autumn for your inspiration! I found your site on the web so I could sew some rather large window seat cushions and this just did the trick.! I have finished one this week and I will start the other one today! I had a little learning curve but I kept going back to your sweet directions and the humor kept me going..”.how boring to just buy piping! “I showed my husband my “art work” and he was impressed! Thank you !! i have some ideas on how things worked for me…that I learnedthe hard way. One is the zipper. Somehow I missed your words about making sure that the zipper goes in bigger than just the back gusset.So needless to say, it was tight fit to get the foam in. But we did it! Yes, it was a two man job!
Also, I thought I had done it all right but somehow my nice very long cording piping just turned out to be lots of circles. I must have done something wrong. I did heed your advice to skip the first line but who knows what happened. Thank fully i had lots of fabric so I just laid it out on the diagnal and cut them individually. But I do not regret trying it!! It was really tapping into my creative juices that have laid dormat for a while and I just want to thank you for inspiring me. I wouldn’t have tried it otherwise!~ Ruth
great tute
wow you make it look so easy
I may have to try both piping and zippers
Wonderful tutorial!!
[...] used this tutorial for the side and bottom cushions and it worked perfectly! Considering the bottom cushion is about [...]
These cushions are so cute! I’ll have to try them with this great tutorial! Thanks!
Great tutorial! I have a question though, I don’t want to make my own piping, just purchase. Any ideas where to look. I’ve tried a couple of stores and online and can’t seem to find premade piping.
Thank you so much for such a wonderful tutorial. You made the piping so easy and the zipper even easier!!! I love, love, love it. You can see my new tushy cushion here. http://colorfulquiltingworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/tushy-cushion-from-great-tutorial.html
so cute useful and thorough! I probably wont get to any before christmas but maybe spring.
It was just what I was looking for…Thank you so much
i love this project. the tutorial is clear and simple! thank you for sharing this tutorial. i can’t wait to try it out!
Lo and behold, I just found what I have been looking for. I will be covering cushions for a rattan set because it would cost as much as a buying a new rattan set if I were to have the cushions professionally made. Your instructions are clear/concise, and the pictures are a tremedous help!!! Thank you so much!
[...] enormous thank you is owed to this post on Sew, Mama, Sew! for Autum’s step-by-step cushion instructions that have worked out amazingly. They were so [...]
Hi Autumn, I love the tutorial. I was wondering how do you make the covers with a 2peice gussett. I have been trying make my covers and I am having trouble with the corners. Can you help me?
Thanks for this! I was going to make floor cushions for my girls and this helped me with the whole project. I’d never done piping or zippers before and they worked great with your help. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Great tutorial, love the text and photos, so important for me to see and read. I’ll be using your directions for all my porch furniture. Thank you!! Got any directions for draperies, pillows and duvets?
Thank you – I was looking for a simple tutorial like this; my home dec/sewing books were not as thorough. I will be using vinyl, though; I will pray to St. Anne for help! It is not as forgiving as woven fabric can be. God Bless you!
I was so excited to find your instructions for these beautiful cushions. I have never tried zippers, let alone piping, and I have 8 cushions to cover for our new camping trailer. I was very nervous about it until now. I do have one question though…After I draw the lines for the bias strips and line them up (skipping the first line), it seems that after I sew them at 1/4″, my lines do not match up. Am I missing something? I ended up ripping out my seam and adjusting the lines 1/4″ apart before I sewed again, and that seemed to work. I didn’t see anyone else post a problem like this, so I think it is just me! Thanks for your help!
BRILLIANT … I was trying to figure out the best way to do corners!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
[...] Autumn’s Perfectly Portable Cushion tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew!. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Must MAKE MondaySugar [...]
This is great! I’ve posted a link to it in a summer tutorial post on my blog, The Handmade Experiment. Check it out at http://heart-of-light.blogspot.com/2009/06/ruffly-headband-tutorial.html
Thanks and have a wonderful summer!
Emily
I have searched and searched trying to find instructions on making cushions with piping. You saved the day. Your instructions are just what I’ve been looking for and they are easy to understand. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the fantastic instructions! I rarely use my sewing machine, but got a sudden burst of Martha Stewart Syndrome and decided to sew seat cushions for our balcony chairs. I am very pleased with the result and want to thank You for making it possible! The photos you provided together with the instructions really made it possible for an amateur like me to create something that looks good!
I just found your site in a search for instructions on making cording for some new cushions I am trying to make for a wrought iron sofa on my deck (my dog Molly ate three of the original ones). I am now very excited to tackle this project, zippers and all! Your instructions and photos are great and I am quite inspired. The part that I may have trouble with is cutting the bias strips. Wish me luck, and thank you!
Thank-you so much for posting this tute!! I just used it to revamp my and I love how it turned out. Your tute was the ticket to success!
Thank you sooooo much- I just used this site to reupholster cushions for a chair in my living room and it turned out great!!! I just learned how to sew a couple of months ago, so this was such an accomplishment for me and this tutorial is the reason it was doable. Great site!
Thank you — thank you — thank you!! This has got to be one of the most useful tutorials ever published on the interwebs. I’ve used it twice now — once to make a zippered cover for an adirondack chair cushion, and now (slightly modified) to recover a CL “find” chair. The piping makes the final product look soooo professional and polished, and I am only a beginner-intermediate sewer. I could never have accomplished this without your clear instructions and fantastic illustrations. Also — in addition to the specific projects I completed, I learned a lot of basic sewing/construction techniques along the way. Thank you for your generosity in spending the (lengthy, I bet) time it took to put this together, and for sharing it with us all. Love your site in general, and try to stop in as frequently as possible.
Best–
Don’t forget about the cushion but what a great way to make bias tape for ANYTHING. I will be using this method forever for edge binding on quilts and for everything for which i have ever cut interminable strips and sewn them together interminably.
Thanks so much for this tutorial! Here’s my finished product: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbo/3843754034/?edited=1
Thank you for this great tutorial! I just finished a set of 2 cushions for some patio benches. The instructions were so easy, and the pictures really made the whole thing super easy!
I love this idea! I’m going to have to make a couple of these for baseball season. That will make watching those games a lot easier
Thank you for your clear, easy to understand directions!