DIY Cushion Covers

I'm on a mission to redecorate my house without spending a bag of money. What this really means is that I have been spending hours upon hours scouring Pinterest and Google search for inspiration and tutorials. I've become so engrossed with it, I've been actually having dreams about what I want to do so I figured that instead of just annoying my friends and family with random pics and questions about tools and installation methods, I would share my experiments here. 

If you're as into decor as I am, *high five sister!* If not, I have hundreds of other posts on other topics I promise. So now let's get into it.

I went looking for material to recover my couch cushions because I was changing the colour scheme of my living room. I am yet to find something I love, things that were similar were very expensive at over $600 a yard and for something I would be looking at everyday I didn't think that was a fair trade off.

So, I dug through my two suitcases of unused fabric I've been hoarding saving for the future and found a plain white cotton - the possibilities alone made me dizzy with joy. A few days later, this happened-

Now you can see from the close-up that there are some mistakes where the paint leaked past the stencil but that's because I kept lifting it up to see what it looked like. I'm really an excited kid at heart especially when I get to make things. Don't worry it won't happen to you if you're patient. I'll stop blabbing now and get to it:

You Will Need:

• Fabric of your choosing -you can choose any colour. I liked cotton because it's super easy to use, durable and doesn't require special care to wash in case it gets stained.
• Acrylic/Fabric paint in a colour you like. (I got mine at Liguanea Drug & Garden you can pick yours up here)
• Stencil (I made mine using cartridge paper but you can download one from the internet and print it.)
• Sponge brush or rag
• Tape
• Scissors

Method

1. Measure the cushions you want to cover. Don't assume they are perfectly square. Determine whether you will need a lining for your fabric - you don't want to cover over the original fabric only to have it show through. If you need a lining you will want to double the fabric so just double your measurements.
2. Cut the fabric for the front of the cushions only (you'll see why later) and lay them out on a flat surface, tape the edges down so they don't move and make sure they are completely flat without any ripples.
3. Print/Make your stencil. I wanted a quatrefoil print but I couldn't bother to scale, size and print a pattern for my stencil. I kind of just figured out that I could use a square and half circles to create a similar effect so I drew that onto cartridge paper and then cut it out using an art knife.) It's far easier to print to scale I guess, but my creative side of my brain was making the math side of my brain lazy.
4. Lay down your stencil using tape and with a pencil mark the edge/bottom of your stencil so you will know where the lay it down for the next line and have even spacing.
5. Pour out your paint onto a plate and wet your foam brush or an old rag. It shouldn't be dripping but it needs to be moist so that it can get into the fabric properly. I was going for an almost tie-dyed effect so I didn't want it to be super clean lines but sort of faded like vintage tapestry especially since the paint was metallic.. If you want cleaner lines use the sponge brush, and for a more organic effect use cloth and dab rather than swipe on the paint.
6. Remove the stencil carefully and keep going until all your fabric pieces are covered. You can vary the way you apply the stencil or you can stick to one method. Just get creative!
7. Let it dry and press it so the paint is locked into the fabric

Sewing Instructions

DISCLAIMER: I did not use a pattern, I would rate myself as an Intermediate with sewing and I have a machine. This doesn't have to be done with a machine, a firm double backstitch by hand could get the job done but it will take longer.

1. Not someone who can sew? If you are familiar with fabric glue go ahead and use that. If not, then take your actual cushion, and your newly printed fabric to your dressmaker/tailor. They won't charge you much to stitch them up.
2. If you do sew, get some upholstery thread - you want this to be durable.
3. Lay the front of the cushion down and measure the sides again *cut once measure twice*
4. You will need two pieces for the back. Why? So you can slip the cover off and on to wash it, or to just change it out if you change your mind. The pieces need to overlap - so use the following example as a guide:
1. If your front piece measures 20 x 20 then cut Piece A to measure 15 x 20 and the Piece B 13 x 20
2. The overlap needs to be sizable enough to lay flat but not too small because this will cause it to gape
3. Hem one 20 inch side of Piece A then a 20 inch side of Piece B
5. Attach the un-hemmed side Piece A to the front matching the sides that measure the same together right sides facing each other. (The 20 inch side to the other 20 inch side) Then do the same with Piece B.
6. Then lay Piece A over Piece B and sew the top and bottom to the front piece.
7. Turn everything to the right side and check to see that everything is firmly in place. Iron and slip your cushion inside

THE END

This does not take long, but I got excited and finished one piece and stared at it for a couple days before completing the others. I also wanted to make sure I liked it enough and now I'm really happy with it. 

Will you be trying this? If you do, please tag me in your photo or tag #decoratewithjane so I can feature you on this blog. Check out my Instagram and Facebook page to stay up to date with what I'm doing.

Till next time,

*Jane