Challenging Seat Cushions

 

Finished seat cushion

     I had a client that wanted two seat cushions made.  She had an old one that she wanted duplicated.  It was in such bad shape I told her she needed new insides because I couldn't just make a new cover for the old one.

Original cushion

     She wanted it tufted with a button in the center so that meant no zipper.  I would have to hand sew the cushion closed.  

Layered insides

      

     She insisted on buying the materials herself, so instead of a nice two inch piece of foam covered with some Dacron, I had to work with one inch pieces of foam that I glued together after cutting them down to size.  Then I glued on the batting that she had bought which I had to split in the center because it was so thick.  Mess #1.

Wavy selvedges

Wavy even after cutting straight sides

     The fabric she chose for the top and bottom of the cushions had extra threads woven in in stripes.  This caused the fabric to be tighter across in places.  Mess #2  You can see from the first photo how wavy the side is.  After cutting a square, the edges still pulled in.  I did add a lining fabric to get better wear from the face fabric and to also prevent those threads from catching on the batting.

Too many loose threads

Fabric backed for the button covers

     The fabric for the boxing strips also had loose threads.  Mess #3  This wasn't a problem for the boxing strips, but when I cut the first button cover, I could see that those loose threads would be a problem when trying to cover the button.  I ironed on a fusible interfacing to prevent those threads from getting in my way.

Drawing the button covers

     I then used my round templates to draw the covers for the half ball button covers.  I was able to center a 'dot' in each one.  I then applied double sided tape to the dome of the cover to hold the fabric in place while putting on the back.

Using tape on the button cover

     After making the four covered buttons, I marked the center of each side.  Then using my long button needle, I sewed the buttons in place.

Button needle

    Even with all the problems I had with the fabric and such, I think they turned out pretty god.

Banding detail

Button detail

Corner detail

Christmas Jammies 2023

 

Pajamas for the boys

     For St Nicholas Day, I make jammies for the grandkids to get from St Nick.  Some years I make top and bottom, sometimes I buy ready made ones and add embroidery and sometimes, like this year, I make the bottoms and buy tops to embroider.

An added cuff for length

     Now that the kids are getting bigger, I am finding I don't always have enough fabric.  For my oldest grandson, I had to add a cuff to get enough length.  I didn't have any fabric for my granddaughter, so her pajama bottoms were a different fabric that I had in my stash.

Pajamas for the granddaughter

     I bought the tops from Old Navy and the embroidery design is from Designs by Juju.  I need to start planning for next year.  When the grandkids came for a sleepover right after the Feast of St Nick, I had their gifts here, explaining that St Nick left them here since he knew they were going to be coming over.

Trimming the tree in their new pajamas

    

      A couple of the grandkids put on their pajamas right away and wore them the next day while trimming the tree. 

Christmas 2023 Gifts - Part 3

Almost finished placemat

      For the grandkids I made them Easter placemats to match the table runners and napkins that I did for their parents.  Unfortunately I never took a photo of a finished one.  I added lavender binding to finish off the placemats.

Stack of fabrics for the first block

     When I started these in the spring, I knew there would be grandchild #6 before Christmas so I made sure to cut out enough to make a placemat for that grandchild also.  I had to wait until after she was born to make the final block where I added each ones' name.  In my embroidery software I removed the stitches from the upper left-hand rectangle and instead added their name.

Sewn to the backing

    These placemats are a lot of cutting and prep work but once I have decided on the fabrics and threads for one, it goes fairly quickly as I embroider each block six times.

Christmas 2023 Gifts - Part 2

Finished table runner and napkins

     This year the theme for the table runners I give to my adult children is Easter.  When I buy the fabric I buy three yards each of four coordinating fabrics.  This gives me enough to make four slightly different table runners with four matching napkins.  

For the first one

     I start by cutting the fabrics and then labeling which will be in each position.  This pile is for the finished runner shown on top.  Each runner will have a different center square.

     I do sew them each one at a time because otherwise I would get too confused as to which fabric goes where.  I take photos with my phone to keep track of the proper placement of the fabrics once I have everything cut.  The backing fabric and the binding match the center square.  The napkins are finished with a rolled hem on the serger.  

     I'm already working on next year's set.  Can you guess what holiday I am doing next?

Christmas 2023 Gifts - Part 1

 

Ready to start up the embroidery machine

    This year for the adults in the family I decided to make mug rugs.  I bought the design from Designs by JuJu.  I cut out all the pieces and then did them as I had time.

Front 1

Front 2

Front 3

Front 4

     I didn't have enough of the background or backing pieces to make them all the same, but I did have enough different Christmas fabrics to make them similar.

Back 1

Back 2

     It was fun going thru my stash to pull out fabrics to make these.  To close the back, I used some fusible web, so no sewing needed.  These were so much fun to make.