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