A lovely cushion for your home or for a gift and made using a variety of techniques and materials -
Appliqué (both zigzag and frayed), hand embroidery, applying fuse-a-web, making piping and inserting zips.
You Will Need:
Linen or Linen/Cotton Blend - 36cm x 76cm
Floral fabrics for the letters - 11cm by 16cm (per letter)
Fuse-a-web for the appliqué letters
Cotton thread
Embroidery thread
Embroidery needle
Piping - 1.5meters
Fabric to cover the piping - fabric strip 4cm wide by 1.5meters) long (roughly 25cm x 25cm piece of fabric cut on the diagonal
Invisible zip
Vanishing Marker
35cm Cushion Pad (duck feather recommended)
Template/s:
Home Template
Click here (then right click and "Save Picture As" to save template to your computer)
Seam allowance is 1/4”.
Instructions:
1.Cut your linen fabric into 2 pieces. The first measuring 13 3/4” by 13 3/4” (front piece). The second measuring 13 3/4” by 16” (back piece).
2.Print the HOME letters and cut them out.
3.Press your floral fabrics. For each letter you need to cut a piece 4.5” by 6.5” (11cm by 16cm).
4.Apply the fuse-a-web to the back of each of the floral fabric pieces (do not peel off the back of the fuse-a-web or iron it to your linen yet).
5.Place letter templates on top of the floral fabrics and mark around the letters and cut them out.
6.Position your HOME letters onto your linen. We positioned ours 2 1/2” (7cm) from the bottom.
7.When you are happy with the position of the letter remove the fuse-a-web backing and iron into place.
8.Create a test swatch of linen and floral fabric. You can see the look of your chosen thread colour and decide on your stitch length. Use a zigzag stitch and experiment by adjusting the width and the length. You want both your width and length to be fairly narrow. The width should be 2mm to 3mm and the length 1mm or narrower for best results.
9.Appliqué your HOME letters to the linen by sewing around the entirety of each letter using your zigzag stitch. Keep the edge of each letter central to your satin stitch foot.
* To go around right angle corners; stitch so that the right angle you want to turn into is level with your needle. When the needle goes into the left position and is in the fabric, lift the presser foot and turn the fabric 45 degrees. Drop the presser foot, stitch one full stitch (right then back into the fabric at left position) and with the needle in the fabric at left position lift the presser foot to turn the fabric to the right angle. Continue sewing.
10.Use your vanishing pen to mark the bunting line.
11.Cut some small rectangles from your scraps and position them at equal points along the bunting line.
Then cut them into triangle flags.
12.Attach your flags using raw edge appliqué. You don't need fuse-a-web or zigzag stitch. Set to normal stitch and attach each by sewing near the edge. This will give a frayed look for additional interest.
13.Using your embroidery thread stitch evenly along your bunting line (over your flags). We used running stitch but you could use stem stitch for added interest
14.Attach your zip to the back piece of linen. Remember the finished size of your back piece should match the front and be 13 3/4” by 13 3/4”. Trim the back piece as needed.
15.To create the piping, cut strips of fabric on the bias (diagonal) 1.5” (4cm) wide. Place them right sides together at a right angle and mark from corner to corner.
16.Sew along this marked line. Trim and press open.
17.Continue attaching until your strip is around 58” (1.5meters). Press one end of the strip inwards on a diagonal (this will form a neat finished edge later and is called the piping start below).
18.Place the piping cord centrally down the length and pin closed.
19.Using a piping or zipper foot encase the piping cord inside the strip. Start your sewing an inch in from the piping start.
20.With the right sides of your front and back pieces together insert the piping beginning with the start (position this so it will be at the bottom of the cushion and won't be as visible). The piping needs to be facing inwards with the edge matching the edge of the linen.
21.To go around the corners snip notches in your piping as shown.
22.Pin the linen pieces with the piping sandwiched all around the cushion.
23.When the end of the piping meets the start you will need to trim the piping cord so that the end piece fits snugly into the piping start. Your neat piping edge will be what is visible.
24.Make sure your zip is half way open. Using a piping or zip foot sew as close to the piping as possible and around the entire cushion. TIP: When you turn your cushion the right way, if the piping is not tight and you can see the stitches from when you encased the piping, don't worry! Just restitch that section, sewing more closely to the piping.
25.Turn and press.
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