Cushions cushions everywhere

You know how it is right? Every now and then you just need a freshen up - a change around. Overnight I decided it was time for a new duvet cover, a new look in the bedroom. I had to be careful not to have anything too floral, too feminine. I am married to the king of 'blokedom'. Luckily there was a huge sale at the local Briscoes and he needed a new coffee plunger so I was able to get him involved in choosing a suitable duvet cover. And.... it was 50% off. We all like bargins - especially blokes.

Home again with new duvet and coffee plunger. Everyone happy. Or nearly. I decided that it was time to have a few special bits on the bed... cushions. I had never had bed cushions before. I had a wee look through my stash of fabrics and came across 3 fat quarters that had been gifted to me recently. Two for Christmas and one for a previous birthday. I also had a piece of Amy Bulter fabric that I had fallen in love with several years ago that was crying out for a project. Low and behold, all 4 fabrics looked great together.

In the latest Your home and Garden mag there were gorgeous cushions being sold somewhere in Auckland for $89.90. They were 'on trend' and had different fronts from backs. Reversible. 'On trend', yep I could do that. And it wasn't going to cost me a thing apart from cushion inners (also half price) and a couple of invisible zips! Bargin. I am pretty sure the total price for these two cushions was under $20.

I had remembered that when sewing cushion covers to make the outer smaller than the inner. These covers are about 2 inches smaller length and width than the inner. So they are nice and puffy. 

I put the invisible zip on the bottom seam. Its completely invisible and was really easy to pop in. I attached the zip first to the two sides of the cushion and then finished the bottom seam before sewing all the way around the pillow.

This is the first pillow. 

For the gorgeous house fabric, I left it as one piece of fabric. I love the lines that the houses create and the little pops of red colour. Thank you Lisa for your clever choice of fabric.

The sunflower fabric was a Christmas gift from Bridgette. Thanks B! I cut the fabric into 4 equal squares and then sewed them all back together again. I have top stitched the seams to add a bit of detail. I like how the patterns had been broken up and created a new one.

This is the 2nd cushion.

 The top photo has been made with the left overs. Originally this cushion was not going to be reversible but I love the back as much as the front so I have changed my mind. To make each 'scrap' look like it was meant to be there I have also top stitched it around each individual red piece, leaving the sunflower fabric without top stitching.

The bottom picture is sideways. The dandilions should be on the top left, standing tall. This is the same design as the sunflower piece except I have substituted one of the red for the dandelion fabric. Thanks for this gorgeous piece of fabric Ollie - I treasure it. Again I have topstitched each seam to make a wee feature.

And here they are on the bed. They get placed on my reading chair for the night and I have to say, making the bed in the morning is a wee bit more fun.

I wish I had made cushions for the bed years ago - reading on the bed is sooo much more comfortable.

Two projects completed in a week - thinking cap on for my next project.

Happy sewing everyone, A x