Sunday, September 5, 2010

From Retro Tablecloths to Floor Cushions

By now you're very aware that I have been busily sewing for the Living Smart Festival which is on next Sunday at Speers Point Park. Today (Sunday) we are experiencing gale force winds that would probably wipe out any type of marquee or market stalls .... so thank heavens it ain't today!!!

I purchased some retro tablecloths from the Salvation Army a long time ago. I think they have a fair synthetic component in them and the print wasn't necessarily "on grain" but I had a go at making some floor cushions.

The first one I made was a complete disaster - I then read about covering the foam rubber with some wadding - which proved to be a very good idea - I also drew up a cardboard template for each piece of foam rubber - cause each one was just slightly different in measurement.


I used the border prints as best I could for the sides of the cushions and I used a plain fabric for the underside of the cushion.
I piped around the edges - just used a zipper foot to make and attach the piping - though I am wondering whether anyone has had experience with the Piping Foot for Bernina machines - does it make any difference???
On the last one - I got wise and added a carry handle .....
You can see how "not square" they ended up! and how I had to make some strategic fabric joins ... all part of the fun!
I used the longest invisible zips I could get my hands on - the cushions are about 55cm square.
This one is not part of the recycled family - this is some lovely Anna Maria Horner upholstery weight fabric - I had to restore my faith after the first muff up!
A little bit more upcycling to go ... then normal programming will resume.

7 comments:

  1. Love these cushions. I love the vintage fabric and the piping is great.

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  2. They are terrific cushions. Good luck for the Festival, especially for the weather. It is so disappointing to have everyone's hard work diminished by wind or rain.
    I don't know about the Bernina piping foot, but after making piping with my zipper foot for years, I finally bought a piping foot for my Husqvana, and it makes a huge difference - from fiddly to instant excellent results. Worth the $ IMO.

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  3. WoW... those are some Gorgeous pillows.

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  4. Great cushions, love the piping!

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  5. Love the cushions! I think we'll be seeing them at other markets soon.

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  6. I LOVE these! Cute and functional.

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