Do-it-yourself decorative cushions are a great addition to the interior. They give the sofa a real home comfort and originality. A little imagination and the remnants of different fabrics in skillful hands will decorate the living room or bedroom and emphasize the overall design style of the room.
This is great! DIY sofa cushions
A handmade product, especially one made by yourself, will fill the interior of your home with special warmth and comfort and add some zest due to the exclusivity of the design. In order for a cushion to look stylish and decorative, you should not go to large expenses at all. You can get by with home stocks of leftover fabrics and decorative ornaments, such as fringes, beads and rhinestones, sequins, etc. The main thing here is not an abundance of decor or a great originality of the idea, but compliance with the general style and mood, the question of the utility of the product and the convenience of caring for it.
Variety of sofa cushions
If you are going to sew a sofa cushion only as a decorative element that will decorate the room, but will not be used for its intended purpose, then the design can be anything you like. The use of beads, and the abundance of buttons, and fabric flowers of fine work from organza or chiffon are appropriate here. And if you plan to use sofa cushions for their intended purpose – to put them under the back or head for softness and comfort, before the decor should be thought out from the point of view of practical use. In this case, it is best to use dense spectacular fabrics with a pattern, faux fur, knitwear, hand knitting, patchwork and quilting techniques, embroidery, applique.
In addition, you can always change a little the decor of the room, just by replacing the pillow covers.
Thumbs in knitted covers look very nice and cozy. For example, crocheted openwork pillowcases are suitable for the Provence style. And rustic, Scandinavian and eco-styles will be adorned with dummies dressed in knitwear knitted with braids or Norwegian patterns. For a hi-tech style, pillowcases in restrained colors with a geometric pattern or monochromatic with a shiny sheen are suitable.
Cushions also vary in shape and size. The most standard option (it is also the most convenient) is square dummy pillows with dimensions of about 30 × 30 cm.But if you wish, the pillow, which you will make yourself, can be given any shape: a heart, a circle, a cylinder, a soft toy, even numbers or letters of the alphabet.
Master class: do-it-yourself cushion in an hour
You will need: material for the pillowcase (31 × 31 cm); filler for a pillow; thick decorative fabric for a pillowcase (33 × 33 cm); one hidden zipper; decorative fringe, 1,5 m; threads; sewing machine.
Basically, the cushion base can be purchased at the store. But if you decide to sew it yourself, then the fabric for the pillowcase is best to choose dense, tough, not allowing particles of filler to pass through, for example, satin. Holofiber, synthetic winterizer, cotton wool, latex, plant materials (buckwheat husk, rice hull, dry herbs, juniper) can serve as a filler. It is best to sew a secret zipper into the cover so that over time you can change the filler, which after 1-2 years will lose its splendor or roll into lumps.
Make a pattern for the pillowcase with a seam allowance of at least 1 cm, and sew with a linen seam. This will ensure good tightness and reliability of the seams.
When the base for the pillow is ready, get straight to the creative process – creating a decorative pillowcase. Measure the sides of the pillow on which you are going to sew the cover. As an example, you can take the size 30 × 30 cm. For freedom of fit, add another 0,5-1 cm at each edge and 1 cm at the seams. Cut out a 33 × 33 cm square and 2 33 × 26 cm rectangles from decorative fabric, where 26 cm = 33: 2 + 10.
Sew the edge of the fringe to the edge of the square on the front side, pre-pinned, so that its ends are directed to the middle of the square. Make sure that at the corners the fringe does not stretch, but also does not gather too much into an accordion. Fold both squares on the long side (33 cm) by 5 cm and iron. Then, from the inside out, fold the hem again by 1 cm, iron and stitch on the sewing machine.
It’s easy to sew a do-it-yourself sofa pillow
Then put the rectangles next to each other with an overlap with the processed sides to each other so that you get a square measuring 33×33 cm. Pin the fabric along the edge at the overlap with pins and secure with a seam on a typewriter. Now fold both squares face to face so that all sides line up exactly, and sew with middle stitch around the entire perimeter. Overlock or zigzag the edges.
For the strength of the seam, it is better to sew two lines with an indent of 0,2 cm
During work, make sure that the geometry of the product is correct so that later your pillowcase does not turn out to be lopsided. And pay special attention to the corners. They must be straight. In order for the corners of the finished product not to stick out too much, when sewing or even at the time of cutting out, the sharpness can be slightly rounded off, but this must be done carefully; the bend should be the same on all four sides.
Now turn the resulting product onto the front side. If you left the corners sharp, use the tailor’s scissors to straighten them. To do this, carefully insert the sharp end of the scissors into the corner of the pillow from the wrong side and press lightly. It is not necessary to put in a lot of effort, otherwise you may tear the seam or fabric. After that, iron the pillowcase well with an iron and put it on the pillow. Now the dummy is ready to go to its new place of residence – on your sofa.
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