I made a bum cushion...a cushion for my bum.

I use a sturdy wooden chair in my studio that stands up to tipping, leaning, and being knocked into, but it gets uncomfortable after a few hours. I made myself a nice little solution using remnants of previous sewing projects.

The Elements:

- Red grosgrain ribbon

- Printed cotton duck

- Leftover batting 

I started by laying the batting over the seat of the chair and roughly cutting around it. I cut it down further until it fit on top of the seat, and I cut out a second layer of batting to give it extra height.

More after the jump...



 I used castoff batting, so you'll see the layers are in pieces. No big deal. We work with what we have.

Next, I placed the shaped batting over the fabric and cut out two pieces for the cover with about a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I placed ribbon between the layers to make the leg ties. 

There is the first layer and ribbon. Mistake #1: instead of pointing all the ribbons to the center of the cushion, I should have angled them the opposite way so they pointed towards the tie. I've drawn out what I mean in orange:

Oh well, next time. Here is the second layer on top, all pinned up and ready to sew. 

While I was sewing it together, I reversed over the ribbon to strengthen the seam - they have to withstand a lot of pulling once they're tied to the chair. I also left a 6 inch gap at the back for the stuffing.

Here it is turned out and ready to stuff.

Once the batting was in, I pinned up the gap to sew shut. Instead of whip stitching it shut I ran it through the machine.

I will never hand sew anything ever again. Look at that sweet, measured line. LOOKITIT.

The whole project probably took about 30 minutes. I do wish I made the cushion a little bit bigger, but it'll do. Now I can sit comfortably in my studio for hours...and hours...and hours. Goodbye appropriate bedtime!

Your Sister in Craft,

LB