cushion 2 and 3

Cushion 2The cushion I had started to cut out from the green brocade is finished. I was trying an idea I saw in a book for an envelope style cushion. They called for a button and button hole, but here is my version of a fastening. The cords wrap round the wooden disks like the old fashioned manilla envelopes. The fabric is decorative enough in its own right, so I thought I would make a feature of the fastening, instead of other embellishment.

For some reason, even though I measured properly and followed directions, the cushion ended up quite a bit more rectangular than I thought it would. There were a few places where it took me a while to understand the directions. So, I will be doing another one to see where the diviation occurred.

However, it looks pretty good. The light bounces off the brocade a bit too much in the photo. My husband thinks it will be uncomfortable to sit against! But I think the wooden bits just push back into the cushion when you sit against them.

Cushion 3

I also wanted to do a cushion with an inserted panel and piping. So I took a piece of dupion which was nearly big enough to go round the cushion form, and then made a ruched panel which I inserted. I also put a zip in the side seam. I am not fond of that method, but I intend to do one with the zip placed differently and thought I could show the difference. Some people need help visualising.

The ruched panel is habotai silk which I tie dyed. It is laid over a leftover piece from Cushion 1, which I showed you yesterday. I am thinking about catching the ruches down with beads, but at present the bumps are just flattened with the iron.

I am actually quite pleased with this cushion. I actually think I do better with things I make up in my head from the available scraps I can find! And maybe because of that, I find it easier to show someone else how to do it. Maybe it is the practice from doing City and Guilds and the work we did about giving construction information for the things we made.