sewing a cushion.

A while back I got this cute little make-up chair from the thrift store for $6. I just couldn't pass it up! The cushion was pretty dirty and it had a hole in the middle where there used to be a button. You can not really tell from the picture, but it needed some love. 

I started out by tracing around the cushion onto a piece of freezer paper. I chose freezer paper just because I have a lot of it and it was wide enough for my cussion. After tracing the circle I added 1/4" all the way around for a seam allowance.

-Tip Time- A little trick that I use to draw a seam allowance is a compass. You can set it to what ever measurement you need and that way you get a nice even line all the way around. It saves so much time compared to using a ruler! 

As you can see below, I then cut out a front and back circle as well as a strip to go around the sides. I used a measuring tape to measure around my cushion and then added 1/4" seam allowance to both ends. 

To continue I sewed the strip of fabric together to make it into a ring.

And then with my fabric wrong sides facing together, I sewed the strip to one of the circle pieces. 

... and then the other. Making sure to leave an opening to addd the stuffing. 

I then ripped open my old cushion to reveal what was inside as stuffing. 

Inside was a pulverized foam fiber fill that was honestly a mess, but it was not dirty and so I decided to go ahead and reuse it so I did not have to buy new filler. 

-Tip- if you are going to be making a round cushion it is a good idea to notch the seam before you flip it right side out. I totally forgot to do this. Woops! This resulted in the edges of my cushion being a little wavy instead of crisp.

Then I pinned my hole closed, folding under the 1/4" seam allowance. I used a ladder stitch to close my hole. If you don't know how to do a ladder stitch here is a good tutorial on how to do it. 

Here it is all done and being cute at the farmers market. It goes perfectly in my portable changing room.