First Upholstery Project – Making a simple scatter cushion

Making a square cushion for your sofa or a chair is the easiest of upholstery projects if you are new to this sort of sewing. You can buy a cushion to cover, or maybe you already have a cushion that needs a new cover. Measure it carefully. It’s likely to be in the region of 13 inches down each edge.

The fabric you choose should be reasonably heavy. If you choose a patterned fabric, think about how the pattern will fit on the finished cushion. A large pattern should be cut so the main feature of the pattern appears in the middle of the cushion. Stripes can be cut either straight or on the diagonal. The back of the cushion can be plain if you like.

Cut two squares of fabric, making sure you leave enough to make the seams. Fit the zip first, and make sure you use the zipper foot. You should get a zip that is nearly the length of the side of the cushion so you can remove the cover easily for washing. A closed-end zip is necessary. Before you sew the other edges of the cushion, open the zip, so you can turn the cushion right ways out when you are finished. Iron the seams carefully after sewing to get a clean edge.

You can pipe the seams of the cushion so it will take more wear. This requires much more sewing skill though. But another alternative is to sew a decorative piping into the seam – you can buy this from upholstery shops and it gives a lovely professional finish. This is much easier than making your own piping – simply stitch the flat edge of the piping between the two sides of the cushion when you’re sewing it. Use the zipper foot so you can sew as close as possible to the piping.