Remember the window seat that I recently made? As promised, here is the tutorial Tips for Making a Box Cushion Cover with Piping. I had never made one of these box cushion covers before but it was really rather easy.
Tips & Steps for Making a Box Cushion Cover with Piping
Step 1 – Fabric
Tip #1 Use “unconventional” fabric
The first thing I did was find the fabric. While I was at HomeGoods buying the pillows and throws, I went back to the bathroom accessories aisle and looked through the shower curtains. Shower curtains and tablecloths are two excellent fabric sources. I found a shower curtain that I liked and luckily there were two of them.
The first thing I did was to open up the shower curtain and place the cushion over it to be sure it was big enough. It certainly was. At first I thought I could get away with one shower curtain but in the end, I couldn’t.
(By the way, the actual cushion itself is cut from 3″ foam that I ordered from Home Depot. After shopping around, I found it was the cheapest place to get it and it can be shipped to your local Home Depot for free!) The foam was super easy to cut with this electric knife.
But there was plenty of fabric so I could just trim away the hemmed edges instead of opening up the hems. This was a huge time saver.
The next step was to make the piping. (While I did have fabric left over, there wasn’t enough to make the piping. Instead I bought solid gray in a heavy cotton that matched the background in the shower curtain.)
Step 2 – Piping
Tip #2 Make piping the “easy” way
I found this wonderful piping tutorial from Addicted 2 Decorating. I followed that tutorial exactly so I’ll just post a photo of my piping.
I was so pleased with this tutorial and how nice my bias cut piping turned out!
Step 3 – Cut fabric
You will need three pieces for each cushion cover:
- top
- edge
- bottom
Tip #3 Cut fabric 1″ larger than cushion
My cushions were 18-1/2″ wide by 55″ long. I cut my top and bottom pieces at 19-1/2″ wide x 56″ long. This extra inch allows for 1/2″ seam allowances.
Any time I can, I cut fabric using a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and acrylic cutting ruler. Me, my left-handedness, and scissors do not make a good combination for cutting a straight edge 😉
Next I measured the depth of the cushion and added an inch. This is how wide I cut the edge pieces. I sewed enough of these pieces together to form one long piece, equal to the perimeter of my cushion plus one inch for the seam allowance.
Step 4 – Make a sandwich & stitch
No, not that kind of sandwich 😉.
With right sides together, I pinned the top piece to the edge piece with the piping sandwiched in between.
I stitched together using 1/2″ seam allowance the whole way around, rounding at the corners.
When I was finished, I turned the fabric and saw this:
Yay! It worked!
Now I had to sew on the bottom. That meant it was time to make another fabric sandwich and stitch again. But this time, I left a rather large opening on one of the long sides for ease of turning and inserting the cushion.
Since I opted NOT to install a zipper this time (maybe another time), I had to insert my cushion and then hand sew the cover closed.
Which leads me to the last tip:
Tip #4 Wrap cushion with plastic wrap
I’m serious!
It’s pretty near impossible to get the cover on the cushion without it. Go ahead. Try. See? What a difference.
I am pleased with how these cushion covers turned out. I really like that I didn’t spend a ton of money on expensive fabric for them. Now I won’t feel guilty when I tire of this fabric and want to change them out. I’m already thinking ahead to Christmas decorating!
I’m going to save this post as a guide for when I finally get around to replacing my patio cushions. One question though, do you leave the plastic wrap in there or take it out once the cushion is in the cover?
I left it in there!
These are awesome! I love that you used a curtain shower fabric! I’m sure t=you saved a fortune with it! Pinned:)
Wendi@H2OBungalow recently posted…Clever Ways To Repurpose and Upcycle Old Stuff
Thank you for the step by step guide on how to make box cushions. I have a little corner that I would love to have seating in, but I want some cute covers that fit. That is really cool that you can buy foam to use for the cushions. I will have to look around for the right sizes.
I love how your cushions turned out. Thanks for sharing this at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned & sharing.
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You did a beautiful job. I will be featuring this tonight at my Spring into Spring party that opens at 8pm EST. Please stop by and pick up an I’ve Been Featured button. Thanks. http://diybydesign.blogspot.com
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Great tute! It looks great. Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
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This is some good information about making curtains. I liked what you said about how it would be smart to really measure well before cutting the fabric. It might be smart to get some extra fabric just in case you make a mistake.
I am currently renovating my house and have been looking for Cushion Covers Online.
New one Nice making New Ones Same Method that i used My Window Seat
It’s such an amazing article. It’s great to know how active you’re in the blogging community and providing such amazing articles
Excellent work. Thank you for the step by step Tips for Making a Box Cushion Cover with Piping. It’s the best information guide.
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Thanks for sharing this informative blog. Keep it up admin.
Great Job!
Your blog is so awesome. Keep up the good work.
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Thanks for updating! This is some good information about making curtains. I liked what you said about how it would be smart to really measure well before cutting the fabric. It might be smart to get some extra fabric just in case you make a mistake.
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