I am currently working on designing my daughters room, I am going for a pink, aqua and coral color scheme.  She loves pink (like any 4 year old girl you will meet), but I didn’t want it to be too princessy (is that even a word) or cartoon like, I want a somewhat vintage feel to it. I found this aqua and pink/red/coral floral fabric at a local fabric store and matched some pom pom trim to it and decided to use it on a few different things in the room.  She has had this table and chair set for a few years now, I bought it at a local ross, it was rather inexpensive but it had one problem, it was Tinker bell themed- all purple with characters all over it, and if you know me well enough you know that I can’t stand anything character themed, I believe they belong on TV not on your clothing and furniture, now don’t get me wrong there are lots of people who are ok with it and I don’t mind, if they like it then that’s great, but it doesn’t work for me, so what did I do? Paint it of course :)

I wanted to add a little color to the chairs and have a soft place to sit for the kiddos, so I came up with this chair cushion.

Now some of you will say “I don’t know how to sew!” but believe me this is so easy! really! You just need to know how to sew a straight line and believe me its super easy! If you need help with how to work the sewing machine just go on youtube or google it, there is a tutorial on everything these days. I am self taught so I know how easy it is. With that in mind please don’t criticize me because I am not a professional yet, and the way i do things may not be the “right” way to do them.

I don’t have dimensions for the cushions because it was custom made for my chairs and yours will be different so just measure around your chair seat and add an extra 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch  for seam allowance.

Materials you will need are:

-Fabric of choice (about1 yard)

-pom pom trim of choice (about 2 yards)

-matching thread

-button cover kit

-fabric for the sashes

-fiberfill stuffing

Tools you will need are:

-scissors

-sewing machine

-needle

-pins

Your first step will be to measure your chair, my chair is not a complete square, more of a trapezoid so I had 3 longer sides and 1 shorter side, but you will most likely have a square, mine also had rounded corners, you can either do rounded corners or sharp corners, depending on your chair.  Add 1/4 to 1/2 inch for seam allowance to your measurements ( I usually add more just in case) and draw your shape on the backside of the fabric with a fabric marker or chalk. Cut out two of the shapes, one for the top and one for the bottom of your cushion.

Step 2: Measure around your pillow where the trim will go, I didn’t add trim to the back so I just measured 3 sides. Cut that length of your trim and pin it all the way around (on the sides where you want trim) on the right side of one of the fabric squares (right side is the side that will be on the outside) with the pom poms facing each other or into the fabric. And sew around carefully and pulling out the pins as you go, making sure the trim stays where you need it. Make sure to sew on the trim.

Step 3:  Place the other piece of fabric (right side down) on top of the fabric with the pom poms and pin around. Sew around (I just sew right on top of the other seam to make sure I am getting the trim in my seam) but leave the back side open.

Step 4: As you can see  I left a little too much for seam allowance so I just trimmed it back a little. Turn your cushion inside out and stuff with the fiberfill stuffing until you get the poufiness you want. Set the pillow aside.

Step 5: Cut out two long strips of alternating fabric for the sashes, i used a coral linen because it was a little more stiff than the cotton and I wanted the bow to stand up a little and not be floppy. One side should be a little wider than the other if you want to achieve the thick tails that I have on my  chair cushion. Again I am not going to give you my dimensions because your chair will differ. Just take some rope and check the length you need by wrapping it around your chair back and tying it into a bow. Take the strips and fold down about 1/4 inch and iron them down, then do it again. for the sharp corners you will have to cut a small part of the corner off to fold it down. Then sew all the way around.

Step 6: Pin the sashes and the back end together into the cushion. And sew it shut.

Step 7: Cover your button covers with your choice of fabric, the directions are on the kit so I don’t have pictures of it. Then take the button and attach it by hand using a needle and thread.

Step 8: Tie around the back of your chair into a bow and enjoy!