Today we’ll finish the cushion and then tomorrow we’ll go back to general alterations and gadgets.
Note: If you think you missed Part 2, that was the How To Make Piping post. If you didn’t put piping in your cushion, you only need to follow How To Cover a Foam Pad…Bench Seat Cushion (Part 1) and then this post (Final steps). Just ignore the instructions that have to do with piping.
Now, to begin where Part 1 left off, once your piping is in, it should look like this:
***Take this piece and lay it over the foam. Make sure it isn’t too big for the foam. This is the time to make any corrections if you need to. You sure don’t want to have to rip the whole thing out and start over. It is ok if it is a bit too small for the foam. That will make a nice snug fit. You don’t want it to be too big. If it is, take off the piping figure out how much bigger the seam allowances should be and then resew it on. Make the same adjustment to the bottom piece.
Now, you are going to sew on the narrow strip that will cover the height of the cushion (or the thickness of it).
Take that narrow strip that will go all the way around the cushion and lay it right sides together on top of the piping. Leave about 3 inches free before you start sewing. Begin sewing in an area that is not close to a corner. I have turned the seam sideways so you can see where I started sewing:
Stitch all the way around the cushion and stop when you get about 3 inches away from the end. Grab the two ends of fabric and pinch them until they meet and put a pin in that spot like this:
Now, stitch across perpendicular to the cut edge, from the pin to the other edge of the narrow strip as shown:
Trim off the excess seam allowance to 1/2″. Open the seam and spread it flat. Then stitch the remainder of the seam:
This is how it should look from the right side:
Now, you’re going to stitch the bottom piece of the cushion to this narrow strip. This time, make sure you pin it all the way around the edges to make sure they meet up well. Make sure your corners are matched at the correct points. Stitch all the way around the cushion leaving a wide enough area to get the foam inside. Stitch right over the first stitching using the zipper foot or piping foot again.
This is how it should look from the wrong side:
This is how it will look from the right side:
I’m going back to the original cushion that I made for my neighbor since the gold and red fabrics were just samples for you to see the actual sewing.
You need to put the foam inside the cushion next. Because my cushion was so long, this was a two man job. My husband inserted the foam into the cushion. Notice the cushion is still wrong side out. When he pushed the foam all the way into the cushion and matched the corners, my job was to reach into the cushion and hold those two corners and the foam while he turned it right side out over the foam:
Just keep working the fabric by pulling and shimmy-ing it:
When you have it turned all the way, you’ll need to hand stitch the opening closed:
You’re finished! Great job!
I’ve spent most of the day reading your blog and I must say, I’m impressed with all the tips you have provided.
Here’s a little trick I learned from an upholstery shop. When you are inserting a form cushion into a cover, place the foam into a dry cleaner bag. It makes slipping the cover on to it much easier. Once you have the foam inside the cover, simply rip away all the plastic bag. I really works.
Thanks for the wonderful site and happy sewing!
Regards,
Laurie
That’s awesome! I remember when I was trying to get that cushion turned right side out, I tried something (and I can’t remember what now) to make that job easier, and it was a mess. But this sounds like the perfect solution!
Thank you!
You could also try spraying it with a spray silicone this works really well too.
THANK YOU!!! for your easy to follow step by step instructions 🙂 Im about to recover some couch cushions with denim so your instructions will be the ones to follow! Just a quick question, how would i go about adding a zipper?
Good question! Let’s say your cushion is 3″ across (or high). Measure what the zipper width would be and take that amount off of the 3″. That tells you how much width you need left over after you subtract the zipper. Now, divide that measurement in two (because you are going to need two panels (one on either side of the zipper.) Be sure and add seam allowances on both sides of those panels. I try to make the zipper the full length of the long side of the cushion. This make it easy to take off and on. Stitch the zipper to both of the panels and then treat the new piece as one unit and proceed through the rest of the instructions. Does that make sense? Someday when I get the call from another customer, I’ll write a post about it. I just don’t get the request very often.
Hope that helps, Linda
No one ever talks about how you manage the corners. Mine are a mess!
So are mine.starting from middle.see how that works.
Did you see the first two posts on this subject? It’s important to line up the corners correctly. It’s also important to clip the seam allowance at the corner.
Love your directions but I have one question regarding the height of foam do you add 1 inch to it? Thanks
If your seam allowances are one half inch, then yes, add a total of one inch to the fabric before cutting it out. If that’s not what you meant, let me know. Thanks!
Using a light plastic skim works. I was desperate to make sure the foam fit nicely that I used the bigger and thinner garbage bags to slide it in . upholstery shops have alot of tricks. I had one guy bring me the “egg crate” foam off his bed and wanted me to make bench cushions for him.! Judy
Hi Judy, thanks for your comments. When you say, “light plastic skim”, do you mean to first cover the foam with something like a dry cleaner bag before you try to insert it into the new cover? If so, I think that would really help!
That’s funny about the egg carton foam!!!