Spool {}: April 2009

Shower Curtain Chair Cushion Tutorial
Free for 30 Days!
After that I'm going to...do something with it...to be decided...

We are going to make chair seat shaped, piped, kitchen chair cushions with a button closure and ties to secure it to the chair. The pillow inside can be removed so the cover can be washed (try getting yogurt drink out any other way!).

Buy: A standard 72" x 72" fabric shower curtain with 12 pre-made buttonholes ($5.00 each at Target super duper clearance), 4 cheap pillows ($2.79 each at Target), and 20 yds of 6/32" piping ($3.00 each at Walmart). One shower curtain should make four cushions. Also needed is 1 button (size to be determined), and 1 yard of bias tape, ribbon, or laces for the ties.

Cut: Click to see the cutting layout full size. My chair measures 15" in the back, 17" from back to front, and 19.5" at the front. About 3/4 of the way from the back, the width is 18".
I decided to go with that number since 72" (the width of the shower curtain) divided by 4 (the number of cushions) is 18".

1) Cutting the buttonhole piece
Layout section A, cut 1 per cushion 2.25" x 14".

The buttonhole piece is being used as a layered opening to allow the pillow to fit in and button close. The middle buttonhole is being used normally, but the two side buttonholes are being used with the ties.

Cut the top off the shower curtain 2.25" from the top.

My chair measure 15" along the chair back edge. We are using less than 15" to keep the bulk out of the corners. The edges of the side piece will wrap around the back a little to adjust the fit of the short buttonhole piece.

Make sure you check the placing of the buttonholes before you cut the long top piece into 4 cushion pieces. There should be three buttonholes in each cushion piece - one on each side close to your chair back corners and one in the middle (at 7").

2) Cutting the bottom for the buttonhole piece under layer.
Layout section E, cut 1 per cushion 2.25" x 14".
This piece will include the pre-sewn bottom hem.

3) Cut the rest.
Layout Sections B, C, and D.
Cut 2 18" x 17" per cushion
Cut 2 1.5" x 72" per cushion
Cut 1 2.25" x 55" per cushion

4) Shape the 18" x 17" cushion pieces
Mark the center from back to front. Square up the 18" x 17" pieces on the cutting surface. Place a ruler 7.5" from center mark at the back, and the outer edge at the front. Trim this edge to cut the cushion top and bottom into chair shape.

5) Sewing the piping.
The foot needs to be changed from the normal 1/4" or zigzag foot to a zipper or piping foot. I used a zipper foot and locked my needle in the far left position so I could sew as close to the cord a s possible. This worked just fine. Trim the piping to 1/4" from the sewn line to the edge. I have to confess I did not check to see it was 1/4" as I went. I just eyeballed it, but it worked.

6) Add the piping to the top and bottom cushion pieces.
Start at the back, a few inches from the corner, and a few inches from the edge of the piping. This will leave room to join the ends. With the right side of fabric facing up, line up the raw edges of the piping to the raw edges of the top or bottom piece.

Still using the zipper foot, sew along the piping, clipping the corner about 1/4" before the turn. Turn with the needle down, arranging the piping neatly as you go.

Stop sewing a few inches from where you began. Make sure you've rounded the corner so the piping is joined on a straight side. See the 1st photo under 6) showing where to start and stop the piping. (You may notice the fabric in that photo is square. I sewed the piping all the way around, and then noticed I had forgotten to trim the edges for the chair shaping! Next tutorial may be about how to quickly rip through a seam with an extremely cheap seam ripper...)

To join the piping, Pull back the fabric on one side and clip the cord only on that side. On the other end, clip the cord inside the fabric, so the ends of the cord butts up against the other.

Clip the pulled back fabric about an inch from the edge. Fold the edge under about 1/2" and wrap the protruding 1/2" of fabric around the side of the cord that was clipped covered. Sew down along the edges to complete the joining of the piping. Do this to both the top and bottom cushion pieces.

7) Putting the buttonhole piece and overlap together.
The pieces that allow the cushion cover to be removed are: the buttonhole piece (layout A), the overlap piece (layout E), and the no-seam side piece (layout D). Pieces A and E overlap each other 2", leaving 1/4" on each side for the seams (2.5" total). This matches piece D (also 2.5").

Piece A and E should overlap each other with their finished edges, leaving the raw edges to sew to the cushion top and bottom (B pieces), and the no-seam side (piece D).

Lay piece E on the table, with the right side facing and the finished side away from you. Lay piece A on top, also right side up, but with the finished side towards you. Lay piece D on top of piece A and E, right side down. Sew A, E, and D together, matching the side seam of D with the sides of A and E.

8) Attaching the side piece.
Lay the cushion top on the table wrong side down with the short side (chair back side) facing away from you. Mark the center of the short side. Pin the center buttonhole of piece A, right sides together and raw edges aligned, to the center of the cushion top short side. Sew close to the piping, snipping the curves, all the way around to the unsewn edge of pieces A and E. Sew together pieces A, E, and D when they meet. This will keep most of the worry about proper fitting out of adding piece D. Finish sewing piece D to the cushion top. Only one piece left to go, the cushion bottom.

9) Adding the cushion bottom.
Careful fitting here is very important. We know the cushion top and bottom match, but it's possible the piping pulled a little on the top or bottom while it was being added. Turn the cushion top and center piece inside out. Right sides together, carefully pin the corners, then the center sides, of the cushion bottom to the center strip. Continue adding pins as needed. Sew the cushion bottom to the center piece, with the cushion bottom on top. Get as close to the piping as possible, gathering or pulling as needed to ensure the fit of the bottom to the top and sides.

10) Add the button and ties.
Get out your stash of buttons and find one that fits. No stash of buttons? Measure the button hole, subtract 1/8" and that's the size button you need for a flatish button. Sew the button on piece E under the center buttonhole. Cut the bias tape in 2, fold in half, and sew the center of each to piece E under each end buttonhole.

11) Add the pillow.
Open a seam in the pillow and pull out (or cut away) 1/3 of the stuffing. Resew the pillow seam. Stuff the pillow into the cushion cover. Smooth the cushion cover as evenly as possible. Button the center button, pull the bias tape through the buttonholes, and tie the cushion to a chair. All done!