Garden furniture cushions give more comfort and pleasure
Of course, you can buy a whole range of garden furniture cushions, but by making them yourself is more fun and will save you money. By making your own cushions you will have the perfect custom fit and matching design for your garden furniture.
Here’s a rough guide to help you create your comfy cushions:
1. Measuring
Are you cushions for a chair, a bench or a sun lounger? All garden furniture sizes vary, so take careful measurements to ensure a perfect fitting cushion.
Also, this is the time to decide how you are going to construct your cushions. For example, if you’re making them for a bench are you going to have one long cushion or, say, three individual ones. For a sun lounger are you going to do a continuous cushion or two connected cushions? Think about how you use your furniture and how your cushions will fit and stay in place.
You will also want to consider the thickness of your cushions, so that you know how much material is required. For harder surfaces, like metal benches or chairs, you might want a slightly thicker foam. However, if you’re making a cushion for a sun lounger, which will have to bend in the middle, then a thinner foam might be best.
All this will need to be worked out before you buy your materials.
2. Choosing materials
You will need:
• Foam
• Fabric
• Thread (and a needle or sewing machine)
• Zips, buttons, velcro or other fastners
When considering your fabric, decide if you want a softer, more comfortable material like cotton, or a more hard-wearing material like PVC. Cotton may look great but PVC is easy to wipe clean and weather resistant.
Also consider the colour of your fabric. Brighter colours will add a contemporary look to your garden, but colours like red and blue will fade easily. Neutral colours blend in with a natural landscape, and are less susceptible to fading.
When choosing zips or velcro, make sure they are long enough. The opening will need to allow easy removal of the foam, so that you can wash your cushion covers.
3. Cutting
Draw a pattern using your foam as a guide – create pieces for top, bottom and each side of the cushions and mark the additional allowance for seams. Cut out the pieces for each cushion ready to sew them together. It’s worth having a good quality pair of scissors when you cut your fabric, as they will give a cleaner edge.
4. Sewing
Sew your fabric pieces together ‘inside out’ to form the cushion covers. Then sew the zips along the middle of the longest edge using double rows of stitching to reinforce the seams.
Then turn the cushion covers the right way round, open the zips and put the foam inside before zipping them back up and… Taa daa! Your new cushions are ready to use.
Tip: If you find they slide about too much, add tie tabs to the cushions so you can tie them to the furniture to keep the cushions in place.
