This craft project grew from a desire to brighten up a dull corner in our dining space. We live in an old croft house and the thick walls and low ceilings which characterise cottages like this also tend to make it rather dark. I love this Ercol chair, which my parents bought as newlyweds in 1959, but its most recent visit to the upholsterer left me as flat and dull as the serviceable beige fabric I'd chosen.
I also wanted to find a use for this hand felted piece I created at a local class last December -
but not as a piece of wall art. (Our house definitely doesn't need any more textile wall art!)
When my husband chose this jolly picture for my Christmas a few years, we positioned it above the Ercol chair where it would be bright and cheerful.
The chair, though, badly needed a cheery makeover - so I thought I'd make a cushion.
I trimmed up my hand felted piece.
Then chose some lovely batik fabric from the specialist quilting shop in our village - Rainbow Fabrics. It is a deceptive tardis for needlecraft fanatics - to see inside look at this
Rainbow Fabrics by Google Maps
A bad experience in secondary school sewing class has meant the sewing machine and I haven't always been friends. I searched for an on-line tutorial and found this one by Womans's Weekly entitled
how to sew a zip on a cushion cover. I liked that this guide included an instructional video as well as the same instructions in written form. Some cutting, pinning, tacking and pressing later...
...the only bit I struggled with was sewing round the zip. This happened...
Hey - that's what the seam ripper is for! My second attempt was better...
...and I managed to insert a zip reasonably neatly into my cushion cover. Funny thing is, after all my efforts with the sewing machine, you don't even see the zip as it's on the under side of the cushion!
I heart this cushion <3. How about you?
Yes, I do! I've always found needle felting to be tedious. Yours looks great, though.
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