check!

my could-do list has a few things on it that have been there for quite some time.  today, i had the distinct pleasure of finally crossing one of those things off my list–making new cushions for the chair in my living room.  here’s the before picture:

in this photo, it doesn’t look that bad, but you can’t see how threadbare the cushions are and … they’re just kind of blah.  and kitty hair gets really stuck in that textured fabric.   gross.  i searched high and low for upholstery that i liked.  there is not really very much out there for modern decor (at least not at the places here in town).  after exhaustive searching, i finally went online (for some reason, i’m loathe to buy fabric online–hard to really see the true colors of the fabric, you can’t feel the weight of the fabric, you have to pay shipping…) and after a long search (how in the world do you search for “modern, neutral-ish, not too wild, but not boring upholstery fabric.  preferably something with dots, but not silly looking”?) i finally found a blog (sorry, can’t remember which one.) that had some examples of modern upholstery-weight fabric and one of them was exactly what i was looking for!  it was available for sale at maine cottage and, miracle of miracles, it was on sale!  (from $50/yard down to $15/yard)  the name of the print is “hotty dotty” (hey, i just checked and it’s still available if anyone wants it…) and as soon as i saw it, i knew that it was what i was looking for.  so, i had the fabric, i’d bought the other necessary supplies (zippers, cording, new webbing for the seat of the chair) and i was ready to go.  but i procrastinated ….. until this weekend!  and i learned a new trick!  i wanted to make my own cording (or piping or whatever it’s called) from the same fabric as the rest of the cushion and i wasn’t sure of the best way to do that.  did i have to cut a big 45 degree slice through the fabric and try to squeeze the rest of the pieces out of the leftover triangles?  so i did what i always do when i’m stumped with a sewing question.  call mom.  she told me about the bias tape tube trick.  whoa!  did you all know about this?  with only a half-yard of fabric, i was able to make about 16 yards of 1.75″ bias strips!

(this photo is what i had leftover after i was done making both cushions!)

with that hurdle soared over, i plunged right into making the cushions today.  it took most of the day and they’re not even close to perfect (how do you get that “overstuffed” look?  i have a theory that it has something to do with being brave enough to sew the cover just a teensy bit smaller than the cushion itself, but i’m not willing to rip these cushions apart to check that theory.  i can live with their flat surfaces.

and here’s the final product!  although the color in this photo looks a little strange, this is more or less how it really looks.  what do you think?  i like it much better than the original cushions.