Cushions

I've volunteered to make cushions for three small pews; I did a job like this once before -- in 1960. After nearly fifty years, I'm a bit fuzzy on how I accomplished that, so I thought I'd better run my plans past you guys first.

The seats are all 15" wide. (38cm)

One is 68" long, the other two 41". (173cm, 104 cm.)

I figured I'd tell Pastor Bonny to buy a piece of one-inch foam that's

69" by 15.5", and two pieces that are 42" by 15.5. This way one inch of length and half an inch of width will be squished up to keep the cover taut.

And I'll tell her to buy fabric anywhere from dress-weight denim to upholstery-weight in thickness. (She has a better eye for what looks nice, so I'm leaving color and pattern to her.)

I plan to make a pillowcase that, when flattened, measures one inch longer and wider than the pew seat, to allow one inch all around for the thickness of the foam. I also plan to make the opening in the middle of a long side, to give myself a prayer of getting the foam in after sewing both ends of the seam so I don't have to slip-stitch any corners.

Before turning, I'll sew off a triangle at each corner to make a box shape. Seems to me that if I make the corners one full inch high, there'll be a little poochy place at each corner, so I thought I'd sew only half an inch off, and the oversized foam would stretch it into a sort of rounded profile. Maybe 3/4" would be better?

Have I missed anything, or guessed wrong someplace?

Joy Beeson

Reply to
Joy Beeson
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Just remember to have some of those flimsy plastic garment covers dry cleaners use to help you get the foam into the fabric. I once stuffed two foam rubber (not the new stuff) forms into heavy upholstery fabric for two twin-bed sized couches, and about killed myself at 22 years of age. No way I could do that today.

Reply to
Pogonip

To make it even easier...... Put the foam in plastic bags, then get your vacuum cleaner. Insert the hose in the plastic bag and scrunch the bag closed around the hose. Make sure the opening of the hose only has contact with the foam and there's no bag stuck in there. Turn the vacuum on and suck all the air out of the foam. Pull the hose out and quickly close the bag. While the foam is all squished down, slide it into the cover. (btw this works best with cheap garbage bags and you can cut the bottom off one and tape it to a second bag to make one really long one. If you get the drawstring kind that works even better!)

Once the cushion is in the cover, open the end of the bag to let the foam reinflate. Viola!! Just the plastic bag makes it easier to get in there. Deflating the foam is just the icing on the cake. (and who doesn't like a really good icing??? lol)

That's how I did the cushion for the couch that sits on my front porch. Because it was going to be out in all kinds of weather, I left the bags in there. No one knows they are there under the cover. And the cushion will dry off really fast after a good rain. ;)

Sharon

Reply to
Sharon Hays

Joy, I'd do a boxing band on the cushions so they maintain their shape better and longer. Here's a couple links that might help with method.

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first one has more pictures. It does take a little fiddling sometimesto get a banded cushion perfect. But it's worth the effort. Also thewelting will help in maintaining shape. Again, more effort, but worth it. Those cushions will probably get a lot of use over the years. So IMO, it'sworth going the extra mile so they last. (besides you don't want to haveto remake them in a year do you??? lol) Sharon

Reply to
Sharon Hays

I may be a bit late, but I do this for a living and I feel you are making it way to confusing. First, the foam should be the exact size you want the finished piece to be width-wise and lengthwise. The extra inches should be in the depth. If you decide to make them a 1" finished depth, purchase 2" foam. Once it is cut to size, wrap the foam in light but well bonded batting. This makes it easier to get inside the finished cover and also keeps the fabric in place - not getting stuck on the rubbery-foam. If you make your foam cut wider and longer the foam will always buckle and you cannot get rid of the "hump" it creates -- trust me, I learned the hard way!!

You can then make either a Knife edge seam -- which means it would not have a "box" look of a seam at the top and a seam at the bottom with a strip a fabric all around to create the rise. On a deeper rise of 2",3" or 4" a box look is fine - in fact becessary. On 1" it is too much. If you want to you can make what is called "turkish" corners where you do cut your width and length wider and longer and then square off the corners before your sew your top and bottom together. That is hard to describe -- I would need to figure out a way to show that to you. On a knife edge cushion I cut my width and length 1" wider and 1" longer than my finished w & l, and then sew all around with 1/2" seams. Unlike clothing or quilting, custom drapery and cushion work generally use 1/2" seams. You can also create a welting to insert in that seam - it is a nice finish. Leave a wide enough opening so you can roll the foam up and unroll it once you get it inside the cover. You literally have to grab hold of each corner and place it as far into the cover corner as you can. Have a heavy thread and do a small tight invisible hand stitch to close it so there are no gaps when one sits on it and it will hold up to wear and tear.

Don't know if this helps -- I am just concerned that making the foam cuts the way you describe will be a problem. Good luck! Hope all has worked out -- Kristen

Reply to
Kristen Ryan

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