How to Make a Couch Cushion
Making your own couch cushion is a very good way to save money. It allows you to add to the existing room's decor with just a little effort. It's a good way to freshen up a room. You can also totally change a room's look by making new couch cushions. This project allows flexibility. You can choose from a range of fabrics, styles, and colors, and sew your cushion covers together either by hand or machine. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
- Couch cushion foam
- Upholstery fabric
- Upholstery zipper
- Heavy duty thread
- Straight pins
- Upholstery needle (hand or machine)
- Welt cord (optional)
Instructions
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How to Make a Couch Cushion
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Measure the area that will hold your new cushion. Purchase your cushion foam and measure it before purchasing your fabric. You will need length, width, and depth of the cushion to determine how much fabric to buy. Start measuring the cushion from the center back around the cushion meeting the tape where you started to determine your length. This will also give you the front and back depth. Measure the cushion from one side all the way around to determine your width, which will also give you your side depths. This method will give you one piece to sew together on three sides without welt cord trimming or making a pattern of the cushion. This method is possible because most upholstery material is 60" wide. You can cover any cushion with a width measuring 58" or less, including your side depths. The cushions can be boxed, pillow, or rectangular shaped as long as the total measurement for the width of the fabric does not exceed 58".
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2
Purchase fabric that is durable. Upholstery fabric would be best suited for this project. When buying your material, purchase a sufficient amount. Extra fabric can be used to create pillows. Buy your thread and zipper at the same time to match your fabric.
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3
Fold your cushion material wrong side out for cutting. Make sure all edges meet evenly. It is a good idea to use a few pins to keep your edges together. Place your material on a smooth surface for cutting. A cutting board is an inexpensive, but extremely useful, tool. These boards have printed measurement scales and are made of cardboard. You can pin your material to the board if you want. They also have printed grid systems for cutting straight lines. Your length is determined by the yardage you purchased. Measure and cut off excess yardage you may have bought. For example, if your length is 60" you need 62" for the length. Since your fabric is folded together, you will actually measure 31" from the fold and cut. Remove excess fabric from the cutting area. Keep your fabric folded together and carefully measure your width before you cut. Leave about 1" extra material on either side for the seams. As an example, if your cushion is 52" wide including sides, cut at 54" for the width. In this example, after cutting you will have a single piece of fabric 54" wide and 62" long to sew.
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First, pin the zipper into to the center back of the cushion cover. Follow the directions included in the zipper packaging and sew the zipper in place. Always sew with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. Pin and sew all of your seams. The zipper will be the opening for your foam.
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On the wrong side, press the seams flat and trim excess material if it is too bulky. Be sure not to cut to close to the seams. Turn your cushion cover right side out. Place you foam cushion into its cover through the zipper opening. Smooth the cushion, paying special attention to the corners. Zip it closed and place on the couch with the zipper always in the back.
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Tips & Warnings
An alternate method would be to separately measure the top and bottom of the cushion and the boxing strip that goes around the front, back, and sides of the cushion. This method gives you 3 to 6 pieces to sew together with or without welt cord and requires you to make a paper pattern. If you are using welt cord, place the covered cord between the seams before you stitch them. The welt should be right on the seam, on the right side of the fabric.
Pinking shears may be used to trim seams to stop fraying.
If your cushion will be outdoors, the fabric should be an outdoor fabric that will hold up to weather conditions.
