How to Make a Furniture Throw

Accent your furnishings with fabric pieces made from tapestry, upholstery or a variety of decorating fabrics. These fabric throws create colorful accents for any room and can be strategically placed to cover worn or stained spots on your furniture.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fringes
• Trim
• Dressmaker Pins
• Dressmaker Shears
• Fabric Cutting Boards
• Fabric For Backing
• Fabric-marking Pens
• Ironing Boards
• Irons
• Sewing Machine
• Upholstery Fabrics
• Scissors
• Scissors
• Yardsticks

1. Choose a fabric for your throw. Decide what length your throw will be - standard throw dimensions are approximately 60 inches by 50 inches. A length of 1 1/2 yards will do.

2. Choose a backing fabric for your throw (optional). A lightweight cotton fabric such as calico will work best.

3. Place your throw fabric, wrong side up, on a flat work surface. Use dressmaker shears to trim the edges of the throw fabric so that they are even. Use a fabric cutting board, yardstick and fabric marking pen to measure and mark out the edges if necessary.

4. Cut your backing fabric to the same length and width as your throw fabric. If your fabrics match evenly along selvedge edges, great! Otherwise, you'll need to cut your lining fabric 2 inches wider than the throw fabric to allow for hemming.

5. Use an iron to press each raw fabric edge under 1/2 inch. Press that edge under once more. Pin all hems into place so that the dressmaker pins are perpendicular to the fabric edges.

6. Use a sewing machine to stitch the throw fabric hems and then the backing hems (if you have opted for a backing). Stitch a little less than 1/2 inch from the pressed edges. When you reach a corner, lift the presser foot of your sewing machine and swivel the fabric so that your stitching line remains straight.

7. Place the backing fabric over the throw fabric, wrong sides together, and pin. Make sure that the edges match up evenly. Sew the pieces together along the stitch line made in the previous step.

8. Add trim or decorative stitches to your throw as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Know that most upholstery and home decorating fabrics have a width of 55-60 inches. That will do for the width of your throw.
• Choose a lightweight, cotton decorating fabric that is approximately the same width as your throw fabric. This will eliminate the need to piece together lining sections.
• Use the selvedges, or finished edges, of the throw fabric as is. You don't need to trim or finish these edges unless you desire to do so.
• Purchase extra fabric and make throw pillows to match.
• Add fringe to your throw by placing the base of the fringe in between the fabric layers before the final stitching in step 7. Pin the fringe into place at the short ends of the throw and stitch through the fabric layers.
• Use holiday tapestry fabrics to decorate your holiday home.
• Knit or crochet an afghan to use as a furniture throw.