How to Make a Papasan Rocker Cushion

Old bed pillows provide great stuffing for papasan rocker-chair cushions.

Papasan rocker chairs are wonderfully comfortable for people and pets alike, but the chair cushion may wear out long before the chair does. Buying a new cushion may be expensive, but it's not difficult to make your own.

Things You'll Need

• Decorator fabric
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• 6 to 8 old bed pillows
• Needles (one heavyweight)
• 1-1/2-inch diameter matching or contrasting buttons

Instructions

1. Cut out two circular pieces of decorator fabric using your existing papasan cushion as a guide as to the diameter of the circle. Add 1 1/2 inches to give yourself room to sew around the edges.

2. Put the two pieces of fabric together with the right sides facing. The right sides are the sides that you will see when you finish the papasan cushion. Pin the two pieces of fabric together using straight pins placed vertical to the edge of the fabric about 6 inches apart.

3. Sew the two circular pieces of fabric together using a sewing machine and thread that match the fabric. Sew 5/8 of an inch in from the edge of the fabric and leave an opening about 20-inches long. Remove the pins before your sewing machine needle goes over them to prevent breaking the needle. Turn the cushion cover right-side out using the opening you left.

4. Lay the cover on the floor. Cut your old bed pillows (with the covering removed) into two parts diagonally across the long side. Each pillow will make two triangles. Place the pillow wedges on the papasan cushion cover with the point of the wedge at the center of the circle. Arrange the wedges so they butt up against each other. Continue cutting and adding wedges until you have covered the entire surface of the cushion cover with pillow wedges.

5. Stuff the pillow wedges into the papasan chair cushion cover in the same order as you placed them on the cover. Pin each wedge in place through both layers of the cushion cover so they stay put while you stuff the rest of the wedges in. Using a needle and thread, sew the opening closed, finger pressing the seam allowances to the inside so you won't see them.

6. Sew around the perimeter of the cushion about 1 inch in from the edge to catch the pillow wedges and keep them in place. Sew a 6-inch diameter circle in the center of the cushion to keep the pointy ends of the wedges in place. Use a sewing machine. Sew from the edge of the cushion inward to the center at regular intervals to create 8 or 10 wedges in the cushion itself.

7. Hand-sew buttons to the cushion at various places for decoration. Place one button on one side of the cover and a second button exactly opposite it on the other side. Using two strands of thread and a large needle, sew the buttons onto the cushion by putting the needle through one button hole, through the cushion, and out the button hole on the other side of the cushion. Then repeat using the other holes in the buttons. Keep sewing until both buttons are firmly attached to the cushion, and then knot the thread and cut it close to the cushion.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have or don't want to use old bed pillows for stuffing, purchase a piece of 2-inch-thick high-density foam at an upholstery supply store or sewing supply store. Ask the salesperson to cut the foam to size for you. You will need a circle the same diameter as your old papasan chair cushion. Cut the foam into eight wedges and follow the directions for stuffing the cushion cover with the pillow wedges.

References

• Danny Lipford: Expert Advice on Home Impovement: Homeowner's Guide to Furniture Stuffing: Upholstery Foam, Batting, and Animal Hair