This cushion created using the lovely Paisley bird fabric will brighten up any day, and no matter how dark and cold it is outside it will make you think of warm summer days with the birds out singing.
What you will need
Paisley bird fabric by The Craft Cotton Company for the cushion front and back
Cushion backing: 2 pieces 40 x 37 cm
Cushion front – 37 x 37 cm
Paisley bird fabric by The Craft Cotton Company for the birds and flowers
Cushion pad
Thread
Pins
Pencil
Paper
Scissors
Needle
Buttons
First, you will need to make the paper templates:
On a piece of paper draw the outline of a bird and a flower, based on those in the fabric.
I cut out a bird and flower from the fabric (the fabric used to make the birds and flowers, not the cushion front and back) and drew around them leaving a large gap to get the size of templates I used.
Cut them out.
Cutting out the flowers and birds:
Using the paper templates, cut out 2 birds and 6 flowers.
Using a pencil, draw 2 light lines on the fabric where you want the branches to be.
Sew along the lines using brown thread. I used a machine and a zigzag stitch for this, with the length of the stitch reduced so there wasn't much of a gap between the zigzag stitches.
Sewing on the birds and flowers:
Lay out the birds and flowers where you want them to be positioned, pin into place and sew to attach.
Using a straight stitch, sew around the edge of the birds and use a straight stitch to sew across the flowers.
Adding on the button detail
Sew buttons onto the middle of each of the flowers, and sew some buttons onto different places on the cushion.
Sewing the cushion together
Fold the two backing pieces in half and lay out the two backing cushion pieces with them overlapping by 3 cm, pin to secure this overlap.
Now place the front cushion piece right side facing down and pin to secure and sew around the four edges.
Turn the cushion the right way out and sew a line of straight stitching 1 cm from the edge of the cushion.
© by Lesley Foster at Hook, Stitch Sew for The Craft Cotton Company 2016.