Sewing Tutorial…..
HOME/LOVE Applique cushion
with chicken scratching embroidery
& oxford border
Materials
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½ metre calico or similar canvas material
Fat quarter bundle or scraps of similar craft fabric
Embroidery threads
Machine embroidery threads
Scissors
Bondaweb
43cm polyester cushion filler
Any trims/buttons you wish to add
Finished size
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43cm
Use a 1.5cm seam allowance unless otherwise specified
1 Prepare cushion base
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Cut out 1 piece of natural cotton fabric/calico 46 x 46cm and 2 pieces 46cm x
30cm for the back of the cushion
Take the 2 back pieces, mark 3cm and 4.5cm away from the long edge and fold in
twice to meet marks and press
Sew with straight stitch
Pin the two pieces together with right sides facing up overlapping until the total
width is 46cm (the overlap section will be approximately 7.5cm)
Sew along edge to join two pieces together
2 Design
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Draw or print out HOME/LOVE template to scale (see PDF for layouts)
Trace each letter onto bondaweb on the paper side and roughly cut out each letter,
leaving a little room around each letter
2 Chicken Scratching embroidery
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Choose some blue/pink thread, take 2 strands and thread up an embroidery
needle
Using the PDF layout trace around the O or the heart (depending on which design
you are doing) onto the gingham fabric found in the fat quarter bundle
For the HOME fill in the O design on the white squares using a combination of
three basic stitches;
o 1 running stitch
o 2 double cross stitch
o 3 bring thread up just under the left running stitch, thread through the
stitch at points top, right and bottom of the square and bring needle back
down where you began. Essentially you are just looping through the 4
stitches to create a diamond shape with your thread
For the LOVE cushion fill in the heart shape on the white squares using just stitch
2 for the LOVE cushion
Iron on some bondaweb to the back of the design and cut around your shape,
leaving approx. 3-4mm border
3 Applique
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Arrange fabric swatches on cushion so you know which print you’d like where
Iron bondaweb letter to reverse of the printed swatch (glue side down) and cut out
up to the lines you have drawn
Peel off bondaweb backing and turn over
Place each letter where you want it placed on the cushion, bearing in mind that
you will be losing the 1.5cm seam allowance at either edge
Once in place iron the letters on
Choose a thread colour for each letter and applique each letter on using a fairly
narrow zigzag stitch (e.g.: 2.5 length and 0.3 width)
4 Oxford border
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Cut out 2 pieces of each print measuring 5.5cm x 50cm
Take your cushion front and mark a dot at each corner 1.5cm from either edge on
the reverse side
Fold each print in half and crease so you know where the halfway mark is
Do the same on the cushion
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Place one of the printed sections along the top of the cushion, right sides together
and pin
Sew front one dot to the other, using a finishing stitch at the beginning and end to
secure the stitch
Do the same for all 4 sides, moving the fabric of one side to the side before you sew
the next
To create the mitre edge fold the edges in at a 45 degree angle and press
Starting at the dot you marked sew the diagonal line you have pressed, moving
the fabric out of the way as per photograph
Once you have finished all 4 sides, cut the excess fabric triangles off each side,
turn over cushion front and press
Repeat for the back cover, taking care to match prints front to back
5 Finishing
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Match the two pieces together right sides facing and stitch together using a 1cm
seam allowance
Cut off the corners of the cushion at a diagonal angle, turn cushion inside out and
push corners out
Press cushion well and sew a top stitch approx. 2mm from inside of printed border
Now your cushion should measure 43cm between the borders
Add any further decoration, buttons, ribbons, hand-stitching etc. to the front of
the cushion
Take your cushion filler and push in well to corners
There you have it, a beautiful embroidered and
appliqued cushion!