Sew Easy - Tie-on Chair cushion covers

Hi again from MadDi

I am on a sewing roll right now and am taking advantage to brighten up my home. Here is one of my finished cushions:

 

These are my dining room chairs. They are called 'riempie chairs' and as you can see they DEFINATELY need cushions.

Definition of Riempie:

South Africa leather weaving strip: a strip of leather used for weaving chair seats

[Mid-19th century. Via Afrikaans< Dutch riempje "small thong" < riem "thong"]

I made these covers a few years back but needed a change! I feel they are a bit boring now!!! LOL

So first things first - what you will need:

• Fabric for the cushion - I like to use upholstery fabric for the top and cotton for the bottom. Both MUST be washable.
• I bought 1 and 1/2 metres of fabric (140 cm wide)  for the top of the cushion to give me 50cm by 50cm squares for each of the 6 cushion covers. (The leftover piece was 40cm by 1 1/2 metres and I thought I could use that for a table runner for the centre of the dining table)
• I bought 2 metres of heavy duty cotton (purple) for the bottom of the cushions and for the ties. 
• Fabric for the ties - I use the same fabric as I use for the bottom of the cushion - but use something different that co-ordinates if you like!
• Inners

This is the fabric I chose:

Instructions Cutting (see photograph):

• I cut 6 pieces of fabric for the top of the cushions 50cm by 50 cm
• I then cut 2 pieces of cotton for each cushion each measuring 50 by 75 cms
• I then cut strips for the ties - you will need 24 ties ( 4 for each chair). The ties measure 10 centimetres wide by 30 centimetres long. Now depending if you want to tie knots or bows you may want to make the ties a little longer!

 

Instructions for sewing (see photograph):

• Sew the ties, turn them inside out and iron flat. 
• Sew the edges of the underside
• Now the tiny tricky bit: Place the fabric for the upper part of the cushion wrong side down, then place the 2 pieces of fabric for the underside right side down. Insert the ties. Pin everything together and sew all the way around
• Turn your cushions inside out.
• Now you can topstitch all the way around IF you like.
• Insert your inner.
• We are done!!!

Finally my sew easy tips:

• Measure and cut carefully.
• Choose fabric that you really like!
• Iron the ties before you attach them to the cushion.
• Position the ties carefully BEFORE you stitch, They have to be in the right position to tie on to the chair.
• Do not make the cushions too small - let them hang over a bit!
• When you turn the cushions inside out make sure that the corners are just right - square!!!
• Check your bobbin BEFORE you start to top stitch - I HATE running out on the top stitching!!!
• Enjoy!

Almost forgot - here are my tips for creating the 'ties:

 

Woo Hoo, what will we be sewing next???

Thanks for visiting IACW

Love from MadDi