Becky's Dining Chair Cushions

I should preface this post by admitting that I am not a seamstress at all.  I have some general knowledge about the correct ways to complete a sewing project, but I don't have the tools or the patience to follow those guidelines.  I take shortcuts and if it looks good enough, it IS good enough in my house.  If you are reading this and shaking your head at my sewing ineptitude... I am sincerely sorry to vex you.  Maybe one day I'll learn.

Our dining table is from Ikea, and it has small chairs with narrow seats.  I've been searching for chair pads for the last few years, but I can never find something that matches our decor and respects our budget.  Chair cushions have always been that extra thing that gets pushed back- as in, "if one of us breaks our tailbone, we'll get serious about cushions."

Fabric #1

I finally decided that I could make better seat pads than I could find to purchase.  I priced some upholstery fabric at JoAnn's and bought it when it was 40% off.  I picked a yard each of two contrasting fabrics, a 32 ounce bag of poly fill, and some dark brown upholstery thread.  When selecting fabrics, I looked for upholstery-quality fabrics that could be laundered at home.  It was overwhelming to wander the racks of huge rolls of upholstery cloth- I felt like I was on Project Runway.  I don't have a sewing machine but I do have a generous friend who was willing to loan me hers for this project.

Fabric #2

To make my cushions, I didn't even get out a ruler.  (This is where I start ignoring rules.)  I laid the fabric on my chair and decided where to cut.  I started with the fabric that is striped, as it was simple to cut in straight lines without the use of any special cutting guideline.  I used that first square as the pattern for 7 more squares- 4 of each style- and checked them for sizing against the chair periodically.

Look, I'm using a sewing machine!

Once my cushion squares were cut out, I used the scrap strips to make eight chair ties.  I stitched the ties by folding the fabric inside-out and sewing down one side.  The most challenging and frustrating part of this project was getting the ties turned.  I tried a number of makeshift tools to flip the fabric, and in the end I had to use a pair of tweezers to pull the fabric through the tube, about a quarter inch at a time.  It was painful (my hand actually hurts!) and annoying and I'm glad it is over!  I think the finished product looks pretty great though, and was very likely worth the effort.

Chair tie inside-out

Half way through the flipping process

Tie right-side out

For my cushions, I stitched three sides of each one with the fabric facing inside-out.  On the fourth side, I only stitched in the center of the edge.  I left a hole large enough on one side for me to flip the fabric and stuff the cushions, and a smaller gap on the other corner just to stitch my tie-on to the cushion.

Cushion sewn with stuffing and tie holes on one side

My son helping Aunt E to stuff a pillow

Once the fabric was turned inside-out, we stuffed the cushions with the polyester fiber fill.  My son helped with this step, though if he had done the work for each cushion we'd still be waiting for him to fill them with his tiny little fists of fiber fill.  I stitched up the ends of the ties so that they don't fray apart, and folded them in half to be stitched at their mid-point to the pillow.  The final step was to whip stitch the ties into the holes on the back corners, and close up the hole I left to stuff the poly fill.

The finished product, side view

Full disclosure is that I've only completed one pillow, and I am so excited to share my triumph that I'm blogging this project before all four pillows are completed.  I will soon have four matching, reversible, custom-made dining chair cushions for my table!


-Becky