Simplicity 8338 - The side boob story

Hi! Remember me? I used to actually post on here before life got a bit mental 😂  I actually made this and took the pictures less than a fortnight after my last post and had I actually written about it then it would have been a new record, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I didn't. I've been very busy doing that grown up thing of going home to Scotland to get married so my hobbies took a bit of a back seat.

Right so, on with the tale of the side boob! Since I live literally across the street from a fancy gym that offers half price membership to the people that live here, we've been going there to be a bit less couch potato-y. Ordinarily I would wear some 3/4 length sport leggings (or whatever their real name is) and whatever worn out t-shirt had been demoted to the gym pile, but since the gym is quite fancy, I felt a bit scabby wearing my usual old t-shirts around everyone and their designer gym gear so I thought I would have a go at making my own. I went with Simplicity 8338 (which I bought when it was half price, duh!) and some mystery stretch fabric from Minerva Crafts that was only £1.99/m! 😉

I went for view A and cut it out in a larger size than I would normally wear because I tend to wear baggy tops to the gym. Sewing it up was really easy because it was literally only a front, a back and bias on the armholes and neck. It was a bit on the fiddly side because the fabric was so light and slippery, but other than that it was fine! So prepare yourselves to see some hastily taken selfies before I went to the gym...

How about this sideboob...

Now the top is very comfortable but I wish I'd made it in a smaller size because it was baggier than even I would wear. So I had it on, I took the pictures and made notes about the fit etc and theeeeen my bottle crashed and I got changed into a t-shirt before going to gym. It was just a bit too exposed for me, I think if I made it in a smaller size and closed up the arm holes a bit (it's just too much side boob!) then I'd maybe have the confidence to wear it while wobbling on the treadmill, but I'm not quite ready yet.

So in conclusion, I would still say it was a successful make as I do plan to wear it when I have a bit more confidence and it was way cheaper than designer gym wear!

V8882 in Leatherette aka The Badass MoFo Skirt

Well I guess my 'blog regularly' resolution is out the window already 😂 I have actually been sewing, I just haven't had time to actually sit down and write about it.

If you remember back to my last post, one of the things I wanted to make this year was V8882 in black leatherette having already made one in taffeta and one in tartan. I found some really nice leatherette in black and in wine and I was so close to ordering it until I found out it would cost £30 to ship from Germany because it would go on a pole, so it was back to the drawing board! I found a website called I Want Fabric who were selling lightweight leatherette for £4.99/m! Yes you read that right! Unfortunately I could only get it in full metres so I do have some extra, but the quality was much better than I would expect for £4.99.

So when it arrived, I got to work cutting it out which required A LOT of floor space because of how wide it is at the bottom (just like me!😂😂) The pattern is relatively easy, you need to put a pleat in each of the 3 panels, then just sew the back panels to the front panel, sew on the waistband, insert a zip and Bob's your uncle! Because it's made of leatherette it is quite heavy to pick up but it doesn't feel heavy on.

I couldn't trust myself to take a picture of the back while wearing it so I'm sharing the limelight with Ms LaRoux. I also wanted to get an action shot of me twirling around in it, but it was a bit on the blurry side haha!

Wearing it makes my feel like I'm both a superhero and supervillain at the same time, which is kind of the vibe I was going for so it's a winner in my book! (And there's no hemming or ironing involved so it's even better!)

So overall, it cost me about £16 to make this since it was less than 3 metres and I've started buying zips from Jaycott's on the recommendation of my friend :) I reckon 16 quid is pretty reasonable to get the hero villain vibe I've always wanted 👍

Crafting Resolutions 2018

Yeah I know it's yet another New Year's Resolutions blog post, but I think by actually writing down the things I want to achieve and sending it out into the big, bad world, then I'm actually more likely to do them!

So sit back, relax and prepare for a lot of wordy waffling!

1. Finish all my projects by the end of the year - This should actually be achievable as long as I don't leave lots of my own projects half done to desperately finish off Christmas presents 😂 - Obviously didn't happen! 😂
2. Learn how to properly grade between sizes - Something so simple, yet I've never actually learned to how to do it properly. - Actually did do a bit of this! I'm far from being a expert, but I managed to grade a few patterns this year.
3. Try more indie patterns - I want to reach out past the big pattern companies and help support small businesses while looking fab 😜 - Achieved! I think I actually made more Indie patterns then Big 4 this year.
4. Make a quilt - I actually made a (very squinty) quilt top several years ago and I'm determined to actually finish it this year! - Ahahahahahahaha!! No. I actually binned the quilt top because when I took it back out of the bag of doom, I looked at it and saw that I had literally just taken fat quarters and sewn them together with no trimming and no consistent seam allowance so it was just a horror show! So that went into the recycling bag.
5. Always pre-wash my fabric - Yeahhhh..... I'll try, but I'm not holding my breath for this one. - Didn't happen! I know I should prewash fabrics, but I just can't be arsed 😂
6. Learn the basics of pattern drafting - This goes hand in hand with the grading between sizes. I want to be able to make even just a simple top without the aid of a pattern. - Sadly this didn't happen, but my Mum gave me a book for Christmas, which might remedy this for next year!
7. Work through as much of my stash (fabric and yarn) as I can - Now, I'm not saying I'm going to stop buying fabric and yarn because that's just unrealistic! I'm want to use a lot of what I have and if I'm never going to use it then either donate or sell it. - I did actually use up quite a bit of fabric, but not so much of the yarn, because I was mostly crocheting baby items, which meant buying baby yarn because I didn't have any so now my yarn stash is probably bigger than it was at the start of the year.
8. Do more selfish crafting - As much as I love making gifts for other people, I want to concentrate a bit more on the things I want to do :) - I made quite a few items of clothing for myself, but I did end up making a lot of baby items for other people.
9. Crochet preemie baby hats and donate them - As well as selfish crafting, I want to do some selfless crafting. I have more than enough yarn to make some wee baby hats and give them to the hospital and simple wee things like that can make such a difference! - I really wish I had gotten around to doing this. I spent so much time making items for baby gifts that I had neither the time or the motivation to make more baby stuff 😕
10. Update my blog and Instagram regularly - Again, not holding my breath! I'm not going to just post for the sake of posting, but hopefully if I actually apply myself I'll get lots of cool things accomplished and actually have something interesting to share! - I'm giving this one a thumbs up! I have done 18 blog posts this year and however many Instagram posts ( I can't be bothered to count)
11. Try lace making - Obviously I'm not going to become a lace making genius, but my Mum gave me a kit to try it several years ago and I've never had a go so this is the year! - Didn't happen, it was just too annoying to make the lace so it made it's merry way to the charity shop.
12. Make a Frankenstein garment - I want to use at least 2 separate patterns to make something totally unique :) - Ohhh I had such grand plans for this, but I just never got around to actually making it.

So those are my resolutions! Probably best not to put money on me doing all of them, but I'll give it my best shot :)

If you haven't fallen asleep or got bored and left, then here is a list (I do love a list!) of specific things I want to make in 2018.

Simplicity 1008 AKA the Dracarys Dress - Honestly, I wish I had pet dragons so I'm going to make the dress on the right ideally in a nice linen or something without it looking too costumey :) - I started this and then a million other things got in the way so it's only partially constructed.

Simplicity 8338 - My gym gear currently consists of sporty leggings and a variety of old t shirts so I want to whip up some nice new ones that don't make me look like I've just stumbled out of bed. - DONE!

 Finish my houndstooth coat - I started making this like 4 months ago when it was way too hot to be dealing with wool and got annoyed with it and has been sitting in a heap looking sad for far too long now, so by Winter 2018 I WILL have a nice houndstooth coat to twirl around in! - NOOOOPE! It's still sitting on the dress form mocking me. The outer coat is constructed and the lining is mostly constructed, but it wasn't sitting right and I just got frustrated with it. Not all is lost through! It was a very mild winter, so I probably wouldn't have worn it anyway 😂

Finish my velvet cape - This is another sore one for me. The cape has been sitting half made for even longer than the coat because I was getting frustrated with it and has been hanging in a corner begging to be finished, so if I crack on I will look so fly next Winter 😎 NOOOOOPE! I did a bit more work on it, but I just wasn't into it so it got relegated to the recycling pile 😑

Finish the Mario blanket - Bloody hell......sooooo many unfinished projects on this list! I started making a granny square pixel blanket with Mario from Super Mario Bros for Gregor in 2014 so that he could take it away to uni with him. Buuuuuuuut I got bored doing the same squares over and over and sewing them together that here we are nearly 4 years later (he's already been to uni, graduated and got a new job) and I STILL haven't finished it! It's really just a matter of principle now, it must be done! - Ahahahahaha! I actually dug this out and did a few more squares and at this point in the year, I worked out that if I completed 1 line of squares every week then it would be completed before Christmas and theeeeeen I didn't touch it again 😂 so maybe 2019 will be the year of the Mario Blanket.

Simplicity 8377 - I'm a big fan of cardigans! I hate having my upper arms on show (mainly because I have the bingo wings of a 90 year old) but jumpers are too warm for 3/4 of the year. So cardigans are a wee life saver for me, but they can be pretty expensive for a wardrobe basic so I want to be able to make my own using this lovely multi style pattern. - Didn't make this because I just didn't come across the right fabric. 

Patterns for Pirates Brunch Blouse - As you'll have seen, one of my crafting resolutions is to try more indie patterns and this is just the ticket. I want to make the dress length version, as it's a lovely simple shape for work and for casual wear. - DONE 3 TIMES!!

Sewaholic Cambie Dress -This was actually one of the first patterns I ever bought, but just never got round to making it because I needed to grade up the largest size and I didn't (and still don't) have the knowledge to do so, but if I stick to my plan then I'll finally be able to make it! - Nope. Just wasn't that into it. I still really like the pattern so maybe at some point in the future I'll make it.

Wardrobe By Me Haute Curvy Pants - These have been cut out for a few weeks now so they're next on my list to crack on with :) They look so comfy and they should keep my tummy in a bit and keep my kidneys warm! - DONE!

Simplicity 1109 - I plan on making this in a lovely tartan after doing a practice run in sheeting because the pattern pieces seemed a bit on the short side, and after all, I'm 27 not 17 so I don't really want my arse on show to the world 😂 - I made a toile of this and it was reeeeaalllly short so maybe I'll lengthen it and make it, or maybe not! We'll just wait and see :)

Sewing Bee Palazzo Pants - I think these will be an absolute god send in the Summer so I'd better get planning! - Couldn't decide on a fabric for these, but I still like the pattern so hopefully I come across the perfect fabric.

Grainline Studio Morris Blazer - I made one for my sister and I want one (or several) for myself. The pattern piece for the sleeves are too wee for my jelly arms so that grading will come in handy again! - Didn't make this one either! (I see a theme developing) Still love the pattern, but haven't decided on a fabric.

Woodlands Quilt - This is the quilt I mentioned in my resolutions that is stuffed into a bag begging to be finished. - NOOOOPE! See my notes in the resolutions about this horror show.

Planets Panel - This one I actually finished on the 1st of January so at least I was off to a flying start!

Patterns for Pirates Peg Leg Leggings - This is my favourite kind of pattern, free and comfy! Hopefully making these in a nice soft jersey to wear to bed. - DONE!

Vogue 8882 - I've made this pattern a couple of times already. Once in two tone taffeta to wear to my cousins wedding and a second in MacQueen tartan. This time it'll be in black leatherette 😍  - DONE!

Simplicity 8229 - I bought this about 6 months ago and I'm yet to find the perfect fabric for it, hopefully this is the year or stretch lace! - Sadly I didn't make this either, I can't find a nice stretch lace 😭 If anyone knows of a good stockist, let me know!

Cotton and Chalk Pinafore - I made this last year in black corduroy with hearts on it (trust me, it's adorable) but at the time, I was too scared to attempt pockets. Now that I have done pockets, I want pockets in everything! So I'm going to make another one, I'm not sure which type of fabric yet, but preferably something wild :) - I didn't make another pinafore, buuuuuut, I did use the same pattern to make dungarees WITH POCKETS!!


Wooooooooo!!!!!!

You made it to the end of the post! Well done!! As a reward for enduring my rambling, please enjoy this picture of Crusoe the Celebrity Daschund and his brother Oakley because they always brighten up my day :)

 

Thanks for reading and be sure to give me a kick up the arse if I'm slacking!!

Grad Ball Anna Dress

I'm back! I promise I haven't died or been abducted by aliens or anything! If you've seen my Instagram recently you'll know that I suddenly realised that I had nothing fancy to wear to Gregor's Grad Ball. So I hatched a clever and cunning plan, I would make a lovely By Hand London Anna dress in black triple crepe. So off I went with a spring in my step to get the train to Birmingham to go to the Fancy Silk Store only to be stopped by terrible train services (I'm looking at you London Midland!) So long story short, I got to the shop and had a look around. I found some nice black triple crepe, but I wanted something a bit more special to go with it and found some beauuutiful beaded net.

It's so beautiful!  Like a clear starry night 😍😍 I got it all cut out that evening and started sewing it the next day in between making wedding invitations with the other half. By this point I only had 2 days to get it finished and I was working on both days so cue some frantic evening sewing! I did french seams all over to keep it nice and neat, but bloody hell is it time consuming! I only bought 1.5m of the beaded fabric so I decided to do a small train instead of having the full skirt covered and I'm actually glad I did it that way because I felt super fancy!

The finished dress is actually quite heavy because it took 3.5m of triple crepe to make the main dress, but once it's on you don't notice the weight. I wont be posting a picture of it on me because the only picture I have is one where I have a big cardigan over it because it was freezing and I had a big fat moon face 😂😂😂 so here it is on Busty LaRoux!

I will note that I wasn't tripping over it, I just don't have the mannequin set up to my height. I really love the dress but its not really something I could wear on a regular basis, but hopefully I'll get more wear out of it since it was also surprisingly comfy for being fancy evening wear :)


Difficulty level - 3/5 because of the hand stitching of the beaded train

Cost - triple crepe 3.5m x 9.99 = £34.97
         - beaded net 1.5m x 15.99 = £23.99
         - 22" concealed zip = £4

Total - £62.96 A bit more than I would normally spend, but if I had bought something like this in a shop, it would have likely cost a lot more!

Is it a jacket? Is it a blanket? No! It's M7484!!

Yeesh! It's been over 3 weeks since my last post, but I promise I have been making, just not blogging! Last week I was in Worcester for a couple of days for work so I used my lunch break as an excuse to go fabric shopping at the tiny little fabric shop in town. I had a wee look through the pattern books as both McCall's and Simplicity were half price and I ended up choosing one from each. The McCall's pattern is just perfect for the current weather, not too heavy, but still keeps me warm :)

So I had a wee scout around the shop and found a lovely wine and mustard check fabric that's a medium weight wool mix. The pattern called for 2.7m for my size which I bought and went on my merry way. Unfortunately I ended up with about 50cm more than I needed because (surprise, surprise) I didn't bother pattern matching, I know that I could do it if I wanted, but I wanted to go for that mismatched grungy feel with this jacket. So here it is!

Now if you recall my post on the leggings that I made, I was having a massive fight with my overlocker. Well I went back to it, determined to sort it out and overlock my edges because the jacket isn't lined. So there I was, running tester pieces through and being furious that it wasn't working, until I suddenly realised that the presser foot wasn't down and hadn't been THE ENTIRE TIME!!! I have never felt so stupid and relieved at the same time 😂😂

Aaaaaanyway! I overlocked all of my pieces with an unending joy and got on with construction. It was an absolute dream to put together, no need for lining or interfacing, just sticking bits of fabric together. I love the way I can pull the jacket right across and belt it if I want or just leave it loose and relaxed. AND IT HAS POCKETS!! BIG POCKETS!!

You could fit so much stuff in there!

The extra fabric round the neck and shoulders are great for those sudden gusts of wind we tend to get on our lovely little island.

You still won't find any pattern matching here!

I made sure to get a matching thread in the shop, and I had literally JUST enough and no more!

Talk about cutting it neat, right? So long story short, this jacket is just right for me at this time of year and it's not a Primark hoodie! 😂😂 So I can wear it on a day to day basis, whether I'm nipping to the shop, going out for the day and it's even good for going to work!

The price was pretty decent for what I got since I got the pattern half price (of course) so here's the breakdown of cost.

Pattern - half price! I got it for £4.73
Thread - £1.85
Fabric - 2.7m at £9.99/m so £26.99. This could have been cheaper had I known I wouldn't be using all of it.

Total - £33.57

For a jacket that I think will get a lot of use, this is pretty damn good :)

Difficulty  level - 2/5 everything fit together really well, there wasn't even any darts!

Louise Belcher Bunny Hat

So this post is a bit on the late side, I started a new job this week so I was visiting home last week to make the most of my time off 😄 I love the show Bob's Burgers and Louise is my favourite character so I decided to make a crochet version of her hat!

I got the pattern from Emily Taylor Crochet on Etsy and it's super easy to follow. I made the hat in about 3 hours, I probably would have been quicker but, I was watching Always Sunny at the same time 😂 The pattern called for worsted weight yarn which is about the equivalent of aran weight in the UK. I could only get that colour in double knit, so I used the size of hook that it called for and just crocheted a bit tighter.

Look at those ears!! :D

  Even though it was roasting when I made it, I couldn't resist trying it on. Can you see the similarities? 😂

 

All I have to do now is wait for colder weather so I can actually wear it!

Cost

• Pattern - £5.03
• Wool - £1.50 I actually might manage to squeeze another hat out of this ball. 

 

The C Word (no not that one!)

The C word I mean is CHRISTMAS!! I personally love the holly jolliness of Christmas, but I do admit, it starts way too early in shops. However, in the world of craft, it is never too early for Christmas 🎅🎄 So a few months ago, Elephant in My Handbag posted about their new Christmas fabrics and I couldn't resist having a wee peek! I got a few different ones, some Christmas dachshunds, some Christmas pets (can you see a theme here?) and more importantly, some Christmas cats. Now the other two I had plans for some stockings etc, but the cats I wanted something fancy for myself, maybe a top or a bag or a SUPER FESTIVE SKIRT! Yes! My mind was made up, it was to be a skirt! I had a dig through my patterns and found the pattern for the first item of clothing I had ever made, the New Look 6004 skirt.

It's a super basic skirt with an elasticated waistband. Literally just 2 skirt pieces and a waistband casing, but I wanted extra wide elastic for this particular skirt so I skipped the casing and just stitched the elastic straight on to the top of the skirt.

I only bought a metre of the material, because I didn't want to buy loads without having a plan for it, so technically I didn't have enough to make the skirt, so I decided that since I was going to have an extra thick waistband, I could afford to shorten it a bit. So I folded the fabric in half so that it was 4 layers instead of 2 (you'll find out later why this was a bad idea) and laid my pattern piece down so I could see how much I had to take the paper piece up by and I was able to grade it out from the waist so that it was a bit fuller. Cut it out, gave it a couple of nice wee french seams and ta-da! I'd f*ucked it up. Since I had doubled over a very heavily patterned fabric, the cats on the back of the skirt were upside down!!

Hahahahaha!! Silly cats! What are you doing?

 As I didn't have any more fabric, I just had to live with it 😂😂 But here is the skirt from the front!

I wanted to make it even more festive so I used red satin bias binding and gold top stitch thread.

By now you're probably thinking that I'm all Christmassed out, you'd be wrong! I also finally completed the Doctor Who Christmas cross stitch by Capes and Crafts that I started about 4 or 5 years ago.

I also did a festive dachshund, but I didn't see a name on the printed pattern and I can't remember where I got it, so if it's your pattern, let me know and I'll credit you :)

 

 Phew! I think I am all Christmassed out now so I'll leave you with the usual costs and ratings.

Costs

•  1m of Cat fabric £15
• bias, thread and elastic - stash
• Doctor Who pattern £3
• Dachshund pattern - unknown, I can't even remember if it's a paid pattern.
• Embroidery thread - stash 

Difficulty Rating

• Skirt - 1/5 very easy to put together, just remember to keep your print the right way up!
• Cross Stitches - 1/5 both very easy, but so fab :)

Simplicity 8212 Leggings Practice Run

So I've been wanting to make a pair of leggings for a while, but I didn't want to get really nice Lycra and then bugger it up so I had a wee practice run! I used Simplicity 8212 which gives a choice between full length and calf length, panels or no panels and mid rise or high rise waistband. I decided to do the full length, no panels and high rise waistband, because I'm one of those people that wears their tights up to their tits 😂

I needed some fabric for my practice run so my lovely friend Nora took me to the Fancy Silk Store in Birmingham (which is amazing btw, you should all go) and I found a nice sort of snakey/scaley print black lycra that would do just nicely!

Ooohh shiny!

The pattern called for 1.6m to make the full length with mid rise waistband pair in the largest size so I decided to get 1.8m just to be double safety sure with the higher waistband, which was POINTLESS. I only ended up using, 1.3m and that was with the higher waistband. Maybe if I had to pattern match I would have used the 1.6m but now I have half a metre of lycra sitting unused, so if anyone has any ideas of what to do with it, hit me up!

The leggings themselves were easy enough to make, although I had to use a zigzag stitch on my regular machine since my overlocker was acting the goat. The waistband was a bit on the fiddly side to put on, but overall not too bad! Here is a very unclear picture of the finished product, I don't have a full length mirror so I had to prop my phone on my chair and put the timer on haha!

Now, these are not the type of thing I would normally wear out of the house, so I'm keeping them as 'hoose clothes' just now, but let me tell you this, they are SO FREAKIN' COMFY! I literally want a pair in every print! Buuuuut, since I'm not a billionaire I will be sticking to gradually building up my collection of them. The fabric that I really wanted from Funki Fabrics was a beautiful galaxy print one, but I can't find it now! So my next two choices were The Scream and colourful balls things.

 Are they not amazing?! But, while I was browsing the site, I found the perfect fabric for visiting home...

 FREEDOM!!!

SCOTLAND!!!! YASSSSS!!! *ahem* Anyway... overall this was a good wee project, even though I lost the battle with my overlocker. I will definitely be making more pairs of these and if anyone ever wants to buy my love, I take Funki Fabrics vouchers 😉😉

Cost

• Pattern - £4.50 (I bought it half price, of course!)
• Fabric - 1.6m at £11.99 = £19.18
• Elastic and thread - stash

Total cost - £23.68 

 Difficulty Rating

2/5 because the waistband is a bit fiddly

 

McCalls 6659 Robe

I got the pattern for this lovely robe recently, I think it was the last time McCall's was on sale because I hate paying full price for a pattern haha! It looked relatively easy so I thought I'd make one for my Mum for Christmas. I managed to find this lovely Liberty print on eBay for £11/m and I needed 3.5m so it was a bit on the pricey side for a robe, but you get what you pay for!

The pattern was nice and simple to piece together, it's literally just a back, two fronts, two sleeves and a tie. I did french seams because I'm usually a really lazy sewer, but I wanted this to be really well made and last a long time.

Once the front pieces were attached to the back, I moved on to the sleeves. Now I will confess something here, when it comes to inserting sleeves, I lose any sort of brainpower. No matter how many times I've inserted sleeves in the past, I can never remember which way round the pieces should be 😂😂 So this time, when I figured it out, I wrote it down in my sewing project notebook with a really crude etching of what to do, but at least now I finally have it figured out. In case anyone has a sleeve blind spot, you turn your body piece (inside out) and insert the sleeve (right side out) so that the two right sides are together. It's so simple, I know!

After the sleeve fiasco, it was just a case of sewing the tie, making a couple of wee belt loops and hemming it! So here is the finished article:

My Mum is only 5'3" so this should reach about mid calf on her. I hope she likes it, and if not then I'll have it because I love it! 😂

Cost:

Pattern - £4.30
Fabric - £38.50

Difficulty Rating:

2/5 - but only because I have a brain fart with sleeves, other than that it was super easy.

Throw Cushion Tutorial

So today I will be showing you lovely people how to create simple zip close cushions for your living room/bedroom/bathroom (hey, I don't know what you do in there!)

I decided to make myself some nice new cushions earlier this year since my old ones were a bit on the scruffy side. I treated myself to some lovely red and grey Moon wool, a plain red polyester for the back and some grey velvet (which was cheap in the sale, yaaaasss!!) for the secondary cushions.
 
So what you need to do is decide on the size of cushion you want (for me it was 16" square cushions) and add 1/2"on each side for your seams (17" square).

You will need:

• Enough fabric to make the amount of cushions you want e.g for either a 16" or 18" cushion, 50cm will give you either 3 fronts or 1.5 full cushions (presuming that your fabric is 54" wide) and remember to account for patterns such as checks if you want them all to match!
• Enough zips either regular closed end or invisible, remember to get zips that are a couple of inches shorter than the finished size of your cushion, e.g I used 14" zips.
• Nice sharp scissors
• Pins
• Matching thread
• Cushion pads that are a couple of inches larger than your finished cover size so that your cushions are nice and full.

If you don't have a sewing machine you can absolutely still make these, but you will need a lot more patience that I ever have 😂

Step 1

Cut out your squares, this can either be done with a square template or a ruler works just as well. Also if you're not a lazy git like me, you could even give your fabric a press first 😂

Step 2

Sew one side of the zip onto the right side of your fabric at the bottom and then do the same for the other side. This can get a bit fiddly, so take your time.

 

Step 3

Once your zip is attached to both the front and back of your cushion, with right sides facing sew around your cushion with a 1/2" seam allowance. Snip off the corners so that they are pointy when you turn them out.

Step 4

Turn your cushion the right way out, stuff your cushion pad inside and zip up!

Step 5

Chuck them on your couch and marvel at your beautiful handiwork! 😄😄

Total cost

• Fabric - around £48
• Zips - around £9
• Thread - stash
• Cushion pads - reused the ones from the old cushions

So total cost of around £57 for 4 wool cushions and 4 velvet cushions, not to bad at all!

Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Hallo!

My name is Róisín and welcome to my blog! I'll mostly be posting about sewing, crochet and cross stitch projects that I have on the go with possibly a wee bit of baking/cooking thrown in for good measure. You can find me on Instagram as well and Twitter (although not as much as I really should be!) Feel free to comment and leave constructive feedback, I do love a good chat :)
I will try my very best to update this as much as possible, although no promises as I tend not to even know what day it is half the time :)