https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/squashy-sisters-cushions • Posted by Hardie Grant
Made from felt and all the fun bits from your stash, these ladies are easily customisable so you can create your own icons – have a look at my list. I want a Dolly Parton cushion so badly! The cushions would make the perfect present for anyone who appreciates a little hussy in their homeware. Ladies to lounge (on) Emmeline Pankhurst Princess Leia Rosie the Riveter Debbie Harry Missy Elliott Cleopatra Gloria Steinem Florence Nightingale Virginia Woolf Dolly Parton Angela Davis Mad Men’s Peggy Olsen Amelia Earhart Joan Jett Annie Lennox Madonna Beth Ditto Your mum
Made from felt and all the fun bits from your stash, these ladies are easily customisable so you can create your own icons – have a look at my list. I want a Dolly Parton cushion so badly! The cushions would make the perfect present for anyone who appreciates a little hussy in their homeware. Ladies to lounge (on) Emmeline Pankhurst Princess Leia Rosie the Riveter Debbie Harry Missy Elliott Cleopatra Gloria Steinem Florence Nightingale Virginia Woolf Dolly Parton Angela Davis Mad Men’s Peggy Olsen Amelia Earhart Joan Jett Annie Lennox Madonna Beth Ditto Your mum
Just Sew Stories by Katie Allen, £16.99, published by Hardie Grant, available at Amazon.
Making the cushion cover These loose cushion covers are essentially a rectangle folded around, with one end tucked inside the other, so there is no need for zips or any other fastenings. Yay! 1. Press your white rectangle and coloured rectangle, and place one on top of the other. Pin in place. Sew around the four sides leaving a 1.5 cm (5?8 inch) seam allowance. Leave a gap of about 10 cm (4 inches) on one edge. 2. Cut off the four corners (being careful not to cut the stitching) and turn the cushion right side out through the gap. Poke the corners out with something pointy like a pencil or chopstick. 3. Press the rectangle flat, folding in the raw edges of the gap. Sew the gap closed.
Making your lady 1. Draw a template for the head and shoulders of your lady on a piece of paper. I drew a rough oval, approx 20 cm (8 inches) tall and 15 cm (6 inches) wide with a small neck and shoulders approx 20 cm (8 inches) wide. it doesn’t have to be perfect! Cut out. 2. Press your felt and pin the template in place. Cut out. 3. Now it’s time to make your lady’s face. Copy my cushions on p. 91, or make your own by looking up photos of your lady online or in books. Sketch an eye, eyebrow and nostril shape on to paper and cut out. If you need help, use my diagrams opposite. Use these as templates to cut out of black or brown felt – then turn the template over and cut out another set. Now is the time to trim your shapes to make them more idiosyncratic – Frida Kahlo had a mighty monobrow for example. 4. Fold a piece of paper in half and draw half a mouth on one side. Cut out, and use your symmetrical template to cut a mouth shape out of red or pink felt. 5. Assemble your pieces on the head-shaped piece of felt. Remember that eyes are actually located half-way down the head. Carefully tweak the angles of your pieces to adjust your lady’s expression – one eyebrow higher than the other for a saucy minx, tilted eyes for a sad or in charge look. Use pins to keep them in place until you are happy with the position, then fix with a little fabric glue. Hand sew the facial features in place with matching thread, then take out the pins. 6. Trim the sides of your head shape to make the face look more like your lady – she may have slimmer cheeks or a wonky hairline. 7. Choose a large piece of felt for the hair, place the head shape on top and pin in place. Sketch out the shape of the hair using dressmaker’s chalk and cut out. If you are creating a fringe, cut out a forehead-sized piece from the hair-coloured felt, using the head piece as a template. Then place the hair on top of the head, and trim to the length you desire. Pin in place.
Decorating This is the fun bit – it’s time to rummage through your stash for all the gaudiest, most glittery beads and ribbons you can find.
Making the cushion 1. Place your cushion pad in the centre of your fabric rectangle, on the wrong (white) side. Fold the remaining fabric around it. The idea is that you are creating a tight envelope, with one side tucked under the other. 2. O nce you feel that it is in the right place, pin it and mark with a fabric pen on the coloured AND the white cotton where the top piece of fabric rests on the under piece. 3. Turn the cushion over. Place your lady in the centre. Once you are sure of her position, pin her in place. 4. Turn the cushion over again, and take out all the pins. 5. N ow it’s time to sew your lady on. Using a ‘skin’- coloured thread and zigzag stitch on the machine, follow around the outside shape of her head. Sew around the outside of her face. Remove the pins.
How to make ribbon flowers Cut a length of ribbon, about 10 cm (4 inches) long. Knot a piece of thread and stitch loosely but neatly along one edge of the ribbon. When you reach the end, pull the thread and push gently on the ribbon so it gathers into a rosette shape. Stitch together through the centre, tucking in raw ends.
Finishing the cushion 1. Place the cushion cover piece right side up, and fold the two sides in as before but inside out. Match up the top flap with the marks you made before. Pin in place. 2. N ow stitch along the top and bottom edges of your cushion cover, leaving a 1 cm (3?8 inch) seam allowance. Fasten off. 3. Turn your cushion cover the right way around, poking out the corners with a pencil or chopstick. Give it a good press. 4. N ow stuff your cushion pad inside – it should be snug but moveable. And you’re done!