DIY Geometric Felt Cushion Tutorial

This week's free tutorial is based on a project I've had "in progress" (i.e. been neglecting) for years: a hand-sewn felt cushion with a geometric pattern. This felt like a perfect project to share during lockdown while we're all stuck and home and (judging from my Instagram feed) doing lots of home improvements!

This was such a lovely relaxing project to work on, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

It turned out to be a big hit with my dad, too. I took it round to his house (we're in a support bubble together so I'm allowed to visit at the moment) to take some photos of it and he wouldn't let me leave with it... it now lives on one of the grey sofas in what I think of as his den :)

(Can we talk about how tricky it is taking interior shots with no special lighting in the middle of a gloomy winter??!?! Such a headache! I really need to learn to prep my winter tutorials in the summer!)

 

Want to make your own hand-stitched geometric cushion?

 

This is a time-consuming project but not a difficult one. It would be perfect to work on while watching TV in the evenings this winter. You could use your favourite colours, or maybe make a random patchwork of colours using up felt scraps from your stash!

First you need to pick a tessellating shape. You can use the same chevron shape I did (you'll find the template at the bottom of this post) or draw your own shape. Remember the smaller your shape the more pieces you'll need to cut out and sew around so the more time your cushion will take to sew!

 

Work out how many shapes you'll need to fill the front of your cushion and plan your colours. I used some graph paper to plan my arrangement, then cut out the number of pieces I needed. 

 

Start building up your pattern, pinning then tacking some of your pieces in place on a piece of felt that's a bit larger than your finished cushion front will be (I used a large piece off-white felt because that's what I happened to have lying around, left-over from another project!). Use a ruler to help make sure your lines are nice and straight.

Begin sewing your felt shapes in place, using whip stitch and matching sewing thread. Don't sew around what will be the outside of your cushion - only sew the interior lines.

 

Gradually build up the design, sewing the pieces flush with each other. As you can see, I trimmed the pieces at the ends of each row to create a nicely squared off edge. 

 

 

 

You may find it helpful to use a ruler and an air-erasable marker pen to help you cut these edge pieces to be completely straight.

 

 

Here's how the front of my cushion looked when I'd added all the shapes:

 

As  you can see I still had a line of tacking stitches in place at the very top and bottom of the cushion to help keep the edges of those shapes in position. If you're using larger shapes than me you may also want to add some stitches to the sides as well, to help with the next step.

 

 

Now your cushion front is completed it's time to trim away the excess felt - do this carefully to avoid snipping any of your stitching!

For the back of the cushion you'll need a big bit of felt to coordinate with your chosen colours. Cut two large pieces approx two-thirds the size of your cushion, and pin them to the back ("wrong") side of the  of the cushion front so they overlap in the middle, like so:

 

 

 

Sew around the edge of the cushion with blanket stitch, sewing through all the layers. 

 

I used dark grey sewing thread to match the backing felt and co-ordinate nicely with the colours on the front. Remove the pins as you sew around the edge then remove any remaining tacking stitches.

Finally, add your cushion pad and sit back and admire your magnificent masterpiece!

 

This pattern is for non commercial use only: you can use it to stitch as many cushions as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire post or share my template on your site. Thanks!

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Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

Click here to open the template in a new window, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%.

How To: Felt Flower Cushion (Pillow) Tutorial

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for making this colourful floral cushion (pillow) - including templates for 19 different flower shapes!

This project is the perfect example of how you don't need a lot of fancy sewing skills to make something awesome, just a bit of time and patience. It's a fab project for working on in front of the TV in the evenings, gradually building up the design to cover the cushion with flowers.

I used quite a bright palette for my cushion, but you could use any colours you fancy. You could also add extra detail by embellishing the flowers with embroidery, buttons, seed beads or sequins. I've been thinking about adding some embroidery to my cushion, so maybe I'll post an update to this tutorial one day!

You could also use the flower templates included in this post for lots of different floral projects, including card-making.

You'll probably recognise this cushion as the one from my blog header - I finished it before I moved house and packed up all my things, and I've only just got round to unpacking it and borrowing someone else's living room to take photos (my living room is currently full of boxes and still doesn't have a sofa in it!).

Click here for the felt butterfly cushion tutorial, and click here for the MAKE ALL THE THINGS cushion tutorial.

To make a felt flower cushion, you will need a cushion cover, some felt in lots of different colours, matching sewing threads, scissors (embroidery scissors are great for cutting out small or detailed shapes), a sewing needle, pins, and the flower templates at the bottom of this post.

1. Use the templates provided to cut out lots of felt flowers in different colours. Make sure you cut an assortment of shapes in each colour! Lay the flowers out roughly on your cushion cover so you can see if you've got approximately the right amount. I cut out one batch of flowers to start with then cut out some extras towards the end to fill in the final spaces.

You can easily enlarge the templates to make larger flowers, which will give your cushion a different look and also mean you have fewer pieces to cut out and sew.

2. Make sure you have matching threads for all your felt colours! For a different look you could use one thread to sew all the flowers in position, but remember that your stitching will then be more visible so try to keep your stitching neat and even.

3. Begin adding the flowers. Start in the centre of the cushion and work outwards, adding a few flowers at a time. Position the flowers and pin them in place, taking care to only pin them to the front of the cushion cover and not through all the layers of fabric.

Use sewing thread (in any colour) and large stitches to tack the flowers in position, removing the pins as you sew each one. Make sure you only sew through the front of the cushion! Then use whip stitch and matching sewing threads to sew the flowers neatly. Once you've sewn all the flowers in this batch, remove the tacking threads.

4. Work outwards, repeating step 3 to fill the cushion with flowers. 

You may find it helful to cut more of the smaller flower shapes when you come to filling in the edges of the cushion.

When you've finished, your cushion cover will look something like this:

 

 

5. When all the flowers have been sewn in place and all the tacking threads have been removed, add a cushion insert and display your cushion in pride of place on your sofa!

 

For a no-sew version of this project, you could use fabric glue to attach the flowers to the cushion cover. I'd recommend sticking one flower to a piece of scrap fabric first, to test how much glue you need to use and placing something like a piece of plastic or tin foil between the layers of the cushion to prevent the glue seeping through and sticking the cushion together.

Enjoyed this free tutorial? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many floral cushions as you want for yourself and as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!

Click here to view template sheet one, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%. 

Click here to view template sheet two, make sure you're viewing it full size then print it at 100%.

How To: Felt Butterfly Cushion / Pillow Tutorial

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for decorating a cushion (pillow) cover with pretty felt butterflies!

I decorated my cushion cover with 20 felt butterflies all in the same shade of aqua blue felt, but you could make every butterfly a different colour if you wanted to or create a rainbow or ombre effect with different shades across the cushion.

I love how these butterfly shapes are pretty but still quite minimal and chic. For a busier look you could always add detail with embroidery or other embellishments, using this version of the butterfly template to add a felt body as well as the outline shape. 

 

The butterflies cushion is one of a series I've been making over the past few years to decorate my living room / studio space. I don't currently have a sofa in my new flat so I had to borrow someone else's lounge for these pictures... but hopefully these cushions will be adding a lovely pop of colour to my living space sometime soon!

Click here for the "MAKE ALL THE THINGS" cushion tutorial and templates. I'll be sharing the tutorial and templates for making the colourful floral cushion next week.

To make a butterfly cushion, you will need a cushion cover, some felt, sewing thread, scissors, a sewing needle, pins, and the butterfly template at the bottom of this post. 

1. Resize the template to suit your cushion - you'll need a bigger or smaller template depending on the size of your cushion cover and the number of butterflies you want to add. Then use the template to cut out lots of butterflies from your chosen felt colour(s). 

2. Arrange the butterflies on the front of the cushion cover and pin them in place. You may find a ruler helpful in getting them lined up straight. Take care to only pin them to the front of the cushion cover and not through all the layers of fabric.

3. Use contrasting sewing thread and large stitches to tack each butterfly in position, removing the pins as you sew each one. Make sure you only sew through the front of the cushion!

4. Then use matching sewing thread and whip stitch to sew the butterflies neatly.

5. When all the butterflies have been sewn in place, remove the tacking threads then add a cushion insert.

For a no-sew version of this project, you could use fabric glue to attach the butterflies to the cushion cover. I'd recommend sticking one butterfly to a piece of scrap fabric first, to test how much glue you need to use and placing something like a piece of plastic or tin foil between the layers of the cushion to prevent the glue seeping through and sticking the cushion together.

Enjoyed this free tutorial? Buy me a "coffee" and help support my blog!


Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Visit my shop to buy my printable PDF sewing patterns:

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many butterfly cushions as you want for yourself and as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a couple of photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to this page on my blog, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial / share my templates on your site. Thanks!