I’ve had this little swatch of ribbon embroidery lying around the house for a while now. Made on a little scrap of cotton as a tutorial for a niece of mine, I couldn’t find a reason to keep it, but then again, couldn’t find a reason to throw it away. A dilemma I’m sure you’re all too familiar with! Next thing you know it’s been sitting on your desk for a year looking forlorn and unloved. So to help you out, here’s a little idea for those scraps of material you can’t bear to part with: a scented cushion.
What you need
- Scrap cloth
- Scented filling- dried rose petals/rice soaked in scented oils/anything else you can think of
- Fiberfill
- Ribbon
1. Choose your shape
I went with a heart shape because it suited the shape of the material and the embroidery, but squares are equally pretty (and easier!). Draw around a template on the wrong side of your cloth so you’re left with an outline of the shape you want.
2. Add a back
Use some of the same material or something new as a the back of the cushion. Pin the front and back pieces together, with the ‘right’ sides facing each other.
3. Sew!
Sew along your lines, leaving a 1 inch gap where you plan to attach your ribbon (shown by the two black lines).
If, like me, you’ve left a huge seam allowance, trim around your shape to leave a 0.5cm border and then zig zag stitch to lock in the edges-remember to keep your 1 inch gap!
4. Inside out
Now you need to turn our cushion inside out through the gap you left in the sewing so that we can see the ‘right’ side. Its a bit tricky, but be patient and you’ll get there! Depending on the size of your cushion, you may find that you need to unpick some stitching to make the gap larger to pull the material through.
5. Fill it up!
Fill up your cushion with whatever gorgeous smellies you have. I mixed mine in with some fiberfill to plump it out; with the added benefit that it doesn’t get too heavy.
6. Ribbon and finish
I used around 10cm of ribbon but use however much you want depending on how low you want your cushion to hang. Fold in half and put into the correct position, in the middle of the gap, between both pieces of material. Seam the two sides together (sewing the ribbon in in between) to close the gap and finish off. All done!
I’m pretty sure I’ve made this seem much harder than it is. It really is super easy and super quick to put together and the end product is super cute. They make lovely additions to bedrooms or great little gifts.
love,
little pomegranate