An easy peasy cushion cover

I'm still alive, still crafting!
Was about to upload a post last month when I realised with a rude shock that I had gone WAY over my internet usage for the month - oops. So been offline for a while....but that has maybe meant more spare time spent in the ButtonRoom:)

Anyway, back online now and have loads to share!

Life before going to Thailand in October was hectic enough, but in the few weeks before we left I suddenly realised I definitely needed to make a padded laptop case for my laptop that was coming with us, and a travel pillow for OneLittleImp. Oh, and I also had someone contact me via my blog asking if I could make one of the giraffe t-shirts she had seen on my blog for her daughter's birthday . What a lovely surprise that was - and even a bit funny when I realised she lived all the way in Texas! So now I have sold my first item through my blog....exciting stuff!

So of course I fitted all of this craft in between packing and writing lists and cleaning the house so it would be nice to come home to (that does make such a difference to post holiday blues!)  and packing some more.

First up is the easy peasy cushion cover. This takes almost no time at all to make. No buttons, or velcro or anything! Promise.

First up, measure your cushion, add 1.5 inches as allowance on each side & then cut your front piece of fabric (the owl print in this case) to this size. For the back you will need to cut 2 pieces, both the same width as the front. To work out the length, divide the width measurement in half and then add 3 inches (so if the width was 14 inches - 14 divided by 2 = 7.  7+3=10, so you would cut 2 pieces of the backing fabric 14 inches wide x 10 inches long). This will mean that you end up with the back pieces overlapping by about 3 inches.

Fold over 1cm or so along the width of each back piece, iron & then fold over & iron again to get a nice neat edge.

Stitch along the length of this nice neat edge to secure and create a 'finished' edge. I used a fancy wavy stitch, but a straight or zigzag stitch would work just as well.

Next, place the front of the cushion cover right side up. Lay one piece of the back fabric right side down, raw edges lined up with the front piece raw edges & the 'finished' edge positioned as shown. Pin the bottom edge of the front and back pieces together.

Then lay the other piece of 'back' fabric right side down onto the front fabric and overlapping the first piece of backing fabric. Match up all the raw edges again and make sure that the 'finished' edge you sewed earlier should sit as shown in the picture. Pin all the way around to hold all the layers together.

Now sew all the way around all 4 edges of the cushion cover using a straight stitch. I then also zig zag stitched all the way around to reinforce & prevent fraying.

 Clip the corners & then turn your cushion cover right side out. Iron if you need to & hey presto - you are done! All that is left to do is stuff in the cushion.

Nothing fancy, but it sure did the trick as a comfy travel comforter during our trip:)