Cat lover set

This gorgeous quick make appliqué cushion and picture, with pretty button detail is perfect for a cat lover, but would also make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift. Choose her favourite colour scheme and coordinate all the fabrics and embellishments. We’ve used Phyllida Coronéo’s Fly Away collection for Dashwood Studio for its whimsical spring feel, and printed our own message using alphabet stamps.

Essentials

Fabric: plain, blue; lining, 50cm x width of each; butterfly print; meadow print; ditsy print; cross stitch print, scraps
Felt: cream; blue, scraps
Thread, coordinating
Buttons, assorted
Trim, cotton lace, white
Fusible webbing
Double-sided tape
Stuffing
Zip, blue, concealed, 41cm
Picture frame
Alphabet block stamps, mini
Fabric paint, black
Sponge
Palette

Dimensions List

Cushion: 34cm x 43cm
Picture: 11.5cm x 17cm (excluding frame)

Sew a cushion

Download the templates and print. From blue cotton, cut 43.5cm x 46cm for the cushion back and a 25.5cm x 46cm for the middle panel.
Iron fusible webbing to the reverse of butterfly and meadow print fabric. Using the cat templates, transfer the images to the back of the fabrics and cut out. Peel off the backing paper and iron into position on the middle panel of the cushion. Neatly stitch around the shapes.
Cut out a top and bottom front panel, both 9cm x 46cm from butterfly print. Using a 1.5cm seam allowance, machine tack one of the panels to the cushion back. Press the seams flat and pin a zip into position. Hand tack in place and machine stitch as close to the teeth as possible. Secure the other side to the front panel. Remove all the tacking stitches and open up the zip.
Pour a little black fabric paint into a palette. Use a sponge to apply fabric paint evenly to mini alphabet stamps and print your chosen wording onto a piece of cross stitch print fabric. Iron to fix the fabric paint and trim the sentiments into 3cm circles. Layer onto 6.5cm cream or blue felt rosettes. Hand tack the printed text to the felt rosettes, then pin into position on the middle panel of the cushion cover and neatly machine stitch.
Cut two 3cm felt circles, one cream, one blue. Stitch a button to the cream felt circle and layer two buttons to the blue one. Finish the front panel by sewing on a selection of buttons around the cats. Pin and machine stitch the second 9cm x 46cm panel of butterfly print to the appliquéd panel with a 1.5cm seam allowance. Machine stitch two lengths of white cotton lace to the top and bottom.
Lay the back and front panels right sides together. Press the seams flat, pin and machine stitch the cover together with a 1.5cm seam allowance. Cut plain white fabric into two 43.5cm x 46cm rectangles. Pin and stitch the pieces together, leaving a gap to add the stuffing. After padding, turn the cushion inner right side out and neatly stitch up the gap and place inside the cover.

Make a picture

Remove the glass from a picture frame. Cut a piece of meadow fabric the same size as the board inside the frame. Print a repeat of the word ‘love’, or your chosen wording, vertically down a piece of cross stitch print and iron to fix the fabric paint.
Reduce the larger of the two cat templates to fit your chosen frame, iron fusible webbing to a piece of ditsy print and carefully cut out the cat shape. Peel away the backing paper and iron onto a piece of cream felt, slightly bigger than the height of the aperture of your frame. Neatly machine stitch around the cat.
Layer the pieces of fabric, starting with the meadow. Trim the printed sentiments to a quarter of the width of your frame. Attach this to the left-hand edge of the meadow fabric using fusible webbing. Add the appliquéd cat on cream felt just off centre. Use a narrow zig zag stitch to sew the fabrics together, and finish off by adding a selection of buttons vertically down the meadow fabric. Attach the picture to the board using double-sided tape, push it into the picture frame and secure.