Create a block

1. Cut four 6cm x 16cm pieces from dark fabric, plus four 6cm x 16cm and four 6cm x 11cm rectangles from a paler pattern. Snip four 6cm x 11cm shapes from a mid-tone fabric. Place a mid-tone rectangle face up in a portrait position and fold the bottom left corner towards the right hand edge to make a 45° angle. Finger press to make a visible crease.

2. Place a pale shape face up in a landscape position and place the creased rectangle face down on top at a 90° angle, so the diagonal crease runs across the bottom right-hand corner of the pale rectangle. Stitch along this line. Open out and press the triangular excess towards the darker fabric.

3. Lay a dark 6cm x 16cm rectangle right sides facing over the top of the bi-colour strip and stitch along the left-hand edge. Sew the remaining pale strip to the other side of the first section. Make up three more blocks in the same way. Press all four blocks.

4. Lay the four blocks together so the darker coloured strips meet in the middle and the mid-tone prints point to the edges of the square. Stitch together to make a pinwheel block.

Make a pillow

1. Make up four blocks from a variety of coordinating fabrics, and sew them together to make a 61cm square. Pin this to a square of 4oz quilt wadding and topstitch around the lines of the pinwheel, working from the centre out.

2. Cut a 61cm square from coordinating fabric. Lay the quilted panel on top, right sides facing, and sew around the edges, leaving a gap. Turn out through the gap. Push out the corners and topstitch around the cushion cover, 5mm from the edge. Insert a cushion pad and continue stitching.

Stitch a floor cushion

1. Make a quilted panel the same way as for the pillow. Cut several 4cm wide strips from printed fabric and sew them together end to end to make two pieces, each at least 2.6m long. Fold the strips around lengths of piping cord, right side out and use a zipper foot to stitch the fabric together, close to the cord, leaving a raw edge along the length.

2. Cut 13cm wide strips from pale fabric and sew them end to end to make a piece 2.5m long. Pin this to quilt wadding and topstitch down the centre. Stitch at 3cm intervals from this line on either side, so the outer lines are close to the edges. Trim the wadding to the fabric.

3. Cut two 32cm x 61cm pieces of cotton backing fabric. Sew them right sides together, leaving a 20cm gap in the middle of the seam. Press the raw edges in line with the seam and hem them with tacking stitches.

4. Pin and tack the two lengths of piping around the edges of the cushion top and the backing fabric, with the raw edges alligned, easing the piping at the corners and overlapping the ends in the centre of one side, so the excess piping runs off the edge of the panels.

5. Pin the quilted side strip to one edge of the cushion top, right sides together, sandwiching the piping between the two and making a join at one corner. Sew the strip in place with a zipper foot, as close to the piping as possible. Join the side strip ends at a corner, right sides together and trim away any excess fabric.

6. Sew the backing fabric and piping to the other edge of the side strip in the same way, turning out through the gap in the back panel. Push out the corners of the cushion. Fill with polystyrene beans, using a jug to prevent spills. Pin the folded edges of the backing fabric together and slip stitch to close.