Printed cushions

Our vintage-style motif cushions would make a great present for dad’s birthday or Father’s Day. The designs have been printed from a rubber stamp onto ordinary paper, tinted with watercolour paints, then photocopied onto printable fabric using a home inkjet printer. Machine embroidery in contrasting black thread frames the vintage prints. Alternatively, why not personalise your cushions with old family photos or hand drawn pictures?

Essentials

Cream cotton fabric
Cream lining fabric
Printable cotton fabric
Fusible webbing
Polyester stuffing
Cream zip, 30cm
Black and cream thread
Rubber stamps
Black inkpad
Watercolour paints
Cream card

Dimensions List

35cm square

Make a printed cushion

1 Cut two 38cm squares from cream lining fabric. With right sides facing, pin and machine stitch around the edges using a 1.5cm seam allowance, leaving a 10cm gap on one side for turning. Turn out and fill with polyester stuffing, then sew up the gap by hand.

2 Dab a rubber stamp with an inkpad until it is well covered and print the image onto paper. Make several prints until you are happy with the result and the outline is well defined and dense. Enlarge the design by 170% and if necessary, define any weak lines with a fine marker pen. Set a photocopier to dark and print the image again to the same size, onto cream card. Tint the motif with watercolour paints and leave to dry.

3 Set the printer to normal resolution and plain paper, or high resolution for finer details. Place inkjet photocopying fabric face down in the paper tray of the copier and print the image of the train onto it. Allow it to dry, then peel away the backing paper and rinse the fabric under running water until it runs clear.

4 Place the fabric on a tea towel to soak up the excess water, then iron under a handkerchief to remove the creases. Cut a rectangle from fusible webbing and iron onto the back of the motif fabric.

5 Cut a 38cm square front and back from cotton fabric. Place the motif in the centre of one cotton square. Cover it with a handkerchief and iron to fix into place. Thread the machine with black thread and topstitch around the edge of the motif.

6 Butt the sewing machine foot up against the motif and using the edge as a guide, machine embroider a floral pattern around the outside of the design to create a border. If you don’t have an embroidery option on your machine, work a simple feather or chain stitch instead.

7 With right sides facing, pin the bottom edges of the cushion front and back together and machine stitch 4.5cm at either end. Press the seam open and pin a zip into position on the reverse. Hand sew or machine stitch into place. With right sides facing, pin the remaining three sides of the cushion together and machine stitch. Turn the cover out through the zip and press. Insert the cushion pad into the cover.