Creating Bench Cushions for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

Interested in making custom cushions on a budget? Premade cushions are expensive and they might not fit perfectly. See how to sew bench cushions with whatever beautiful fabric you desire! Go bold with a pattern or a unique textured color!

I decided just to send it with this wild leopard jungle print canvas. This was bought online, Amazon in fact – LINKED AT THE BOTTOM– and picked up coordinating cotton fabric to make the piping. I tried to find the darkest deepest green I could find. Nearly black in some light! Also linked at the bottom.

So what about you?

What would be perfect for your space?

Would fuchsia look amazing? or what about something uniquely textured?

If you can’t find what you want online, take a trip to the local fabric store.

You might be inspired by a walk down the home decor fabric aisle.

Whatever style that will enhance your space can literally be yours with just a little bit of patience and some focus.

I was able to make these cushions in a day but you might be able to do them over a weekend if sewing isn’t a normal activity for you.

If you are a beginner and want to jazz up your space, I have written a step-by-step sewing guide that will walk you through the entire process from start to finish.

When I was figuring out how to do this, I had to piece together many different resources including my own memory of how my grandma used to make fresh cushions nearly every year (or at least she made slip covers every year!)

Supplies needed to make Cushions:

• 2” upholstery foam
• 3/4” upholstery batting
• 5/8” cording
• Cording foot for sewing machine
• 5 yards Home decor fabric
• 2 yards Coordinating fabric for piping ( Kona cotton in hunter green)
• Coordinating thread
• Heavy-duty needles (80/14 or 90/11)

I have links to all these things at the bottom! That way you can just get what you need and get started in 2 days!

Step 1 of 10

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Planning for Perfect Cushions: Step 1 – Precision in Measurement

First things first! How big do you need to make your cushion?

Grab a tape measure and a sticky note to get this project started!

Measure the length and width of the surface you wish to cover with a cushion.

Write that down.

Then ADD ONE INCH inch to all numbers.

That’ll give you a half-inch seam allowance all the way around. Nice and Snug.

But don’t make it any smaller or you are going to have a really hard time getting your foam into your cushion later!!

Here is an example of the math, when I measure my bench I see that I want to make a cushion to fit this 52″ x 17” space.

So in order to end up with a cushion that size — I will need to add 1 inch to all my cut pattern pieces.

My top and bottom rectangles will be 53″x18″ Just one inch all the way around. Easy.

The pattern pieces include 2 large rectangles for the top and bottom, 2 long and narrow rectangles for the front and back, and finally 2 short narrow rectangles for the sides.

I’ve opted for 2 inches of upholstery foam topped with a 3/4-inch layer of batting for a plusher appearance, but remember, the choice is entirely yours.

See example layout below:

Step 2 of 10

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Iron FIRST, then Cut!

What I love about sewing bench cushions is not needing to wash the fabric before sewing, but you still need to iron your fabric. Definitely still iron your fabric.

Then cut your pattern and if you are feeling crazy – IRON IT AGAIN. MWAHAHA, It’ll look really good. Promise.

Also, I’m done being weird. Maybe.

But I want to talk to you about irons for a hot second here.

If you still have a corded iron, that’s cool. But did you know that they make CORDLESS IRONS?! Yes, it is true. and Yes it really is life-improving.

You can get one on Amazon – in fact, that’s exactly where I got mine when the old one finally croaked on me.

I daresay I will never look back.

My mobility when ironing has drastically improved. Ain’t no cords tangling me up or not reaching the end anymore!!!!! It feels so good to be free!

Maybe you should be looking into upgrading your ironing hardware too.

Here is a great tip!

Iron your fabric with the backing facing up always. Where is the backing? It’s the back. The part we don’t want to see at the end. Put your iron on that side.

And I shouldn’t HAVE to say this but I do because even I need reminding – BE SURE TO ONLY USE A CLEAN IRON!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve damaged fabric using an iron that wasn’t sparkling clean.

In fact, I’ll just tell ya, I’ve done it so many times that ironing is my least favorite part of sewing.

But I also know what the right thing to do is. I know that ironing is one of the most important steps. So learn from me and don’t skip ironing or you’ll end up with less-than-excellent results.

Step 3 of 10

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TIME TO CREATE CUSTOM PIPING

Skip this step if you decide to buy an upholstery roll of piping already made.

I, of course, had a very specific look in mind and knew the most cost-effective way to achieve it would be to just do it myself.

This was the first time I ever made piping and though I was a little unsure going into it, I quickly realized that it is much simpler than it looks!

I’m not going to teach you how to do it when so many others have already done a fantastic job of explaining the process. I will however break down the process into easier-to-chew bites before I let you loose on my favorite teachers for creating your own piping with a simple sewing machine.

Making your own piping can be broken down into:

1. Ironing your fabric

2. Marking and cutting to size on the bias (cutting the fabric at the diagonal makes it more stretchy than it is when cut straight)

3. Sewing your strips together to make a long strip

4. Using a piping foot, sew plain cotton piping sandwiched between your long fabric strip.

Here are my favorite tutorials for teaching how to sew piping in great detail!

• Upholstery Basics: How to Make Single Welt Cording/Piping
• How to Make & Sew Piping
• Make your own Piping. Sewing techniques. Sewing skills.

Step 4 of 10

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Secure Raw Edges and Seam Together All Side Pieces

Ensuring a Polished Fabric Finish: Why Serge or Zigzag Raw Edges?

Taking care of raw edges is crucial in preventing fabric from fraying and maintaining a clean, professional look in your final product.

Serging the edges is a fantastic way to safeguard against unraveling while you work, resulting in a neat and attractive finish.

However, if a serger isn’t in your toolkit, an alternative is to employ a zigzag stitch or a finishing stitch to achieve a similar effect.

Both methods offer stability to the fabric’s edges, ensuring a refined outcome even without a serger.

You also need to connect the side piece to the front piece to the side piece to the back piece making one continuous strip. This will go all the way around the sides of the cushion.

Step 5 of 10

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Sew Piping Cord to Both Top and Bottom Edges of the Strip

Step 6 of 10

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Sew on the top & bottom but leave a short edge open

Step 7 of 10

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Stuff cushions with foam

The best way I’ve found to stuff is to roll it up, insert rolled up then open inside the cover. It’s still going to be difficult so just be patient with it and work it in.

…really patient. It’s good practice anyways, you know for life and stuff…

I don’t have a picture of me stuffing it, but if I did you would probably laugh. Just imagine the ridiculousness of it all and just know, they will fit.

Step 8 of 10

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Sew Cushions Shut

We do this by hand, in case the photo didn’t make it obvious. I like to use those curved upholstery needles because I’m less likely to accidentally lose it in the fabric. Which I have done before… long time ago… that was not fun.

You can find the curved upholstery needles in the upholstery section or on Amazon.

Step 9 of 10

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Viola!

Step 10 of 10

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Admire your work. You made freaking cushions. They look so good, you must have ironed that fabric like 3 times at least.

There is nothing you can’t figure out! Gosh they look so good and it really wasn’t that hard, now was it?

Products linked today:

• upholstery curved needles
• Panasonic Cordless Iron
• 2” upholstery foam
• 3/4” upholstery batting
• 5/8” cording – cotton cordage Bulk Roll
• Cording foot for sewing machine
• Home Decor Fabric (Exact) (similar)
• Coordinating fabric for piping (Kona cotton in hunter green)
• Coordinating thread
• Heavy-duty needles (80/14 or 90/11)

Interested in learning more about needle types for different projects? I’m taking an interest survey on it today. Drop a comment below and let me know what you think!

So now it’s your turn! If you try this, tag me at @goldengluegun

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