My dear friend Paul contacted me saying they loved some fabric they'd seen on one of our cushions and could I make him 3 bar stool chair pads custom fit for their 3 balcony stools.

Yes I can!! 

Their stools are 30cm x 30cm which is a non-standard size in chair pads so they came to the right place :)

First....the Cushion Cover

I didn't have a ready-to-go pattern for this cushion cover style so I had to first make a template.  I knew my client wanted a finished 30cm square cushion so I worked off my standard 45cm square cushion cover template and reduced it by 15cm. 

I then wanted to make it more boxy looking so I needed to add corner edges.  I wanted the seat to be 1" thick so I pinched each fabric corner to make a triangle (half of the triangle will be the front fabric and the other half will be your back fabric) and marked 1" down from the corner tip and then across with my ruler.  Draw a line and pin it in place.  Do this for all 4 corners.  DON'T SEW IT YET! 

Next....the Seat Ties

After I'd made the basic cushion cover I made the ties with a 100% cotton black fabric.  I cut 2 x 20" x 2" rectangle pieces for each cushion, so 6 in total (as I was making 3 seat pads)

I can't tell you how important it is to iron your fabric, initially and then at every step through the process.  Ironing your fabric allows for any stretch, wrinkles etc. to be accounted for and removed so that you get a really neat professional finish.  My only other tip is don't iron on a 30c+ day, it's bloody hot!  Or put the air-con on if you have it!

With each rectangle piece I folded it in half lengthwise and ironed it again, this now gave me a 1" x 20" piece, you need to then take each side and fold it into the middle, this will encase the raw edges and you'll end up with a 1/2" x 20" rectangle.  Take this beauty to your machine and top stitch all around the edge.  Do this for the next 5 ties.

We now need to sew the ties into place.  I wanted my ties coming out of the top of the fabric so when the chair pads were on the cushion they were the right way up.  Find where you pinned your two top corners and on the back piece of fabric, pin your ties in flat into the triangles you made.  This will give a lovely flat effect of the ties coming out of only the bottom half of your 1" corner edge once sewed in place and turned right side out.

With your two ties pinned in you can now sew all 4 corners along the diagonal line you created.  Go over the ties a few times as these will be tugged and pulled and you want these really secure.  Once all 4 corners are sewed, trim off the triangle taking care not to cut your seams.  I finished mine off with a tight zigzag edge to prevent fraying.  Turn your cushion right side out and VOILA!  Your cover is all done complete with box corners and two back ties.

This photo shows the end result of the boxed corners and you can also see at the back the ties come out neatly from the bottom half of the cushion:

Finally....a Comfy Bum fit

Paul wanted a nice comfy seat cushion so I opted for a 36cm square cushion insert which fluffs up and fits perfectly inside the 30cm cushion cover instead of the standard chair foam (sore bum anyone?) - another win for the custom made trade!!  Over beers, laughs, love and memory making times on their chair pads the cushions will gentle flatten a little, so using the larger cushion insert caters for when it does flatten, it'll still offer lots of comfort and fit snuggly.

What do you think?

Installation

Paul has a gorgeous balcony filled with an array of plants and these chair pads on his black bar stools add the perfect pop of pinks and deep greens for a real statement piece.

If you'd like your very own custom cushion covers made, send me a message and I'll be happy to work with you to ensure you get exactly what you want in style, size and quantity.  Don't settle for off-the-shelf when you can get exactly what you need from us.

Sew-long for now,

Gill T