Cushion cover with buttons and buttonholes

Needed:

  • Fabric for your cushion front (slightly bigger than the cushion pad)
  • Two pieces for the back, see below for measurements).
  • You could use the same fabric for the three pieces, or three different ones. You can mix and match fabric weight here: denim and cotton look gorgeous together, for instance. Once you are a pro you can use silky scarves or even a piece of yourown knitting for the front!
  • Buttons (at least two)
  • Buttonhole foot
  • Interfacing
  • Cushion pad (square is easiest for beginners!)

Drafting your pattern:

Front: measure the height and width of your cushion pad, then add two sets of seam allowances to each measurement. So, for a 50cm square cushion pad, the maths is as follows:

50 +1.3+1.3 = 52.6cm, so for the front, cut a square of 52.6cm.

Back: cut two pieces for the back, each measuring 52.6cm wide and half of 52.6 (26.3) + 2.5cm for the button stand= 28.8cm high

Instructions:

Adding some funky buttons to your cushion cover really makes it stand out from the crowd. Make sure you have practiced buttonholes on some scraps so you feel comfortable with them, and practice at least once more on the fabric you are proposing to use for the back of the cover, to check what stitch length looks best.

We make our own pattern here to fit the cushion pad you have.

The calculations will see the buttons sit exactly in the middle of the back. Once you have made a couple you can start varying the position of the buttonstand. You can essentially chop your full cushion front height measurement almost anywhere (not too near either edge!) as long as you then add the 2.5cm allowance for the buttonstand!

We will be using a 1.3cm seam allowance, so mark this on your machine now.

1 Start by measuring your cushion pad, then add 1.3cm on each side for the seam allowance. So say your pad measures 30cm, you need to cut 30 + 1.3 + 1.3cm for the front.

For the back you need to cut the same width but only half the height + a 2.5cmbuttonstandallowance. See example for details on how to work this out. Cut one front and two back pieces. If you have ripped your fabric, iron the edges, and in any case make sure your fabric hasn’t got any creases in it.

2 Fold over one long edge of each back piece by 0.5cm and press. Cut some interfacing 2cm x the width of your folded edge. Lay the interfacing glue side-down on the wrong side of your fabric, overlapping the fold you have just made, and press to attach.

3 Fold your fabric over to the wrong side again, using the edge of the interfacing as a guide to fold over. Press and pin.

4 Stitch close to the edge of the final fold with a 3 stitch length, to secure the button stand. Repeat for the other back piece.5 Decide how many buttons you would like. Take into account that you will need one or two at least in the center of the opening so it doesn’t gape open. Also note that you won’t need any close to the side edges. Mark your buttonholes’ positions along a straight line in the middle of your buttonstand, so about 1.25cm from the folded edge, and mark the length of each as discussed in the book.

5 Attach your buttonhole foot if you are using one, or use a standard foot and mark both ends of the buttonhole with a pin. Create your buttonholes and cut them open with a stitch picker.

6Lay your cushion cover pieces out as follows: your front fabric facing up, your back pieces facing down, the piece with the buttonholes going down first. It should be that the buttonstands from each of the back pieces are now overlapping. If not adjust the position of the back pieces until they do. Pin all the way around. Cut away any fabric that sticks out, then flip your cushion over and cut any excess fabric away from the other side too.

7 Mark your corners on the fabric, 1.3cm away from all the edges, and draw the whole L shape in to help you see where to pivot.Mark your seam allowance on the sewing machine. Stitch all the way around the perimeter of the cover, securing your stitches at the beginning and end, and pivoting in all the corners. Cut the corners diagonally off close to the stitching.

8 Turn your cover the right side out, poking all the corners out with something like the back of a pen or a knitting needle, toget nice sharp corners.

9 Mark where your buttons are to be sewn by using a pin and poking through the centre of the buttonhole to marking the buttonstand below. Now sew on your buttons.

Insert your cushion pad, button up your cover, sit back on it with a cuppa and a biscuit and enjoy!