MAKING CUSHIONS

Southland Times, Issue 23740, 11 February 1939, Page 8 (Supplement)

MAKING CUSHIONS

Cushibns made attractively. will brighten and improve a dull sitting room considerably. You can make most effective cushions of many shapes and sizes from remnants or material. In all of them the outer cover should be made separately and be easily removed for washing, and as a rule very little extra work is needed to do this. For circular cushions a convenient size is a diameter of 24in; square cushions may be the same size but may be smaller. The thickness of the cushion may vary from 4in up-

wards, but it is not advisable to have any cushion too thin. The finest filling for cushions is goose down but selected mixed feathers are often used as they are less expensive. It is necessary to look over the feathers very carefully to take out hard quills and care must be taken to see that the feathers are quite dry. Javanese kapok is also used for filling, but it is not as good as feather filling. To make the circular cushion shown at'Fig. 1, cut out the material as shown in Fig. 2. The two _ circular pieces should be the same diameter and the border P° r h°“ should be at least three an h a quarter times the diameter, due allowance being made for joinm 0 the pieces. The case for a dovwifilled cushion should be made froffl some closely woven material; there are several cotton materials aval !" able. The most, satisfactory is down-proof cambric. Itis.usually advisable to soap the inside of the case to prevent the quills piercing the cover. . j Having decided upon the size ana obtained the material, cut out the shapes and sew them together as

strongly as possible, leaving an opening of about 6in for filling. Always fill up the case fully and take care to secure the opening when the case is filled. In making the outer case it is as well to make it a little smaller than the inner case, or if the case should have been made first, make the inner case a little larger; this gives the cushion a better appearance. The case is sewn together from the inside and turned inside out afterwards, leaving sufficient room lor the inner case to be inserted.

The edges may be finished in various . ways—one of the most effective to finish off is to run a thick cord round the edge. Square cushions can be made and finished, in the same way, and although an oblong cushion may be found suitable for some purposes, it is generally advisable to keep to square and round shapes.

The bolster cushion at Fig. 3 is quite a favourite form of cushion, and when made to a length of about 20in, or a little less, with a diameter of about lOin, it should be made quite plain as it is for the round cushion, and the outer case sewn together in the form of a cylinder. The ends are sewn up with a draw thread and pulled together and may be finished with a tassel. The pouffe as shown at 'Fig. 4 is little more than a compromise between a circular and a bolster cushion. The inner case is made in the same way, but the outer case should have a bottom and a top similar to the circular cushion. It can be made quite plain or in segments as shown. A cord tied round the middle will finish off the pouffe.