Dog Bed/Cushion Cover

This year, our classroom inherited a little cushioned bench for our "cool down" area.  The bench, though, has seen better days.

My teacher asked me if I could sew a cover for the cushion.  The bench had a skirt around the bottom that was red and white chevrons, so I looked through my fabrics for something that would match.  After sifting through tons of options, I found this adorable dachshund print that I got at a craft show earlier this year!

As luck would have it, this piece was just big enough to make the top and bottom panels of the covers.  So I found a red and white polka dot cotton for the sides.

I had to get a bit creative with the layout of the sides since I didn't have enough full pieces to fit.  I had to trim the two side pieces and construct the back piece from four smaller cuts.  This worked out okay since I had to add in a zipper to get the cushion in and out.

To start, I sewed the front piece to the long side of the dachshund fabric, right side to right side.

Next, I sewed on both sides, letting the corners overlap a little.

Next, I joined the corners, forming a box.

Now for the hard part, the back panel.  I took two smaller pieces that were the same length as the zipper and sewed them together.

I ironed the seam flat.

Then I sewed down the zipper onto the closed seam, making sure to sew down the opening and closing edges of the zipper to keep my seams from unraveling.

With a seam ripper, I opened the seam in between the opening and closing edges of the zipper.

With that done, I sewed it onto two smaller pieces of the polka dot fabric to get the correct length.  Then I sewed the whole thing onto the back.  Finally I finished up the last two corners.

After that, it was just sewing on the bottom panel.  This was simple since the zipper allowed me to flip my cover inside out.

Now, long story short, I misunderstood the idea of the bench.  The cushion on top doesn't come off!  I made a cushion cover where the cushion needs to be put inside.  Whoops!  So instead, I turned this into a makeshift bunbed for my dachshunds.  I just put two pillows inside, one on either end, leaving a small gap in the middle.  For some reason, they love sinking into the indent.

For the bench at school, I just did the same thing, except instead of adding a bottom panel, I made the sides long enough to cover the bench from top to bottom--almost like an extra long table cloth.  That way, I didn't have to match with the red and white chevron pattern; I used a cute brown swirl fabric for the top, and a brown plaid for the sides (which you can see in the picture behind my doggie)!


~Buttons

Pleated Cherry Skirt

I bought these two printed cotton fabrics at Walmart in the remnant bin ages ago. I liked the way they looked together and I envisioned a cherry skirt!



I started by cutting panels, since I thought it would look cute to alternate between the red and the blue fabrics.



I measured from my waist to about mid-thigh to get the length. For the width, I think I just guesstimated and cut. With a plethora of panels, I wasn't concerned about the width.

I sewed them together (five panels of each color).

And. I. Hated. It.

It's been sitting on my craft table for about six months. Then yesterday, I saw it and thought about finishing it. That was when inspiration struck! Since I hated the way it looked side-by-side, I thought it would a great alternative to turn the red panels into mostly-hidden pleats!



What a prefect idea! I loved the way it looked!

Unfortunalty, my width became a factor when I took away half of it. Because of this, I had to rip my seam and sew in two additional panels (one blue and one red). With this addition, I figured it would be a better idea to just add in a zipper, since the width was nearly exact with my waist.

First, I pinned the pleats in place and sewed along the top seam.





Then I cut a long strip--a little bit longer than my waist measurement.



I folded it in half and sewed it to itself, wrong side to wrong side, to create a wasitband for the top of the skirt.



I sewed it down, beginning in the front and circling to the back left. I stopped an inch from the exact back. Then I repeated on the right, stitching from the front to the back, again, stopping before I got to the end. This was to ensure I had a slit for adding in the zipper.


(This is the back of the strip, neither side being sewn down at the moment)



Adding in the zipper was tricky. I slit an opening down the middle back blue panel. I sewed (very poorly) the zipper into that opening.



Next, I thought it would look cute and fruity to add a green bias tape edge along the bottom hem.



I sewed it down, ironed, and viola!




(This shirt doesn't match very well, and I was having a bad hair day.)

I love the way it turned out! It's super cute!


~Buttons