How To Sew Your Own Cushion Cover

We all love cushions for our beds, chairs, sofa’s and almost anywhere a cushion can go we want one there. So today we will make a cover for a standard large cushion. It is super easy and quick to sew. You can easily customise it and adjust the size according to your own requirements.

I used upholstery fabric but you can use any fabric you choose for your cushion covers. I do recommend a sturdy material. Still, cotton and linen would be great alternatives.

This cushion is a square so the measurements were really simple. If your cushion is a different shape or size you can easily adjust the measurements accordingly. As long as you know how to sew a cushion cover everything else will be easy.

What you will need to make this cushion cover

Estimated time: half an hour.

  • measure and cut your cloth (you will need almost 1 yard, but it depends on the width of your material)
    • 21 inches-53 centimetres, in width and length
    • 21 inches-53 centimetres, 14 inches-36 centimetres
    • 21 inches-53 centimetres, 12 inches-31 centimetres
    • extra scraps should be kept for making loops for the buttons
  • 3 large buttons
  • matching thread
  • sharp scissors
  • a sewing machine
  • sewing chalk

How to sew your cushion cover

Start by preparing your fabric. If you are not using upholstery then you will need to iron your cloth before cutting it. The upholstery I used does not crease. Of course, there are some that do, so be sure to iron the material as needed, it will make measuring and cutting easier.

Firstly you will have to hem one side of the two cloths that will be your overlapping flaps. Take the 21-14 and 21-12 inch cloth pieces and hem them separately on only one side of the length.

Place the 21 by 14-inch square cloth on your table, right side down. Now fold about half an inch along the length and then fold again. Pin the folded edge as you keep it in place. Upholstery should not be ironed repeatedly and it does not stay in place without the pinning process. Once you have pinned it all along the length you can start to sew it and remove the pins as you go.

As you can see I have successfully hemmed the cloth here. In the images above are a step-by-step process you can follow to replicate the hemming. You will need to repeat the process for your 21-12 inch cut of cloth. Note: the big square of cloth does not need to be hemmed at all and do not get it mixed with your smaller two pieces of cloth.

How to join all overlaps to make your cushion cover

Place your 21-21 inch square on a table top, right side up. Take the 21-14 inch hemmed cloth and place it on top of the square. Look at the image below for reference. Firstly sew one straight line that will join the length to the square. After you have done this go on to sew all the way around on both sides.

Now that you have sewn the bigger flap onto your cushion cover in the making, it’s time to sew the second smaller flap. Take the 21-12 inch already hemmed cloth and place it on top of your cushion as shown in the image below. Again, repeat the same process by first sewing a straight line joining it to the cushion cover.

Turn the cushion cover inside out, great work your cushion cover is almost complete.

How to sew buttons on your cushion cover

I used these lovely wooden styled buttons but I do encourage you to use whatever buttons you prefer. Of course, the buttons would depend entirely on the print of cloth you use. Be sure to play around with the contrast and colour. Have fun and be creative. You could always choose a plain colour but I wanted my buttons to be part of a design as well.

Firstly measure the length of the sewn cushion. It should measure 20 inches. Right under the overlapping flap measure 5 inches and make a chalk marking (if you’re not confident about the measurement just measure the entire length and divide it into four parts). Now you will have all the markings for your buttons, match these markings on the top flap as well (you can use these later for the hoops that will go around the buttons.

Sew on your buttons by sewing a small stitch directly on the spot where you want your button to be placed. Now repeatedly sew through your button until it is firmly in place. Underneath the sewn button you can sew a small stitch three or four times and then cut your thread. Look at the image below to see how I have sewn the button.

How to sew the hoops for your buttons

First, you need to make the rope that will be used for your hoops. Here are the measurements. Cut your cloth at 15 inches-38 centimetres in length, and 2 inches-6 centimetres in width. Now take the cloth at its length and fold it halfway from both sides. Once this is done fold it on top of the folds. Look at the images below to see how I did this.

With the help of your sewing machine sew a straight line down the cloth to make this cloth a string. Now cut into three equal parts. Take one piece and fold it to make both the tips join. Place it on the reverse side of your cushions flap. With your sewing machine sew this on by sewing at least three lines of stitching. I have some images below that will help you do it yourself. Note, the hoops do have to be adjusted according to the size of your buttons. Adjusting the hoops is really easy, all you have to do is wrap the string around the button and leave an extra half-inch on both sides for sewing.

Final Thoughts

As you can see I put up pictures of both the front and back of the cushion cover. It was incredibly easy and quick to make. I hope you find this tutorial fun and easy to replicate as well.

If you have any questions or maybe you want some help understanding a part of this project, please do reach out and ask questions. I would love to help you with anything.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *