Orphan Blocks Cushion Cover

Thank goodness my favourite gift to make people is a cushion cover. Small, quick, great chance to practice a new technique or free motion quilting skillz, and a fun way to play with fabric but quickly move on. Because holy schnizballs, guys, have you seen the Modern Makers Cushion Palooza goings on?!

Open internationally, and with almost $2000 in prizes no less, this month is a festival of cushion loving. Of which I am right on board with. I suspect I’ll be making a couple more this month, because we need a couple more for our own sofa, but in the meantime I have a cushion right off the ranks as it needed to be in Adelaide this Sunday…

I’m making quilts for my parents, and had these 4 little lonesome blocks leftover. Cushions are a GREAT way to use up orphan blocks! And as cushions are usually 16″ or 18″, it means they’re pretty flexible in how you use the blocks. These babies were 8.5″ unfinished, so this is a 16″ (40cm) cushion cover.

Here’s a tip – when you’re getting ready to quilt the top, use up an unwanted solid or print for the backing as it’ll just be on the inside of the cushion and very rarely seen. The lining of this one is a bright orange!

I like to use an envelope closure for my pillows. Quick and easy! Cushion backings are a great way to use up a larger scale print you’ve had lying around for a little while, although this one was a fairly recent addition.

I also like to double top stitch the hem in a coordinating thread for a little bit of a more polished finishing touch! For this print, that meant white. Otherwise, I pick out a colour from the print that matches nicely but also looks nice on its own for that added detail.

And I’m now thinking I should actually make one with some fabric from my Tula Blue quilt to match the quilt, so that we’ll have a year-round reminder of it… Hmm, the cogs are turning!

You can find all the information about the prizes and entry requirements on the Modern Makers’ blog and be sure to follow them on Instagram as @modernmakersretreat for all their amazing modern quilting eye candy!

Save