Seahorse Cushion

 

I think  seahorses are fascinating. This cushion has three resting on a lovely linen blend fabric.
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Seahorse Cushion with Pleated Trim

Materials

½ yard linen blend fabric

15 x 24 in printed fabric
Zipper
Cushion insert
Fusible web (wonder under)
Seahorse template

Instructions

1 Cut two  12x 16 rectangles from solid fabric, cut two  4 x 24in strips from printed fabric, cut one 7 x 10 in rectangle from printed fabric for seahorses.

2 Iron the wrong side of the seahorse fabric to the rough side of the fusible web (or follow product instructions). Trace the seahorse template onto the paper side of the fusible web 3 times and cut out.
3 To position the seahorses on the cushion front, firstly fold the cushion front into thirds along the long side. Place pins at the folds. Unfold the cushion front and place the first and last seahorse on the folds and the centre seahorse will sit between them. There will be about 3 ½ in on the top and bottom edges of the cushion front and the seahorses.

 

4 Remove backing paper and iron seahorses onto the cushion front. Top stitch the outline of each sea horse.

5 Fold the strips in half wrong sides together on the short side and iron to keep the fold. Open and fold the other way so right sides are together and stitch the shorts sides. Turn right side out.

 

6 Measure 1 in intervals along the raw edge. Fold starting from the right hand side the second to last mark to meet the last mark. Pin to hold in place. Repeat until you get to the end. In the photo the pink pin will fold to meet the red pin.

When pleated the strip should measure about 11 ½ in. Machine stitch to hold the pleats. Remove pins as you stitch.

 7 Attach pleats to short sides of the cushion front. Place pleats about ½ in from the edges on the top and bottom. Pin and stitch. Remove pins as you stitch.

8 Align the front and back pieces together right sides facing. Measure the zipper length a long the bottom long side and stitch the seam either side of the zipper. Make the seam allowance about ¾ of an inch. Make sure the pleats are not caught in the seam. It’s a good idea to zigzag the edges of the sipper seam at this stage.

 

9 Working from the wrong side of the cushion pieces iron the seam flat. Place the right side of the zipper face down in the middle of the seam. Tack and stitch one side of the zipper to one seam allowance only using the zipper foot. Start at the bottom end and stitch towards the top when you are about 2 ins from the top leave the needle in the fabric, lift the zipper foot and pull the zipper open until the zipper tab is behind the zipper foot release the foot and continue to stitch.

10 Turn the cushion over to the right side. Tack and top stitch the other side of the zipper in place starting at the bottom and working up and again opening the zipper as you get to the top.

11 Partly open the zipper. Align the edges of the front and back pieces right sides together with the pleats sandwiched between the front and back. Stitch around the edges of the three remaining sides to finish the cushion

12 Zigzag edges. Turn right side out and insert cushion.