How to Make Armchair Cushions
Details
Details
As a companion to our first major upholstery video, "How to Reupholster an Armchair" (#200668XHT), this video will conclude that project and show you how to sew the seat and backrest cushions for your newly reupholstered chair frame. These cushions sew together like most box cushions; they just have a few added curves. If you can sew a simple cushion you can tackle this project.
Before you start patterning your cushions, it’s a good idea to put the old cushions back on the chair frame and inspect their fit. When we did this, we noticed that the seat cushion stuck out a little far over the chair base. We made a note of this right on the old fabric to remember to pattern our cushion about a half-inch smaller at the front. It’s also a good idea to feel around the cushion for any lumps or inconsistencies in the foam.
When you take your cushions apart, you’ll want to inspect the foam to make sure it’s still in one piece and seems sturdy to reuse. You can always replace the foam with a similar-sized piece if you aren’t happy with the quality upon inspection. We noticed that our cushion had an empty space in the front where it felt like the foam had slipped back. When we took the cushion apart we re-wrapped the batting around the foam and then we added a little extra batting to the back to be sure the foam would stay in place.
In this video, you’ll learn how to carefully match up the patterns on your fabric to create a cohesive design on the chair, as well as how to pattern and sew the box cushions from start to finish.