SparrowNest: DIY Bench Cushion

I don't like to walk out of the thrift store empty-handed. It's always a disappointment when it happens, but to be expected when you want to save money on whatever you are looking for. A few weeks ago the same disappointment dawned on me until something caught my eye as I was leaving. There was a piece of furniture that looked like it had lots of potential sitting in the donation cage outside of the store. I snuck in to get a better look. It was a vintage, wooden filing cabinet. I fell in love. The only problem was that it wasn't for sale yet (and some places are very strict on stuff like that) and even if it were, I would need to think of a way to justify it to Ethan. I asked a worker and she told me they normally don't sell on the spot like that, buuuuut it would help them from having to haul it into the store. The damage? 10 bucks! We put it in the back of my truck and I realized it would make a perfect bench for our entry way :) All it needed was a bench cushion... the only problem was that 1) They are so expensive and 2) It would be hard to find one that fit the exact dimensions. I searched the internet and found this amazingly simple tutorial!

Skill Level:

Beginner/Easy

Time:

It took me 1.5 hours :)

Total Cost:

$15.00 (with leftover fabric and polyfill)

I got my fabric from Wal-mart. It was on clearance for $1.50 a yard. I didn't have a certain motif in mind...I just wanted to find the most inexpensive alternative to a cushion. I bought two yards but one yard was more than enough. I forgot that the width is doubled since they fold it over!

Based off the tutorial and my dimensions, I started to cut my fabric to size.

And then I pinned the edges so that it would be easy to sew with my machine.

After the sewing was finished, I had to sew in the corners a certain way (extremely easy) to ensure clean edges all around.

The most time consuming part was filling with polyfill. This was also the most expensive material too. $8.97 for a bag at Walmart! The small bag sure wouldn't have been enough but at least I have some left over for future projects.