Sewing: Patchwork Cushion Covers

I love patchwork quilts. There is something about the mish-mash of colors and shapes sewn together that makes it very endearing, especially when it is reclaimed, recycled fabric.

Of course, I don't have the patience (or time) anymore for large quilting projects, so, cushion covers come in handy, satisfying the need for fresh covers and my longing to make some patchwork.

The half a dozen cushions we have at home get fresh cushion covers on and off when I have the mood to make a new one.

Sometimes it is a theme that gets repeated - like peacock, elephant, flower between place mats and cushion covers; sometimes it is the craft method - like appliqué, embroidery, painting, paste batik, or patchwork as in this case, which uses up scraps of fabric leftover from other sewing projects.



For this project, I went with sorting the scraps by color and using the reds+pinks for one pair, the yellows for another, the blues for the third pair. The closest matching or contrasting print from my stash became the back of the cushion cover. I liked the chicken print a lot for the yellows.



Of course, these are well-worn as can be seen from the threads fraying. I should trim them, but something about hanging threads gives it an instant antique and warm feel.

Of course, "Antiques" in D's book has always meant "A Bunch Of Junk That People Didn't Want But Want You To Think You Want Them So As To Feel Good"... and, I am not disagreeing with him. I guess rustic and antique evoke feelings of a cozy home where things are well-appreciated, usually hand-made, and much-used...