Sewing: Paste Batik Cushion Covers

There is no doubt that the right fabric - design, color and texture - makes the sewing project look stunning.

But, pretty designer fabrics and vintage prints are not cheap. I do hunt for deals but with a very small budget for utility sewing materials, I rarely have enough to splurge on just the perfect fabric for each project. So I make do with what I manage to get. I am at peace with that. For now.

However, I feel rather fortunate that I live practically at a stone's throw from The Fabric Depot - I could live in this store! A great selection of fabrics plus sewing/quilting/crafting items and miscellaneous goodies makes this a veritable haven for craftspeople on a budget.

They had wonderful batik prints on sale a while back and I had bought half a yard each of a few colors to pair up with my own paste batik and finish up some the projects.

Finally, thanks to Spring Break for the kids, and therefore forced time off for me from work - the social set up is really asymmetric, kids are off at 3 from school but jobs are from 9-5, which means leaving the house 7-ish for average commute with time to drop off the kids in early care if available, and arranging some after school care if one can't get off work by 3... that is a separate thread I have to leave hanging at this time...

Anyway, back to the paste batik cushion covers... finally I finished a couple of cushion covers I started in early February. Nothing fancy about them. I went with some quick, easy design. Free-hand, of course. And it shows. But, that adds a bit of rustic charm to the piece, I think.

And, this peacock happens to be my default design for quick free-hand work. I've used this for the embroidered cushion covers, for greeting cards, for fabric painting on Ana's clothes... all that repeated drawing over a couple of decades has etched this in my muscle-memory, it looks like...




Sewing the cushion covers - I used a lining piece for the front, and the back is my usual overlap pattern, no buttons or fasteners to worry about.

Place the lining right side down; on top of it place the painted paste batik fabric right side up, so that the wrong sides of the two pieces so far are touching; place the overlapping back (finish raw edges first) pieces right side down, so that the right sides are touching with the paste batik fabric sandwiched. Sew the edges, zigzag the raw edges if preferred. Turn right side out and voilà, it is done.