Sew Sew Sweet Saturday-Bench Seat

I am going to start something new now that I have my sewing machine...Sew Sew Sweet Saturday. I am going to do tutorials that are just sewing/fabric based.

This first tutorial is actually a no-sew tutorial...kind of defeats the purpose of Sew Sew Sweet but hey I am still figuring out my machine. I recently bought Eliza a toy chest from Wayfair, it was only $40, originally over $100. When it came I just loved it, and still do, but when she started to play with it I got nervous of her hitting her head and scratching the lid with her toys. I decided I could pad it and make it a little bench, and try to save the lid.

Supplies:
Fabric of your choice
Foam padding
Scissors
Hard backing
Hot glue

So to start off let me say, I am a pretty frugal person, I won't pay full price for much. So if the supplies I use in the tutorial are a little different then most...it's because I am cheap.

Start off by purchasing your foam padding. I had Joanns cut it to the size I needed for the lid. I then traced that foam onto a sturdy piece of cardboard(it was actually the box the toy chest came in). Normally you would use a type of chair board but I wasn't spending the money on that knowing she will be destroying it.

 

Cut out your cardboard. Note: A steak knife cuts cardboard easier then scissors, just be VERY careful.

Now glue your cardboard to your foam. I used hot glue and put it in the middle then around all of the edges. I trimmed the board if it wasn't even.

Now lay out your fabric, make sure you have washed and ironed it. Make sure if it is a pattern you have the pattern in line for what you want shown. Lay your fabric face down, then lay the foam on top of that, cardboard up.

Pull your fabric up and glue it down on one side, do the longest side first.

Now turn it 180* and do the other long side. Make sure to pull it taught so there are no wrinkles, glue down.

Flip over to make sure you like how it is looking so far. Hot glue is pretty easy to work with so you could remove and start over if needed.

Now move on to one of the short sides. I am still learning how to fold fabric to make nice corners, so I kind of did it like I would a gift. I glued one side down, then the other. Repeat on the other side.

Flip it over and tada, a cushion!! This cost me less then $5. I always go to the clearance fabric first to see if I can find something I like. The cardboard backing saved me a lot of money.