Work in progress: Cushion

I'm in the process of redecorating my bedroom, and one of the items I really wanted to make for it was a patchwork cushion. I found that a lot of the images of cushions I was pinning to my Bedroom ideas board were of cushions with triangular patterns, many of them with yellow and grey in the design, which reminded me of my Charles Rennie Mackintosh stamped design.

I started by choosing my fabrics - I found this quite difficult as I had to visualise what a triangle of each fabric would look like interspersed with all the others. I looked back at my pinned images for ideas on fabric colours and patterns.

I made triangle template in various sizes in Word, then, after printing them out and deciding on which size to use, cut one out from card. I used this to cut out paper triangles and larger fabric triangles.

I drew a rough sketch of my cushion, so I could decide how to place the different coloured triangles in a balanced way.

After pinning each paper triangle to a fabric one, I ironed the edges. I didn't bother tacking them in place. I thought that might make them messy when sewn together, but I was surprised at how well they turned out.

I sewed the triangles together with white thread, placing the right sides together. I made four strips, each of ten triangles, but these are not quite long enough so I will have to add some more. The strips will then all be sewn together. The back of the cushion will be made with a single piece of fabric, I haven't decided what colour yet! And I'm thinking of making another cushion cover, this one with a painted or stamped design.