Ninja Cushion - tutorial

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Yes, Ebi-kun has moved into the realm of ninjas, as if knights, dinosaurs and samurai were not enough. So, I thought I would combine his new found love with a little tutorial, this one is for all those novice fibre artists out there and for anyone who wants to whip up a quick gift or change their room a bit. Scatter cushions are great for that! All it needs is for you to sew one piece of fabric to another piece of fabric and then 3 pieces of fabric together - sounds easy enough doesn't it? If you use the formula below you can make a cover for any size cushion.

Requirements:
cushion form
fabric
black felt or fabric
black thread for applique
thread to match cushion fabric
bond-a-web or similar

Measure your cushion form and add 1.5cm for the seam allowance.
That will be size of your cushion front

Cut out the fabric.....
For the back you need 2 pieces of fabric, the height needs to be approximatley 2/3's of the height of the front piece plus 1cm for the hem, the width is the same as the front piece.

For example, my cushion form is 36cm x 36cm
My front piece therefore will be 37.5cm x 37.5cm

The back pieces will be
height of the front piece/3 x 2 then add 1cm for the hem.
37.5cm/3 x 2 which is 25cm + 1cm for the hem.

so I cut out
37.5cm x 37.5cm
37.5cm x 26cm (cut 2)

Applique the design....
Print out the ninja from the file at the bottom of this post.
Put your bond-a-web over the top of the ninja and trace around it.
Iron the bond-a-web onto the back of the black felt.
Cut out the ninja.
Peel off the backing paper and iron the ninja to the centre of the front piece of fabric.
Use an applique stitch if you have one or a small zig-zag and sew around the edge of the ninja, at some points you may need to turn the fabric, to do this lower the needle so that it is in the fabric, lift the presser foot and gently move the fabric round. Lower the presser foot and continue sewing.

Prepare the back pieces...

Fold over the long edge by 1cm and press.

Then turn it over another 1cm and press again so that the raw edges are hidden. Sew along the edge to make a hem.

Sew the cushion together....

Lay the front piece on the table, right side up.

Now lay one of the back pieces right side down on top of the front piece with the hemmed edge towards the centre and the outer edges aligned with the front piece.

Lay the second back piece, right side down with the hemmed edge towards the centre and and the bottom edges aligned. Pin to hold all the layers together.

Sew all the way around the edge with a 1cm seam allowance. It is preferable to use an overlock stitch but it will work fine with a straight stitch. If the fabric is prone to fraying then trim the edges with pinking shears. Trim the corners, by cutting the tip of the corner off.

Turn right side out and press. Put in your cushion form, stand back and admire your handwork.

If you are looking for more cushion and pillow inspiration, pop over to Sew Mama Sew, they are having a Pillow Month!

Ninja Outline for Cushion Jojoebi Designs

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