Dipping my toe in patchwork

I might make it my New Year's resolution to do more blogging. One every six months really isn't cutting the mustard is it?

This is a make from quite a while back - I reckon almost a year! I'd wanted to do some proper patchwork for ages, after my friend Martha (the one with the scarf) gave me a little tutorial in exchange for one on crochet. I'd like to make a proper quilt soon, although I'm a bit confused as to whether I'd need to put a new foot on the sewing machine for sewing through the quilting? Anyway, I digress...

What I didn't realise about patchwork was the level of maths required. You need to be pretty damn accurate or it all goes tits up. Here's some of my more recent working out for potential cushions:

 

Sewing = maths, yo

 As this was my first time of doing patchwork I decided to go for very basic squares, or else I feared it'd turn into a right bodge-job. I have some old cushion covers which I'm slowly working my way through replacing. And by slowly I mean at about the same speed that I blog at.

 

Allow me to introduce Captain Bland Cushion

I got together some pretty exciting fabrics which I've been waiting to work with for ages. I think quite a few of these were freebies from when I took out a subscription with Mollie Makes.

Mmmm, fabricy

I used a cardboard template and some dressmaker's chalk to measure out my squares, because I'm a bit lazy. Then cut them out and pinned them together in the order I wanted.

Beaut

You can't sew them together like that, so I had to unpin them back down to rows. Doh.

 

Coolcat Bagpuss helped that day

 

 This other coolcat helped significantly less. And tried to eat my bowl of pins

Once sewn together (with about a cm seam allowance), I pressed the seams so that it was neat and tidy, neat and tidy.

Next, the back of the cushion. For the lower half I did 2.5 rows of squares, and for the top half 2 rows with a ribbon on the bottom.

 Waiting to get all sewn up

Some ribbon doing what it does best - being ribbon

This was my favourite. I love the pattern and it's a nice thick fabric

Then I popped the best sides together and sewed 'em up:

 

 

...applied buttony-goodness:

 

...and sewed my button holes.

 

As I don't think things through I didn't do the button holes with the machine prior to sewing the cushion together, so I had to do them by hand (or really awkwardly with the machine). By hand was fine though. I'm glad I thought to actually do it because that ribbon is pretty flimsy.

 Et voila!

Mission complete. It was actually pretty fun this project. I've started a second cushion but abandoned it after the pinning stage in favour of some crochet makes I had to get done for Christmas. I expect I'll return to it in the New Year.

Apologies for the somewhat blurry photos

 

...the daylight was fading fast as I took them.

Full up with cushion

 

 Damn sexy

 

Right, that's your lot.

Hopefully see you before the Summer then! x