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Ask Cindy
  VIDEO INSTRUCTOR

  Cindy Taylor

Cindy is the owner of Dolman & Taylor specialist curtain and blind makers. She has over 15 years of experience, curtain making, blind making, working with fabrics and making soft furnishings. In the videos she clearly explains and demonstrates the methods and techniques used in her workroom .

   Resources
Step 1: Calculate Fabric Required

FABRIC QUANTITY

Very often cushions are piped in a contrast fabric. So we will look at the fabric required for the piping separately from the fabric required to cover the cushion.

PATTERNED FABRIC CONSIDERATIONS:

  • With a patterned fabric you may want to position your pattern in a certain place on the cushion cover. (this may require extra fabric)
  • You may want the back of the cushion to be a different fabric to the front. (you need the same sized panel for front and back)





FABRIC TO COVER THE CUSHION:

We use a 2cm seam allowance when making a piped zipped cushion. The size of the fabric panel you cut depends on how soft or firm you want your cushion to be.


For a FIRM CUSHION

  • You will need 2 fabric panels each the same width and height of the cushion pad .
    eg: For a 51cm x 51cm cushion pad you will require 2 (51cm x 51cm) fabric panels.

For a SOFT CUSHION

  • You will need 2 fabric panels each the width of the cushion pad plus 4cm and the height of the cushion pad plus 4cm.
    eg: For a 51cm x 51cm cushion pad you will require 2 (55cm x 55cm) fabric panels.





FABRIC TO MAKE THE PIPING:

To make the cushion we need a continuous length of piping at least 5cm longer than the perimeter of the cushion pad .

eg: A 51cm x 51cm cushion pad requires a length of piping 209cm long.

You will need a a strip of fabric 5cm wide and the length of the piping cord (it may need joins). To further complicate things best practice is to cut the fabric on the bias. That is where the fabric strips are cut across the grain of the fabric at an angle of 45 degrees to the fabric roll (to improve the bend of the piping on the corners).

SEE CINDY'S CUTTING PIPING VIDEO in STEP 3 , where she talks through cutiing on the bias or straight for your piping strips.

CONSIDERATIONS:

  • You will want as few joins as possible in the piping fabric.
  • If you are making everything from the same fabric, map out how you will where you will cut the piping and face panels from. Place a ruler at a 45deg angle to reserve this space before mapping out the squares for the cushion faces. Mark front and back panels with a vanishing marker or pin at each corner until you are happy you have placed them correctly.




FAQs

Cutting the strips at 45 deg to the grain is best practice as it allows the fabric to stretch when bending the piping around a tight corner. That said you can cut straight strips with the grain. It will work and uses less fabric.