Stage 1
Turn the shirt inside out and place it on a flat surface with the front of the shirt facing upwards towards you.
Stage 2
Now lay the cushion on the shirt making sure the cushion is central to the centre line of buttons on the shirt.
Stage 3
Using a tape measure or a ruler, measure the width and length of the cushion and write this down. You should make some allowance in your measurements so that the cushion fits comfortably. Lemara added 2cm extra on all four sides.
Stage 4
Using a marker and a ruler, draw the lines where you made the allowance for your cushion then use pins to keep the both sides of the shirt together for cutting.
Stage 5
If you are using a sewing machine, place the fabric under the foot of the machine and remove any buttons that may be in the way of your sewing - you can hand sew them back on once your cushion is finished. Once you have sewn down one side simply sew down the 2nd, 3rd etc until all 4 sides are finished. You can neaten the edges with a zig-zag.
Lemara is using the overlocker which will seam, neaten and cut away the excess fabric. She will guide the fabric so that half a centimetre (0.5cm) will be trimmed away. She has made sure that the pins are far to the left so as not to risk damage to the blade. If you are using a sewing machine, set it to a straight stitch and remember to leave an allowance to neaten with a zig-zag stitch.
Stage 6
As Lemara is using the overlocker she sews to the end of the fabric, she continues to chain off then turn the fabric, place it back under the overlocker foot then sew the 2nd, 3rd etc until all 4 sides are seamed and neatened in one easy step.
Stage 7
Once your newly converted cushion cover is finished, you can undo the buttons, turn it the right way around and put your cushion inside.
Place it on your bed, stand back and admire your creation!
I hope you find this project fun and simple to do, it’s something that the whole family could get involved with!