How to make zebra cushions

It's really easy to make your own cushions and accent pillows, so why are they so expensive to buy? Beats me. I can't justify it, and I often make my own. Here's some I just made for my outdoor chairs using a zebra-print fabric I bought online. So cute, don't you think?

Of course, you can use any print you want. I happen to like zebras. The most important factors to consider are durability and whether they are likely to fade in the sun. This zebra fabric is a light canvas, so it's a medium weight cotton fabric and pretty durable, although it's not so heavy that it's hard to work with. The black stripes are supposed to be sun-resistant. Time will tell.

Meanwhile I'm pretty crazy about them.

In case you want to make some of your own, here's how to make these cushions, which are called "knife-edge" because the edges come to a point all around the cushion. It's the easiest of all the cushion and pillow shapes to make.

I used black piping all the way around the edges of my knife-edge zebra cushion. Piping makes a cushion look so finished and professional, don't you think? And my method of sewing piping is fool-proof. Read on to find out how . . .

First make a pattern for your cushions. Cut a piece of wrapping paper or tracing paper a little larger than your chair seat. Then lay the paper on the chair and mark the edges of the seat. Cut along your marking and you have a pattern you can use every time you want to make cushions for this kind of chair.

Tip: It's smart to write on the pattern which chairs this pattern matches. That way, when you want to make new cushions in a couple of years, you have a pattern available without taking apart one of the old cushions. Also you won't accidentally make a cushion for a different chair that doesn't fit.


Here's what you'll need for each cushion:

• A piece of 1" or 1-1/2" foam cut to match the pattern.
• Optional: Cotton batting to wrap around the foam to soften the edges.
• Enough fabric to cover both sides of the cushion - for these cushions I used about 1/2 yard per cushion, or 2 yards for 4 cushions.
  
• Enough matching or contrasting piping to go around each cushion. Measure around the outside of the pattern and multiply by the number of cushions you're making to compute the total inches/yards you need. Look at the piping package to see how many yards of piping it contains and buy as many as you need to get your total, plus a couple of inches. Piecing the piping works just fine, as you'll see in the instructions below.
• Thread to compliment your fabric.

Use your pattern to cut 2 pieces for each cushion, adding 1/2" all the way around for the seam.

Pin the piping all the way around on the right side one of the pieces, lining the unfinished edge up with the fabric edge. Overlap the ends of the piping and angle them slightly to the outside edge. I try to put the overlapped ends on the edge of the cushion that will be to the back of the chair. Sew all the way around as close to the piping as you can.

Pin the two pieces of the cushion together with right sides together. Stitch 3/4 of the way around the cushion on the same line you stitched to attach the piping, stitching just around both corners of the edge that will be to the back of the chair and leaving the back side open. This is where you will insert your foam.



You can either wrap your foam insert with a light layer of cotton batting, or you can cut 2 pieces of cotton batting from the cushion pattern and add them top and bottom to the foam. Or you can use the foam by itself. Whichever you use, fold the foam (and batting in place) roughly in half to insert it into the opening in your fabric 'envelope'. Then manipulate the foam and smooth the fabric and foam out with your hands to fit it in the envelope. Your cover should fit tightly.

Pin the opening shut, folding under the edges, and stitch it closed by hand.

You now have a beautiful piped knife-edge cushion for your chair - zebra or seersucker or covered in hydrangeas, whatever you chose!

The first pickles

Now I know for sure it's summer - I just canned my first two quarts of dill pickles! Aren't they gorgeous?

We have six cucumber plants in pots on the ledge on the front porch, so their vines can hang off the front of the house. They are starting to produce, and I think they're going to be prolific! Yay! More pickles.

My mom made the world's best dill pickles, as I've mentioned on this blog before. She, however, did a proper job of canning and preserving. We go though pickles too fast for that at our house - nothing needs to be preserved for months because it will be eaten long before that. So here's how I do the pickling.

• Sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes. Then let them sit in the hot water while you prepare the brine.
• In a saucepan, bring a brine to a boil. For two quarts of pickles, I used 2 cups water, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 3/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup good pure sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. That's a lot of vinegar, but that's what keeps bacteria from getting in your pickles, just in case you don't eat them right away.
• Take the jars out of the hot water and empty them. Stuff them with cucumbers (cut the flower end off and wash them first), heads of fresh dill, peeled garlic cloves, and a few peppercorns. I've also used dried little hot peppers. Leave an inch or so at the top.
• Ladle or pour the hot brine over the pickles and seasonings in jar. Leave 1/4 inch head room at the top. Seal tightly with your sterilized lids.

Let sit in a cool dark place (I put them in a cabinet in the basement) for two weeks before eating. After you open them, store them in the fridge. If they are too sour for your taste, drain the brine out of the jar you're using (after the two weeks of course) and fill it with water with a bit of sugar dissolved in it. Let it sit in the fridge for a few days and enough of the vinegar will leach out into the water to make them just right! Yum!

I've got my mom's old Ball Jar canning book, which would have been from the 1950s. There are a lot of cool recipes for various pickles and preserves in it, but even better is the "recipe" that's printed on the inside back cover. Here it is:

How to Preserve a Husband

 

Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

 

Food for thought . . .how cute is that???