Rocking Chair Pillows

I made cushions for my daughter's friend who was having her first child. I like how they turned out . . . I hope they are durable.

Once I started making them, it went quickly and smoothly enough. I had a hard time getting started though because of three issues: finding enough fabric, questions about what style to sew, and questions about the best (and most comfortable) construction.

First off, my daughter's friend bought the fabric. I misunderstood and thought initially she only wanted a bottom cushion so I told her to buy a yard. When I learned she wanted the top cushion too, the hunt for the fabric was on.

The yard had been purchased at Joann's in Columbus (2 hours south of me), so I went to my local Joann's a couple times, and looked at the company's online selection. The fabric was nowhere to be found. My daughter went to the Columbus Joann's, and I looked at another Joann's near my dad's. Nope. I went to a couple Michaels and a Hobby Lobby. No luck. I decided to find a suitable back-up fabric so I could use it to make the back and bottom of the cushions and use the one yard for the front and top, a light yellow broadcloth.

​But then, as a last resort, I drove to a Joann's I'd never been to about 30 minutes west of me. They had it!!! One last bolt with a couple yards left on it. ​

Then I needed to decide what kind of cushions to make. Although I had an idea of what to do from seeing such cushions all my life, I looked at a lot of cushions online to get an idea if there was anything better. 

I liked piping but I didn't like the band around the sides. 

In the end, I liked the tufting or buttons and the classic shapes.  I couldn't decide on the filler either. It seemed it should be fiberfill but I had these high-density foam pieces that seem so comfortable. I finally decided to make a couple test cushions out of the yellow broadcloth, use fiberfill, and see how they felt. They were good and plenty comfy. I decided to use the test pillows for the insides and make covers out of the fabric. I forgot to interface the fabric—I really wish I'd remembered for the sake of durability, but at least the double cushions provide some sturdiness, I think. ​

I was waffling about the style, trying to second guess what the new mom wanted. She had said she wanted a zipper, but the tufting would make that impossible. Finally,  it hit me I could just ask her. I don't know what my hang-up was.

We settled on tufting plus buttons on the back and tufting on the seat. From there, I had them made in a couple days.

I had read and watched a lot of tutorials for different kinds of cushions, but the one style I wanted I couldn't seem to find. It looked to be simply constructed, out of two pieces with some sort of fold magic. I finally found it on Ageberry's YouTube site [video]. 

I found buttons I liked at Joann's and put those on the top cushion. The bottom is just tufted.

​I worry about the fabric wearing through and the tufting—I hope both stay in good shape through washings.