European DIY Cushions for Cheap

European cushions are gorgeous,  they take a plain bed to a cozy haven to read or do girl primping.    I am home alone most of the time and still snuggle down on my bed to spoil myself with girl time.

I first noticed European cushions online three or four years ago, I bought a set for our master bedroom for way too much coin, and although functional and I have enjoyed them, they are nothing spectacular.   I want three more sets, but let’s start with the first pair.

European cushions are generally 26″ square, so the inserts fit  26″ covers.  The answer to having luxurious cushions is making the inserts large and filling them with lots of stuffing. This is especially true for European cushions because we need them to stand up straight.

Here is a before of a purchased European cushion and insert sitting beside the handmade version.  Although the purchased version is nice, the less expensive handmade one is much nicer.

 

Super Easy to Make European Sized Cushion Inserts

You are going to need lots of stuffing for the pillow inserts and some plain light coloured material.  Supplies needed:

Four metres (yards) of muslin fabric ( mine was 36″ wide)

Two kingsized pillows  (feather or fibre filled depending on your budget)

Needle and matching thread

The cushion inserts you see in this post are feather filled.  Buying king sized cushions was the cheapest way I could find for finding feathers,  and two king-sized fibre filled cushions at Walmart were less expensive than buying fibrefill stuffing.  If you have some unused pillows or stuffed animals, you can use that stuffing as well.  Just make sure whatever you use that you have lots of it.

Cutting the Fabric

For two cushions cut four pieces of muslin 30 by 30 inches.   Stitch around the fabric with a zig zag stitch to seal the edges.  (Optional for this project, as you will never be washing these inserts, so they are not likely to fray).

Pin the fabric pieces good sides together and sew on three sides.

Sew the fourth side, leaving six inches open for inserting the stuffing.

Make sure you put in lots of stuffing.  If your using feather stuffing keep a vacuum nearby, the feathers like to fly around, and once the cushion insert is sewn closed you will need to vacuum little bits of feathers from the outside of your handmade cushion insert.

Sew closed with a needle and thread.

If you look carefully,  on the top cushion you can barely see where the hand stitching is on the finished DIY cushion inserts.

Simple Envelope Cushion Covers

If your a regular reader of Faeries you know that I always cover my cushions with an envelope cover.  This makes the DIY cushion covers easier to sew and saves the cost of the zipper.

There are only six seams on each cushion including the two hem seams, and they are all easy to sew straight seams.

For this plain DIY cushion cover, you will need four metres (yards)  of fabric, and coordinating thread.

Cut the Fabric

For Two Cushions you will need to cut:

2 pieces -28 by 28 inches.

4 pieces – 20 by 28 inches.

Make sure your pattern lines up, for these stripes I had to make sure all the cuts were done so the stripes were verticle.

Seal the edges from fraying with either a zig-zag or a serger.  Do this on all edges of all the fabric.  It takes a little patience as there is lots of seam length, but it’s so easy and worth doing.

The zig-zag finish does a fairly good job of keeping the edges neat and the loose threads of the material under control.  It’s not professional like a serger edge, but it’s certainly better than the scruffy looking threads.

Sewing the Hems for the Back Opening

On the four small pieces, fold one of the 28″ sides over 1/2 inch, iron to create a seam and then fold over 1″.  Press well.

 

Repeat for all four small pieces.

Sew a seam along the edge of the hem.

This is what the overlapped back seamed look like on the hemmed cushion.

Sewing the Cushions Together

Pin the top edge of the large cushion piece to the non-hemmed 28″ side of your small piece.  Sew together.

Do the same for the bottom edge.  Pin the non-hemmed 28″ side of another small piece to the bottom side of the large piece.  Sew together.

Repeat for the second cushion.

All your pieces are now attached.  Straighten and smooth out the back of the cushions with the hems, you will have an overlap.  Pin in place well.

Sew the two side seams.

Repeat for the second cushion.

Turn the cushion cover right side out and place on your insert.

Here is a photo the purchased cushion covers, one with the purchased insert vs the handmade one.  The one on the right is the handmade insert.  You can see that it still fits inside a commercially sized European cushion, it just sits nicer.

 

You can see that there is nothing wrong with the purchased sham, but the handmade one is more luxurious and cheaper.   The next picture is the boughten cushion and insert, sitting beside our handmade version.

 

 

 

 

I  actually have an idea I am going to create to use with the striped cushion covers.  I will share it with you on the blog really soon

 

Thank you for stopping by, please let me know if you would consider making these cushions, and if you think I convinced you its worth the effort?

 

I updated the European cushion with some snazzy farmhouse styled painted cushion covers.    It’s such an easy way to update any existing cushions you have.