Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Scrap Bag Rainbow Cushion

My scrap bag was out of control and overflowing, so I had a sorting session. There were lots of tiny pieces that were unlikely to ever be used, so I was ruthless and they went in the bin.

I made piles of like colours with the fabric that survived the cull, and a rainbow project came to mind. Once the scrap bag was cleaned out and sorted, I cut up some pieces and ended up with this.


This was one of those projects that was not pre-planned, I just made it up as I went along. I had an old cushion insert in the linen closet, and my intention was to make a cushion for the spare bed in Lucy's room.

My patchwork skills are pretty average - I think I need to take a basic quilting class! I sewed the fabric scraps together to form long strips which became stripes across the cushion. The rainbow stripes were separated by plain linen.Once I sewed it all together, I topstitched the linen stripes with the nearest rainbow colour.


I'm still not sure how much I like it. If I made it again I'd do a few things differently. I would sew the scraps together into squares perhaps, for blocks of colour. The stripes are OK but you can't see the red and the blue fabrics easily.

One thing I do like are the little monsters on the green stripe. Their cheeky faces really pop out!


The back is just a simple envelope cushion back, with plain linen. As I get more creative with patchwork I might try some other styles. Until then, this cushion will live in Lucy's room, and both the girls seem to like it!

Any suggestions on how I could have done it better?

16 comments:

  1. I like it, I get it though, everytime I try something new I''m always doubtful.

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  2. It looks great - I think we are all our own biggest critics! Since you're after scrap busting ideas you should check some of the tutorials Nin compiled when we did the scrap bag swap http://notchkas-wardrobe.blogspot.co.nz/p/101-things-to-do-with-fabric-scraps.html - just as I was writing this I realised that you participated in this too! LOL

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  3. I think it's great, I like the way the strips are joined at angles.

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  4. I love this idea!!!
    I'm all over it!!!
    ox

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  5. This is really nice. Contrast. Direction. Colour. Seams. Proportions. Everything says Made With Love. Everything says Highly Skilled. One tip that you might like to try for the next striped project is to press the seam allowances towards the darkest colour. Then they do not show so much. Why not make a small quilt to match, just for picnics, camping, and sleepovers.

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  6. I like the way you've done the strips in different lengths and joined them at different angles. Another option might be to do some hand stitching, in a thicker thread, on the linen. You've created a bright, fun cushion that looks great. The colours work well!!! Funnily enough, I sorted through my scraps last night and cut some strips. The colours didn't work together and I put them back in the scrap bags... LOL!!!

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  7. It looks great!! I really need to do something about my giant drawer or scraps as well!

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  8. I think its like all patchwork, when you step back you see the lines blur, but when you are up close the charm truly shines and the craftsmanship. If you want to make color pop try dark fabric instead of light but also within the stripes try to put same color but different saturation next to each other so they both set off and compliment each other. I think it looks perfect, something that just goes (if you get my meaning, its a compliment) and keep experimenting!! LOVE IT!!

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  9. I love it! Louise's tip of pressing to the dark side is a good one. I don't think I'd change anything. I love the coloured top stitching! If you don't like that you can't see the red and blue strips, then you could add one more linen strip on each end.

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  10. I really like it Ros, a great way to use up scraps!
    Kristin

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  11. Looks great. So satisfying to find new ways to use scrap pieces of fabric too!

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  12. I love how you used different thread colors! Very cute, original pillow!

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