Chair Cushions – Choosing the Right Material and Filler

Soft seats will make any chair or stool more comfortable, and their design can transform any room. You can't sit on a hard seat for long, you need cushions for chairs. They can make any place feel more comfortable than an armchair, regardless of the functionality of the room. There are many simple ways to make soft seat covers, including sewing, crocheting and knitting, making pompoms on a mesh base, and each is worth discussing in more detail.

Choosing a material for making pillows

Everyone knows that hard wooden or plastic seats are not very comfortable. Flat or quilted cushions for stools made by hand make conversation over a cup of tea or work at a computer desk more comfortable. And the interior becomes unique, thanks to the choice of fabric.

Basic requirements:

• practicality of the material (especially if these are cushions for kitchen stools);
• dense, non-flowing or non-woven structure (remember that people will constantly move around on them);
• a base that is easy to sew and process (some types of knitwear and artificial suede are difficult to sew by hand or machine stitch);
• Attractive coloring of the seat cushion for the chair.

Much depends on the style of the pillows, the configuration of the chairs, and the interior that the soft seats are intended to decorate. For example, if these are stools for the kitchen in a retro or country style, a fabric with a flower, strip or checkered pattern will do, the rag is decorated using the patchwork technique.

Crocheting under the "granny square" will look even more interesting if you make covers for homemade pillows in this form. Any round knitted or crocheted chair cushion looks beautiful if you approach it creatively.

Sometimes you can use ready-made seats without modifications in configuration, if the shape matches. But it is better to update the covers on the cushions for the stool or chair, choosing an interesting fabric, furniture leatherette or eco-leather.

What is suitable as a filler?

Inside any pillow, as a rule, there is down or feather. But this is not the case, especially since the feather "climbs" under the seat and periodically pricks. Cotton wool is also not suitable, it gets knocked into lumps. The following is suitable as a filler:

• thin furniture foam rubber (it needs to be cut);

  

• synthetic padding and synthetic fluff;

  

• buckwheat and sunflower husks;

  

• small scraps of yarn and interlining (waste from sewing production);
• holofiber (keeps its shape well);

  

• loose fillers in the form of small granules (as for bean bag chairs and soft toys).

  

In most cases, bench cushions are made with your own hands in 2-3 layers if one of the fillers is unstable. For foam rubber and holofiber, a correct pattern is enough.

Cushions on stools and chairs must be secured so that they do not slip off the seats:

• with ties;
• ribbons;
• Velcro;
• rubber bands.

What tools and materials are needed to make soft seats

There are many options for making a seat cushion with your own hands, but each case requires its own set of tools, devices and materials. Do not forget that there are summer and winter fabrics or yarn, and the seat should be warm.

Buttons are needed not only for quilting (picking) the filler so that it does not bunch up, but also as decoration. They can be covered with the same fabric or leather, beautiful smooth buttons on a shank made of wood, mother-of-pearl or imitation ornamental stones will do.

Materials. Tools

1. A flat pillow with ties. Thick fabric, sewing thread, foam rubber or other filler. Sewing machine, needle and thread for basting, scissors, cardboard for patterns.

   

2. Volumetric seat. Practical material, volumetric filling, buttons for picking. Similar to the description above.

   

3. Stool cover, knitted. Warm yarn of different colors, filling. Circular knitting needles, scissors.

   

4. Crocheted case. Similar to the description above. Hook, scissors.

   

5. Chair cover made of pompoms. Leftover colored yarn and a mesh base to attach ready-made pompoms to. Similar to the description above.

   

How to make a pattern for a cushion for stools and chairs

Before you sew a cushion for a chair with your own hands, here are some step-by-step instructions to help:

1. Make a pattern (2 pieces), tracing the shape of the seat in any convenient way, or draw a template based on measurements if the “seat” is a regular round or square shape.

   

2. Before placing the patterns on the finished fabric, be sure to step back to leave seam allowances of up to 1.5 cm and add 2-3 cm of spare volume for the filler.
3. It is convenient to work with fabric if you fold it in half and attach the template, so the pattern will be more accurate and symmetrical.
4. The template is placed on the reverse side and traced with chalk or a soft pencil.
5. First, stitch only 3 sides on the wrong side – the front and 2 sides; when the seams are finished, turn the product inside out.

   

6. Other soft seat cushions are made in a similar manner, depending on how many chairs or stools there are.

   

   

7. When the product is almost finished, filler is inserted from the back side, it is straightened out well and the seam is tucked in such a way as to fold the cut edges inward.

   

   

8. When the work is finished, the back seam is sewn up tightly and the ties are sewn on. They are not needed for the stool, it is better to sew elastic bands to put on the corners.

   

As we can see, there is nothing complicated if you have at least basic sewing skills.

How to Make a Soft Seat from Yarn

Yarn is a versatile material for handicrafts, you can knit and crochet it or make colorful pompoms. Any type of yarn work is suitable for making chair cushions.

1. We crochet according to the ready-made pattern, using ready-made square, rectangular and circular patterns, depending on the shape of the seat. You can crochet from colored squares or diamonds to get a semblance of patchwork technique, if you want colorful pillows.

   

   

2. Fancy yarn reminiscent of "fur" or "grass" is an incomparable material for a cushion on a stool, bench, pouf or chair. Simply knit a solid piece of fabric, but it is advisable to sew it on top of a ready-made cushion made of thick fabric with ties.
3. Soft pompoms are cut from the remains of colored yarn, winding it on a template or fingers. Then this base needs to be tied in one place and cut the skein, fluffing it up - you will get a fluffy lump with ties. These pompoms are tied at the same distance (or randomly) to any mesh base (plastic, curtain fabric, crochet fillet mesh).

   

   

Obviously, there is nothing complicated for people with skillful hands, imagination and a desire to create. We have prepared a selection of inspiring photos, looking at which you can choose a worthy role model. Everything depends on the level of skill and what you can do - sew or knit. If you have no skills, but really want to do something yourself, master the technique of making colored pom-poms, it will come in handy in life.

Video: How to Make a Soft Seat from Yarn

Photo gallery of handmade cushions for chairs and stools: