Print the individual line drawing on A3 size paper (A4 is also possible, but then the drawing will be proportionally smaller compared to the cushion). Then, take the tracing paper, place it on the cardboard, and place the drawing on top. Trace the pink parts of the drawing with a pencil so that they are transferred to the cardboard (thanks to the tracing paper), and then cut out these sections from the cardboard.
Cut a piece of fabric measuring 65×65 centimeters. Then take the garbage bag as a base and place the piece of fabric on top of it. Determine the center of the fabric and place the drawing here with the cut-out cardboard on top. Now that the center has been determined and the cardboard is in the right place to be painted, we carefully remove the drawing from between the fabric and the cardboard and attach the cardboard to the fabric. The fabric around the cardboard should not be touched by the paint, so cover it with baking paper.
First shake the Fashion Spray well and test on a piece of paper in the sink to prevent thick drops from getting on the fabric. If the spray ultimately works well, we start working on the fabric. Spray the paint on the open areas of the cardboard. count how many times you spray per section, so that you get the same shade color everywhere. Then carefully remove the cardboard from the fabric and let the paint dry for 2 hours. To ensure that the fabric is completely dry, we then place the fabric in the microwave/oven at 150 degrees for 8 minutes.
Smooth the fabric in 2 minutes with the iron on the ‘cotton’ setting. Note: use a tea towel and place it on top of the fabric so that the iron cannot ruin the dye job.
Now that the paint is on the fabric, let’s draw the rest of the line art on the fabric. To do this, take the tracing paper again. Note: first pin the line drawing (with the tracing paper underneath) to the parts where painting has been done. Once this is placed in the right place, we will trace the lines of the drawing with a pencil. Once you have done this, you can peel the line drawing from the fabric and stretch the fabric in the embroidery hoop. Make sure that the fabric is pulled firmly, so that the tension is good enough to start embroidering later.
We will start embroidering with the DMC Mouline yarn. Take a needle with a slightly larger needle, so that you can get the yarn through it properly. With the long lines of the branches we keep approximately 0.6 centimeters distance per stitch, with the leaves approximately 0.3 centimeters. Make the line drawing fully visible with embroidery. The drawing shows that some leaves also have veins. Draw these lines on the fabric with the Textile painter.
The front of the pillow is now finished, so we move on to making the back. To do this, cut 2 pieces of 48.5×25.5 centimeters. Then unravel the outer edges 1 centimeter wide. Do this carefully by pulling out the threads of the fabric one by one. We will then seal the two edges that we have not frayed (two edges of 48.5 cm) in order to place the invisible zipper on them. Place the beginning and end threads of the lock edges neatly back.
Take the zipper and pin it to one side of the fabric 3 inches from the frayed area, with the right side of the zipper on the edge of the fabric. Sew the zipper as close as possible to the teeth with a special zipper foot. Mark on the zipper where your stitching ends and then stitch the other side of the zipper.
Then close the remaining seams from the corners to the zipper. Sew the zipper closed on the inside and sew the remaining ends at the seams. Now we have stitched a nice, invisible zipper so that it is barely visible. Then open the zipper, otherwise we won’t be able to turn the cover again later.
Now that both sides of the cushion cover are ready, let’s pin them together. Place the insides of the cover on top of each other. We then use a contrasting color, in this case brown, to stitch the pieces together with 2 stitches with a stitch length of 3.5 centimeters. Please note: because it is a visible stitch, do not fasten off, but neatly tuck the beginning and ending threads to the inside.
Carefully place the inner cushion in and this cushion is completed. Have fun with it! 😉
