How to: Street Stuff into Thrifty Handmade Cushions

Do you remember the bed linen that I picked up off the street for free? I made thrifty cushions!

Tah dah!

In Germany they have giant pillow cases and I managed to get four cushions from each of the two pillow cases. Wow. I have cut and assembled all eight, but only four are stuffed so far. We use them in the kitchen because the chairs there are not very comfortable.

My notes:

-Plan the size and shape. I used an existing cushion and soon realised that I could make four square cushions from one pillow case.

-Cut the pieces. I just followed the fold lines (and the printed lines on the fabric!).

-Turn the pieces inside out, right sides together. Sew up the open edges (2 sides on each cushion were already sewn up: the original pillow case seams.)

NB: Leave a couple of inches open for stuffing!

-Turn the pieces right side out again. Stuff the cushions (A supply of M&Ms is very helpful here as you can see in the picture!).

I used a polyfil stuffing that I got at my local craft store. It was about EUR11 for 400g (I think, I'm guessing as I already threw out the packaging, I'll check and update...). I used the whole packet for the four cushions which are 13 1/2" square (34cm square).

-Sew up the little openings.

-Go and enjoy your lovely squishy very thrifty cushions!

What I'm thinking:

• Any old bedding or scrap fabric (old clothes?) could be used for this project, you don't have to wait until you find some for free on the street! haha.
• I do believe that the stuffing holds up in the wash, so it's not too icky to not have a separate insert in order to wash the cover. 
• The cushion could be any shape and size as it's not necessary to find an insert to match. Now I'm thinking little animal shapes... I suppose it would depend on the fabric...

Shame about the declining photo quality, it got dark and rainy before I had finished!

Little birds!

As I write this I am watching a family of Great Tits dance around on my balcony! Oh they are so sweet. I wish I could include a photo, but they are very skittish, I cannot risk even moving my head.

I'm holding my breath!

I over-toasted some pine nuts yesterday and they were a bit too bitter for the recipe I had in mind. Turns out that Great Tits love them!

Now I've made thrifty cushions with the pillow cases, the big question is what to do with the sheets...