I made this all by myself – Nautical outdoor floor cushion!

This sewing project was outside my normal day-to-day-stitching-of-tutus activities, so I was happy to have the chance to turn my hand to something different. My sister wanted an outdoor floor cushion making to coordinate with her nautical-themed VW campervan interior so she brought her oilcloth fabric & cushion pad round to my ‘workshop’ and we set about measuring up the cushion.

We used Clarke & Clarke oilcloth in a beach hut print (which my sister had used to line the walls of her campervan – very practical & wipe-clean!) which is still in stores at the moment so if you want to recreate a similar cushion you’ll still be able to source the same fabrics. We used coloured craft-making “brads” to punch out holes in one corner to allow air to flow in and out of the cushion (so that the stitching doesn’t burst when the cushion is sat on) – you can use any kind of eyelet puncher to get the same effect.

Here’s how to make your very own floor cushion:

1) Measure the cushion pad and add an extra 4 inches around the edges in order to create the ‘oxford’ pillowcase effect.

2) Put the right sides of the fabric together and stitch around 3 edges, half an inch in from the edge of the fabric.

3) Turn right-side out and stitch a line around the same three sides at 3 inches in from the edge.

4) Turn inside-out again and stitch along the inside of the line you’ve just stitched to create an inner seam at approx 3 inches from the edge. When you turn the cushion right-side out you won’t be able to see any stitching on the outside.

5) Use the eyelet puncher to punch out the air-flow holes and insert the eyelet caps or “brads”.

5) Insert the cushion pad and stitch along the base of the cushion at 3.5 inches in from the edge of the fabric then turn that flap back on itself and stitch again to create the inner seam.

6) With the right-side out, turn under half an inch of the fabric at the edge of fabric and stitch on the right-side to seal the edge.

And that’s it! I hope you’ll try making your own cushion & enjoy sitting outside while the September sun is still shining!

Here’s the finished cushion in-situ in my sisters VW campervan with matching beach-hut panels!