Making a boho patchwork cushion in the Lewis & Irene Hannah's Flowers fabric collection

This article is written by Kayleigh who is in The Sewing Studio shop team. 

I love sewing. I’m far from confident, experienced or even skilled, but I do love to try new things and practice, practice, practice! Join me as I make a patchwork-fronted, fleece- backed 22 inch cushion cover.

My favourite part of any project is choosing the fabrics. This time I have strayed from my regular dark blues and teals as the gorgeous Lewis and Irene Hannah’s Flowers has been calling to me for ages. I love the boho colour palette and pretty florals. I narrowed down my choices and went for a mixture of long and fat quarters. Next up I picked some blenders (Lewis and Irene Bumbleberries) then headed upstairs in the shop to pick my backing fleece. After trying out a few options with Mary’s expert eye for colour, I came away with half a metre of a gorgeous brown.

After stopping to show a random stranger my fabrics on the way home, I got down to business. Cutting and piecing the front is always so much fun. Seeing what works and what doesn’t, what is too busy or what needs swapping around. This time I decided to be brave and try to make a feature of my favourite fabric in my bundle. I wanted the birds to be facing each other, almost as if they were chirping away in conversation, so had to do some specific piecing and I think it came out just right.

Next up was the sewing. I tend to use up any colour cotton thread when putting the patchwork pieces together, after all I hope to not see it. With the front all sewn together it was time to turn my attention to the back. I really love the envelope technique for cushion covers. While it can be tricky getting the hang of which order the layers go in at first, after a few tries it becomes much easier. Another reason I like this is the opportunity to be creative along the hem lines. I have chosen two of the prominent fabrics from the front to pull through to the back and it gives a lovely cohesion to the cover overall.

After a final stitch around the perimeter (and standard running out of thread when the finish line was just in sight!) it was time to turn the cover right side out and pop the cushion pad inside.

I knew Hannah’s Flowers and the blending fabrics would look just right on a cushion cover and I had great fun making it!