Sew a The Very Hungry Caterpillar reading cushion, book ends and bunting!
Designer: JESS ENTWISTLE
READING CUSHION YOU WILL NEED
■ Main fabric: 50x100cm
■ Contrast fabric: 60x50cm
■ Binding and appliqué fabric:
See instructions
■ Bondaweb: See instructions
■ Piping cord: 2.2m
■ Zip: 41cm
■ Cushion pad: 45x45cm
FABRICS USED
Main: Food. Ref: 5282/M.
Contrast: Spots. Ref: 3474/M.
Binding and appliqué: Yellow Texture. Ref: 2/3476Y. From The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle under licence in the UK by Andover Fabrics for Makower.
NOTES
■ Use a 1cm seam allowance.
■ Download the templates from gathered.how/ss-templates.
CUTTING OUT
Step one From main fabric, cut: Front: 47x47cm Back: Two 47x25cm Step two From contrast fabric, cut a 56x47cm pocket. Step three From binding and appliqué fabric, cut: Bias binding: Cut and join strips on the bias to make 3.5x220cm Appliqué: See instructions below
MAKING THE CUSHION
Step one Trace the letters then turn the paper over to the wrong side (WS). Place the Bondaweb paper side up on top. Trace the letters in reverse.
Step two Roughly cut outside traced lines then place the letters paper side up onto the WS of the appliqué fabric. Press in place. Cut out the letters. Position the letters on the right side (RS) of the pocket along the bottom short edge, 6cm from the side. Peel off the backing and press in place.
Step three Zigzag stitch around the edges of the letters. Step four Fold the pocket fabric in half, WS facing, so it is 47x28cm. Topstitch the top folded edge. 01
Step five Place two backs RS facing. Sew along one long edge. Step six Mark 4cm in from both outside pinned edges. Sew the two pieces together from the outer edges to the marked points with a 1.5cm seam allowance. Backstitch to secure. Use a long stitch length to sew between these seams where the zip will go. Press the seam open. Step seven Tack the zip with the teeth facing the reverse of the seam and positioned so the slider sits at the end of the long stitched seam at one end. Stitch it into place using a zip foot. 02
Step eight Place the cord in the middle of the WS of the bias cut strip. Fold the strip WS together to cover the cord and pin. Use a zip foot to stitch along the length. Leave 5cm unsewn at each end. Step nine Pin the pocket to the RS bottom of the cushion front, then sew with a 5mm seam.
Step ten Pin the piping around the front so the piping faces inwards and the raw piped edges align with the cushion edge. Step eleven Sew the piping to the front with 5mm seam allowance. Step twelve Splice the cord ends together for a neat join. 03
Step thirteen Trim and join the piping fabric ends by sewing them together. S
