Easy-As Hessian Floor Cushion
In our tree-house we have so many places to think or read or create. There are three levels, each with a different perspective of the bush; from the tree tops to the mid level and finally to the studio that looks right inside a tree fern canopy (from my desk as I write the tree fern looks just like a lacy green umbrella opened wide).
The decks are wonderfully wide especially on the second level but whenever I look at them it feels like something is missing. Do you ever have that feeling in your home? ... like a space is waiting for something very particular to complete it and you'll know it when you see it.When it finally came to me it was some while before I could bring my vision for the space to life: a smallish unpainted Moroccan day bed ... simple and humble and the way it's woven means that you can tighten it as it loosens with time. And to complete it I have a selection of cushions made from Persian camel bags and small rugs to scatter on it. But they're a bit heavy for summer.I needed something that could double as a floor cushion too if more people came around. So, once again I started creatively mulling in the back of my mind. The answer came in the form of left over hessian bags and webbing from Bijou's first idea (she had a few) for her "shipwrecked" Christmas fancy dress costume. I hate to see things go to waste so the bag of hessian inspired me for my cushion.
Easy-As Woven Webbing Hessian Cushion
Skill level: easy asTime it takes to make: 2 hours from start to finish. Great for a rainy day
All you need is
- 1 hessian sack (available at Bunnings Hardware stores) they are normally a similar size to a standard pillow case with one end sewn already.
- A roll of hessian or jute webbing (a reel 50mm x 33m available at Bunnings Hardware stores) (you'll have some left over)
- 5 x embroidery cottons (I used 3 shades of neutral colours)
- Standard size pillow (this is a great use for an old one)
Sewing stuff you may already have.
- pins
- scissors
- needle
Instructions
Iron the hessian sack so its as flat as it can be.Cut lengths of webbing long enough to overlap the length and width of the bag by about 12 centimeters each side. For my sack I needed 6 short length and 11 wide lengths to cover it.
On a large table lay the cut lengths of webbing horizontally and vertically. No weave the vertical webbing up and down though horizontal webbing until it forms a completed cross hatch pattern over the sack. You can keep the weaving a but loose so you can see through to the sack in the squares between.Pin every second overlapping point till they are all pinned down. Then lift the woven webbing piece on top of the hessian sack and position and pin it in the middle of the sack.
You may like to use slightly different shades of thread as I did. Now thread your embroidery cotton on to a needle with a wide eye. Double it over and knot.
Sew a cross (or two dashes) over the pins and the webbing and into the top of the sack so the webbing is secured in place. Continue until there are stitched crosses all over the webbing that have sewn the webbing on to the hessian sack. You might like to slip an bread board inside the sack (see pic) to make sure you don't sew right through the sack to the other side. You can remove it when you have sewn part the way down the sack
Now remove the pins and trim the loose webbing flap on each side of the sack so they are all the same size. (I left them about 10 cm long) Then insert your pillow and stitch up the end.If you want to finish it off nicely then you may like to unpick the original stitching on the other end of the sack and restitch so both ends match.Done!