Batik cushions with stripes and ruffles

Don't you just want to plump yourself down on this swing chair with a good book and a cold glass of chardonnay this warm autumn evening?

The batik panels were made by a friend's 8 year-old daughter during a holiday in Thailand. I think they are gorgeous. My friend asked me if I could make them into cushions and she chose these lovely pink and purple fabrics to accentuate the vibrant colours of the batik.

So this is what I started with...

For the bird cushion, I found some stripy fabric containing almost all the colours of the bird picture. I sewed long rectangular strips along each edge of the batik design and then finished them off with 45 degree angle seams at the corners.

I then inserted a zip into the purple backing fabric and sewed the front and back together.

I had been instructed to make the flower design cushion as girly as possible, so I added pink around the edges (as for the stripy fabric above). I then made a purple ruffle to go around the edge, which was sandwiched between the front and back fabrics as I sewed everything together. I didn't take pictures of the process.

I am so pleased with the way they turned out that I would really like to keep them for myself! Maybe I'll just borrow them for the evening while I sit in the evening sun and watch the world go by...