Woven ribbon cushion - a tutorial

This tutorial forms part of my

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On a trip to Target a couple of months ago, I spotted a lovely red cushion with raised, woven ribbon detail. I haven't been able to find a picture of it online, but I kept it in my head and decided to make one to go with my new bedroom decor (more on that in a future post).

The Target version had the ribbons closer together, but I wanted my silver fabric to show through so I spaced the ribbon weave further apart. The fabric came from the sale rack at Textile Traders and the ribbon was from Spotlight. This cushion only cost me about $7 to make, compared to $40 in Target.

Want to make one? Here's how:

You'll need enough fabric for the front and back of the cushion and approximately 9m of ribbon. I used 1cm wide ribbon in silver/grey.

I wanted a rectangular shaped cushion. The standard size for these (in Australia at least) is 30x50cm so I cut my fabric approximately 32x52cm (extra for seam allowance).

Both my measurements (30 and 50) are divisible by five, so I decided to space the ribbons 5cm apart. To begin with, I ironed horizontal folds in my fabric, 5cm apart. This formed the guide for the horizontal ribbons (you could draw lines with fabric chalk instead if it will show up on your fabric).

Next I marked with fabric chalk along my ribbon to indicate where to sew. I started about 4.5cm along the ribbon, then marked the next 2.5cm, then 4cm, then 2.5, 4, 2.5 until I'd marked approximately 75cm of ribbon. Each horizontal line takes about 75cm of ribbon, but don't cut it yet! You can see my markings in blue in the picture below.

Then you can start to sew. Turn on the radio as this takes a while, but it's easy and therapeutic! Lie the ribbon along the first ironed fold with the end of the ribbon at the side of the fabric. Sew along the first marked chalk line, reversing at each end of the stitching to keep it secure. Next is the 2.5cm section. Fold the ribbon halfway between the 2.5cm marks and stitch close to the first line of stitching you've just done (see below if this is confusing).

Don't worry if the stitching goes over the edges of the ribbon or if the folding is not perfect. It won't be noticeable when it's finished. At the end of the row, cut the ribbon flush with the edge of the fabric. Your first line of ribbon should look something like this:

Continue until you've done all the horizontal lines of ribbon. My cushion had five horizontal rows.

Now you are ready for the vertical rows of ribbon. I found it easier to just eyeball these rows, rather than marking the ribbon.

Weave your ribbon in and out of the existing ribbon rows as shown below (under, over, under, over etc.). Your next row will be woven the opposite way (i.e. over, under, over under).

With the ribbon centred between the existing 'sticky-up bits', continue to sew as before creating new sticky-up bits halfway between each existing row.

Sew, sew, sew and sew some more...

...until it's done. Then make up your cushion using your preferred method. I always do it this way.

I love the texture of the ribbon and the way it catches the light.

Woo hoo! This project was featured on: