Christmas time has officially arrived. We spent the day on Thanksgiving with my brothers and sisters and their families at one of my brother's houses but after a few hours there we came home and spent the evening just home together as a family. The kids had been begging to put the Christmas tree up for a couple of weeks so we finally got it out and set up and then we just let them go to town decorating it. I always dream of having a nice, perfectly put together tree. We have even tried the two tree thing, one upstairs in the living room that has white lights and pretty matching ornaments, and one downstairs in the family room with colorful lights and all of our old ornaments mixed with the ones the kids have made and gotten over the years. But, somehow it always seems that as the kids get or make new ornaments they end up taking over the nice tree, they are always so proud of them that they want them to be on the tree that everyone sees. And then you throw in the fact that we have always had toddlers around who like to un-decorate the tree or rearrange the perfectly spaced ornaments. Then you add into all of that the fact that the lights on our nicer tree weren't working and we decided just to put up our little colorful lights tree with all of the mismatched ornaments and the truth is, I kind of love it. I think perfectly put together trees can be beautiful but my kids are awfully proud of the tree they decorated with clumps of ornament in some places and bare spots in others and ornaments that each of them have made at school or church or at home. Someday we will have the pretty tree but right now we have a tree that represents out family and our kids and it is perfect.
I had the idea for this little cushion quite a while ago, it is something I have been wanting to try, but I wasn't sure what I would do with it when I got it done. I thought it would make a good little seat for reading but the truth is we don't really need anymore pillows or beanbags or anything like that. Then after I made it one of the kids took it out and set it beside the Christmas tree and it seemed like the perfect place for it. A little spot the kids can sit and read Christmas stories. I love Christmas stories, they are one of my favorite things about Christmas, so we have collected a few books over the years and if having this little cushion by the tree with a stack of Christmas books next to it encourages my kids to pick up the stories and read I will be a very happy mom.
To make the bag I actually sewed 2 of the cushions, a filled insert and an outer cover. The insert was filled with beanbag filler that was provided to me by Fairfield World and it was made with some old fabric that I had in my stash, it doesn't really matter what that part looks like because you won't see it. Then I made a cover out of Cuddle Fabric from the Holiday Cuddle Collection from Shannon Fabrics. It is super soft and the prints are Christmasy but not overly so which I really like. The cover has a zipper so that it can be removed, and a handle on the side for carrying it. I used 3 different fabrics for mine but with the same amount of fabric you could make the top and bottom the same print if you prefer. Just one warning, between the cuddle fabric and the beanbag filler be prepared to vacuum.
How to Make a Christmas Cuddle Floor Cushion
Finished size about 19" in diameter and 8" tall
You will need:
- 2/3 yard 1 or 2 different cuddle prints for top and bottom (I used Ziggy Soft Cuddle in Snow and Swiss Dot Cuddle in Scarlet/Snow)
- 1/2 yard cuddle fabric for sides (I used Reindeer Cuddle Aruba)
- 1 1/3 yards fabric for insert (muslin or something inexpensive but at least 45" wide)
- Beanbag Filler
- 20" zipper
- large piece of paper to make pattern (or smaller papers taped together) I used a roll of newsprint type paper
- 2 pens or pencils and a 12" length of thread,yarn, or ribbon
- coordinating thread
- rotary cutter, mat, ruler, scissors
- sewing machine
Instructions:
Draw a 20" diameter circle on a piece of paper. I used a big roll of paper but you could always tape smaller sheets together to get a big enough piece. To draw the circle I tied 2 pencils together so that they were 10" apart and held one in the center while I used the other to draw the circle.
I used 1/2" seam allowances throughout.
Cut
From insert fabric:
2- 20" diameter circles
1- 9" x 64 1/2"strip (you will need to piece this to get a long enough piece)
From outside fabrics:
(white)
1- 20" diameter circle
(red and white dot)
1- 20" diameter circle
1- 6" x 9" rectangle
(deer)
2- 5" x 20" strips
1- 9" x 45 1/2" strip
Make the Insert
Sew the short ends of the long strip together to make a big circle. Pin one side around one of the circles and sew around. Pin the other side to the other circle and sew leaving an opening for turning and filling. Turn right side out. Fill with beanbag filling. I filled mine pretty full but be careful not to fill it too full or you won't be able to fit it through the opening in the cover. The fuller you fill it the stiffer it will be. Sew the opening closed.Make the Cover
Make the handle by folding the 6" x 9" piece in half (so it is 3" x 9") and sew around 2 sides leaving one short end open, turn right side out. Find the center of the long strip and sew the handle on. First sew the closed end on by sewing a rectangle with an x in the middle. Keep a little slack in the middle, tuck the raw edge in and sew on with a rectangle with an x in the middle.
Take the 2 shorter strips and baste long edges together. Open seam allowance and place the zipper down the middle. Sew on both sides of the zipper, about a 1/4" from the center. Take out basting stitches. Sew the short ends to the short ends of the longer strip to make a big circle. Pin the circles to each side and sew around. This time you do not need to leave an opening. Turn right side out by pulling through the zipper opening. Put the insert inside of the cover.
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