DIY Bench Cushion

Here’s the inspiration for my latest project that I mentioned last week.  I pinned this pillow from West Elm several months ago.

Outdoor Piano Pillow, 20

I loved the fabric but it was only available in a pillow and I wanted it for the piano bench in my music room.  I searched several fabric sites and didn’t find anything remotely similar to the West Elm pillow. Bummer!  But I can’t be stopped!  I’ll just create my own–with a couple of different black and white stripe patterns from Fabric.com.

And this is how it turned out!

Piano Bench, DIY Bench Cushion, black and white striped fabric, music room

And this is how I did it!

 

Striped Fabric for Piano Bench
I used all three striped fabrics but only the two wider ones for the top of the bench.

The top of the bench is 30″x14″ so, for a snug fit, I needed a piece of fabric for the top to measure 30 1/2″ x 15 1/2″.

I took the two larger striped fabrics and cut pieces 15 1/2″ long in varying widths then stitched them wrong sides together with 1/4″ seams until I had about a 32″ wide piece of fabric.

Fabric pieced, DIY Bench Cushion
This was a little like quilting.

Next I pressed all of those seams open, then made a line horizontally 7″ from the top and cut.  This gave me a 7″ piece and a 8 1/2″ piece.  If you check out the “inspiration pillow”, the top part is a bit narrower than the bottom part.

DIY Bench Cushion

Then I flipped the bottom piece upside down, lined it up in a way I liked and stitched the fabrics wrong sides together with a 1/4″ seam.  Pressed the seam open and trimmed it down to a 30 1/2″ width.

DIY Bench Cushion

Next I lined it with fleece cut to the same size and stitched along some of the seams between the strips.  Just like quilting but not really!

Then I added the piping–the same striped piping that I made last week!

Piping, DIY Bench Cushion

Envelope-Style Cushion Cover

Now the rest of this is just creating an envelope-style cushion cover the same way I make the envelope-style pillow covers.  Since the foam I was using was only 1″ thick it was easy.  If I was using a 2″ foam or wider, I would have used a zipper.

I wanted to be able to remove the cover to launder.  My previous cushion was made pre-grandkids and not washable.  It was very cute with trim and tufted with buttons. So cute that those small sticky children wanted to toss it on the floor and stomp on it.  I don’t know what the reasoning was but each one did it as they toddled onto the scene.  The piano could not be played with that cushion on the bench.  So this one is not only launderable, it’s also attachable!

Like I already mentioned, the piano bench is 30″ x 14″ . Because I wrap the foam with batting which makes it bigger, I cut the foam a bit smaller—28″ x 12″.   I wrapped the batting around the foam and hand stitched the batting to fit around it.  Next I made a case with muslin and lined it with fleece and put it on the batting and hand stitched the open side.

Inner cushion, DIY Bench Cushion
Not the best looking cushion but it will remain hidden.

For the back, I cut two pieces of fabric 14 1/2″ x 20″ out of the pinstripe fabric.  Lined them with fleece, trimmed.  On one of the shorter sides of each, I turned under 1/2″ then another 1″ and stitched.

For the straps I cut 4 3″ x 9.5″ pieces of the pinstripe fabric.  Folded wrong sides together, used 1/4″ seams, and stitched one short side and the long side.  Turned right side out, pressed.  Did the same for all four then put a 1″ piece of Velcro on the ends.

My piano bench has hinges 5″ in from each side.  So I placed the straps 4″ from the unfinished side of the back.DIY Bench Cushion

Had to change to the zipper foot to attach the backs to the front since there was piping involved.  With wrong sides together, I pinned one back section on–making sure to not catch the straps in the seams, and stitched with 1/2″ seams. (I am more cautious when I’m sewing with piping around corners so I basted, checked all the corners, then stitched)

DIY Bench Cushion
One Side On!

Pinned other back section on and stitched.DIY Bench Cushion

Turned right side out and pushed out the corners.

DIY Bench Cushion

Inserted cushion.

And attached to the bench!

DIY Bench Cushion, Piano Bench Cushion, Black and White striped, music room
Beautiful!

Now there’s no reason for this next picture.  I found it in my box of old photos and I thought it was too precious to not post.  That’s my very first piano which I started playing when I was about six.  And there’s Michelle, she showed up when I was about 13!

Michelle in front of piano
What a happy little girl!

I’m not finished with my music room project!  There will be more!

Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle, Definitely Different Dills

Definitely Different Dills
Definitely Different Dills

As you’re well aware by now, I’m really into putting things in jars. Fruit in jars, vegetables, sweets, sours, shrubs to drink and yogurt to eat. No fan of the preserving arts would be worth their salt, unless they could do a pickle. Well, I can (no pun intended,…ok, maybe a little one)! I confess though, they’re simple refrigerator pickles. But why do pickles have to be so difficult – they don’t. My little cooler gems are great! There’s no giant jar hiding in my tub or closet with a brick on it’s lid, fermenting for months while I await it’s birth. Ugh – who wants to do that? Ok, maybe some people, but I repeat myself “I am not a patient woman.” My Bread & Butter pickles were quite good – now lets move on to a Dill Pickle.

As usual, my culinary adventures begin with some beleaguered edible at a store just begging not to be sent off to The Pig Farm for composted consumption. A bag of mini-cukes labeled ‘One Sweet Cucumber’. How could I resist – well, turns out I can’t. I brought the little yummies home and went looking for a recipe. I have plenty of ideas in my Ball Preserving Book, but this is an adventure. I pulled out Grandmas card file and came across one, yes only ONE pickle recipe…

Definitely Different Dills

this is why I’ve begun to write down my favorite recipes. Notice that there’s very little actual instruction here – and we’re all supposed to know what alum is, right? How many cucumbers, how much dill? So, I call my Mom and she says, “Ugh, don’t use that! Her dill pickles were awful!” OMG! The queen of Christmas tea rings couldn’t make pickles? Seriously?! Why bother to write it down then?!! OK, now what – the Net. YouTube is littered with Rednecks on a pickle preserving mission. “You git you some ‘cumbers, in a jaaar, a big ole wad a deeel (translation: Dill), and some peppercorns. Boil up some whaaate vinegar and water, pour it over dem cumbers…that’s it – a pickle. ” Really? Then why are there fermenting jars, and pickling spices, and everything else for the craft?! (but not an ounce of Alum in sight mind you) Digging a bit deeper, I discovered that you’re allowed to do your own thing in pickle world. So, I took some ideas from my Bread & Butter recipe that I like to use and mixed up my own blend of spices (yes, including Dill) and set to work. Here’s how it goes:

Definitely Different Dills or ‘Bite-Me’ Pickles (they be spicy!)

Step 1:

Step 1, Definitely Different Dills

Git you a bag o’….oops! YouTube strikes again. OK, get some cute little cukes. The grocery store ones are available year round and have somewhat thin skins.

Some water (4 cups) and some vinegar (2 cups). I used white this time because somewhere I read the cider turns the pickles an odd color. I think they must have lied because I think the taste of cider vinegar is yummy. I’ll do that next time.

Salt; yes I used sea Salt (gasp!) not pickling salt. Why? Because that’s what I used last time and that’s what I had – period. (2-3 Tbl)

Jars, you’ll need jars too. Once again those tall thin Ball jars come to my rescue. Only 2 this time, thank you

Spices: No, not yet – that’s Step 3! .. Moving on…

Step 2:

Step 2, Definitely Different Dills

Slice up those cukes and float them in some ice water with the sea salt. And yes, you are allowed to add onions if you like, I just didn’t. You can add extra salt if you like too, they won’t mind. Leave them there for a few hours…don’t you have some errands to run or something? You can’t make pickles all day!

Step 2a, Definitely Different Dills

Step 3:

Step 3, Definitely Different Dills

Spices:

This is up for grabs. You can buy some pre-made or mix n’ match your own. I have a habit for going online and finding some fancy spice blend that’s out of my price range and looking over the ingredient list for ideas (shhhh!). Yes, in my world, $8.00 is too much for a tiny jar of stuff I already have here.

Here’s my little ‘Bite-Me–Mix’;

3 tsp. Dill seed

1 Tbl Dill dried* (*better with a big clump of fresh in each jar…but I was out)

10 Allspice berries (5 for each jar – see how that works)

1 Bay leaf, broken up

1/2 tsp Peppercorns

1/4 tsp Red Pepper flakes

1/4 tsp Coriander seed

1/4 tsp Mustard seed

2 cloves Garlic (1 for each jar)

1 – 2 Tbl Honey (to help back off the Bite)

Step 4:

Step 4, Definitely Different Dills

OK, you’re back..now the ice is melted and those briny cucumbers need to become pickles. Split up the spices between the jars and squeeze in the crunchy spears. Don’t read that old recipe card – pack ’em in tight! Oh, there’s left overs? Well, that’s ok – cut them up smaller and add a bit of mayo and some dill…presto cucumber salad!

Meanwhile, in a small pot, bring the water, vinegar and tiny bit of honey to a boil. Then pour over the packed cukes, top each jar with a generous garlic clove and lid up.

Step 5, Definitely Different Dills

Finale: You just made a pickle…yes, you – and it was is easy! Now, here’s the hard part..you have to wait. I know, I couldn’t either. After a few days, I opened them and was all, “No! This is just a vegetable in a weak-ass dressing!” Lucky for me, my sister had paid a visit and given them the same taste test. She told me that they were in fact good, but I just had to wait – “pickles have to take like a week “, she said (or a month – who knows they never last). Alright, I’ll wait. Another week went by and my Mom stopped over (yes the one who hated Grandma’s pickles), she said they needed more dill. I think I found my Official Pickle Tester. When I tried them, and I can’t believe I’m saying this – my sister was right! They were way better. A mean garlic and spicy bite too I might add. Even that long in brine, they were still crunchy. That’s what the ice water soak does for them, I’m told. See – I listen sometimes.

Finale, Definitely Different Dills

Hmmm, not a perfect pickle, but it’s a start. That second jar is still in the back of the fridge. I think I’ll wait until next week and crack it open. Some cheeseburgers in paradise may be in order with a ‘big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer….’ … Or just one of my pickles.

Almost done, Definitely Different Dills
Almost done!

Michelle at Badzoot.com

DIY Custom Piping

I’m ready to start a new project.  With new fabric. And this is a big project. I bought these lovelies from Premier Prints at fabric.com.  Of course, I waited for them to be on sale!

Fabric for projects

Black and white is not my typical color scheme, blue is my usual choice.  But I had some inspiration which I’ll share in a later post.

I’m making cushions and pillows and moving furniture, patching and touching up walls. Maybe some new art. Terry’s in the middle of it, too.  All fun updates but a little time-consuming.

I needed some matching piping for my fancy schmancy new projects and thought I’d try a fancy schmancy new method.  And make you suffer through it with me.

Here’s the finished product:

DIY Custom Piping, Finished

And here comes my disclaimer, I didn’t realize how bad some of the following photos were until I was all finished with the piping so I couldn’t recreate them.  The black and white pinstripe fabric I was using was kind of wacko. Even when I was cutting it out it made me a little dizzy.  So I apologize for the picture quality.  I normally wouldn’t use bad pics but I really wanted to share this piping method.  Next time I make piping, I’ll get better pictures and create a PDF.

First I cut a piece of fabric 37” x 24” but you can use any size you want. The bigger the rectangle, the more piping you can make.  But that little piece made something like 14 yards of piping.  How much more could you need?

Piping Step 1

Fold down the top right corner to square off. I pressed this fold and then cut along the pressed fold.

DIY Custom Piping, Step 2

DIY Custom Piping, Step 3

Take the triangle that was just cut off to the other side of the fabric, forming a parallelogram. (fancy schmancy word!) Sew with right sides together with ¼” seam. Press the seam open.

DIY Custom Piping, Parallelogram

Decide how wide you want your strips to be. I used 2 1/2″ widths*. Starting at the top corner, mark the top of the fabric every 2 1/2″ section.  Then do the same with the bottom, starting at the bottom corner.

* Here’s a little update.  This width really isn’t wide enough.  When I was sewing the piping I realized that the strips were only 1 3/4″.  After pondering this for awhile I realized that diagonally the strips were 2 1/2″ but horizontally they were 1 1/2″.  I was really surprised at the difference.  I can still use the piping but the seam allowance is much smaller than I would like so I’ll have to be extra careful when I add the piping to the sewing projects.  The width would be better at 3 1/4″ to get a good seam allowance.

Draw lines from the top mark to the bottom mark. Connecting the first on the top with the first on the bottom.

DIY Custom Piping, Step 6

I had a piece on the end that was less than 2 1/2″ inches so I cut it off.

DIY Custom Piping, Step 7

This is the confusing part. With the right sides together, pin the top and bottom, matching the corner on the bottom with the first mark on the top. Pin the entire edge together matching the marks.

DIY Custom Piping, Step 5
Bring the corner A up to the marking B. B should be 2 1/2″ from the edge.

 

DIY Custom Piping, Step 8

Sew the seam. This will create a wonky tube.  Press the seam open.

DIY Custom Piping, STep 9
This strip should be separate from the tube.

Start cutting–just follow the lines you marked earlier.

DIY Custom Piping, step 10

You’ll have one continuous strip of fabric.

DIY Custom Piping, STep 11

Fold the fabric around the piping. Use the zipper foot and sew as close to the piping as possible.

DIY Custom Piping, Step 12

And that’s it!

Next week I’ll show you the first project with the custom piping!