Cat bed cushion tutorial - easy peasy

Well this is my first tutorial. I started it ages ago and have only got round to finishing it. Better late than never I suppose. As this is my first tutorial, I would love some feed back from anyone who gives it a go. Feel free to send me a photo of you work too!


You will need:

• Hard wearing fabric - enough to cut two pieces of whatever size you decide to make your cushion. In my case this was 25ins by 19ins. I found this size was just right for two small cats to snuggle up on.
• Something that you can draw round to get your pattern. I used a wicker laundry hamper, but you could go freestyle! 
• Coordinating fabric for lettering - optional
• Coordinating thread
• Hollow fibre stuffing or whatever your preferred stuffing is
• Heavy duty applique
• Sewing machine - 

1. If you would like to add lettering (easy peasy, I promise!) then you should do this first. The easiest way to do this is to find a font on the computer you like and print out the letterings. Try to avoid letters with narrow or curvy lines.

2. Take your coordinating fabric and iron on the applique paper (following the instructions on the packaging) on the wrong side of the fabric. You should leave this to cool while you cut out your lettering.

3. Taking care to lay the letters back to front (so they will be the correct way round when you cut them out) trace the letters on to the cooled applique. Cut the letters out with some nice sharp scissor to make sure you don't get any fraying.

4.You will then need to peel the applique paper off of the letters and arrange the letter on the right side of your main cushion fabric. Remember you will need to allow room for the seams and also take into consideration where you will stitch the middle of the cushion.

5. Following the directions on your applique paper packaging, iron the letters on to your cushion fabric.

6. Ok so on to the cushion itself: Lay the fabric right sides together and stitch leaving about a 1/4in seam allowance. You should leave a gap at one end big enough to turn the cushion the right way and also add the stuffing. I left a gap of about 5ins. Turn the cushion to the right sides.

7.You are now going to stitch around the middle of the cushion to give it some shape. You don't have to do this but I think it makes it look a little more comfy! So, put some stuffing inside the cushion. Try and keep as much of it as possible towards the middle of the cushion. Then all you need to do is machine stitch around the middle of the cushion keeping the stuffing in place as much as possible. It doesn't matter if you stitch over the stuffing, but bear in mind that if the stuffing is too thick it will damage your needle. Use your lettering to guide where to stitch.


8.This next bit took me ages until I found a suitable object to help me. You need to stuff the outer part of the cushion. I stuffed mine quite full to give it a good shape. A broom handle or something similar will help you push the stuffing to the farthest edge.

9.Once you've stuffed the cushion you just need to finish of the ends. I hand stitched this bit as it was easier than machining. 

10.Get your pet to try it out....Cat-isfaction!









I hope you found this tutorial useful. Please remember that I designed this using my own creativity and put time and effort into writing this tutorial. I do not consent to any of my work being used for your own financial gain. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss it further.