Our ‘crafter in residence’ Jill Amanda Kennedy has come up with this great little crafty project, perfect for whiling away the chilly days of winter.

 

Simple and quick to make, this cute little lavender-filled cushion project is ideal for using up scraps of leftover fabric and trims and can easily be adapted to suit a room’s colour and decor scheme.

Instructions:
1. Cut 2 squares of linen fabric 6” x 6” (15cm) square.

2. Find the centre of the fabric and mark out a 5 ½ “ (14cm) square – this will be your stitching line.

3. Using rubber stamps (Jill chose a tea cup) and a black ink pad, print directly onto one piece of the fabric on the left hand side, away from your sewing line.

4. Now stamp the words “Tea Time” above the tea cup, and leave it to dry.

5. Pin a pretty strip of fabric along the right hand side of the printed piece of linen fabric and lay ribbon and lace strips either side of this, covering up any raw edges. Pin them in place and carefully machine stitch them down.

6. Picking out the colours in your pretty fabric strip, add more decorative trim on top to complement, and sew in place.

7. With wrong sides facing each other, place both pieces of square linen together.

8. Place a piece of ribbon, folded in half, into one of the top corners of the square, making sure the fold is pointing towards the centre.

9. Machine stitch a ½” seam around 3 sides only, catching in the ends of the folded ribbon.

10. Turn right sides out and press flat.

11. Stuff the cushion with wadding and add dried lavender into the centre of the wadding.

12. Turn under a small seam along the unstitched side of the cushion and hand sew this closed.

Hang it on a door handle, pop it in a drawer, or place it next to your sewing machine for an instant scented lift, refreshing the fragrance with a few drops of lavender essential oil when necessary.

These would also make perfect little stocking filler gifts too!