BEST FOR HOMES - Great ideas for transforming your home

You will need:

• 4 large tea towels
• Scissors
• Tape measure
• Pins
• Sewing machine or needle and cotton
• Iron
• 40x30cm (16x12in) cushion pad
• Eight 40cm (16in) lengths of satin ribbon
• 45x45cm (18x18in) cushion pad

1. For the headrest, trim the side seams from two of the tea towels so they are around 44cm (17½in) wide. Lay one tea towel, right side up, on a flat surface. Fold up one short end to form a pocket approximately 23cm (9in) deep. Pin and sew the sides together, allowing a 2 cm (¾in) seam. Press the seams open, then turn the fabric to the right side. Repeat with the second tea towel.
2. Lay one headrest piece, pocket side up, on a flat surface. Lay the second, pocket side up, on top. Pin the top edges together and check the fit of the headrest on the chair. If the pockets are hanging down too low, reposition the pins until the fit is just right. Sew the two pieces together with a seam of around 2cm (¾in). Press the seam open and turn to the right side.
3. Insert the smaller cushion pad into the front pocket, the fit the headrest on the chair. Mark on each pocket where you want to stitch the ribbons and neatly sew of a length of ribbon to each side of each pocket. Secure the headrest by tying the ribbons together.
4. To make the seat cushion cover, cut a square, approximately 49x49cm (19½x19½in), from one tea towel. Trim along the long sides of the remaining tea towel to leave a rectangle around 49cm (19½in) wide and cut it in half widthways. Lay the square piece, right side up, on a flat surface. Position the two halves on top, right sides down, so they overlap in the centre with their hemmed edges. Pin all the way around the cushion cover’s edges and then machine stitch, allowing a 2cm (¾in) seam.
5. Remove the pins and turn the cover to the right side. Stitch the ribbons, in two pairs, to adjacent corners of the cover. Insert the square cushion pad and fasten to the chair back with the ribbon ties.

Labels: Classic Combinations