Weekend project: Rob Ryan cushions

Believe it or not the success of this project took three whole years of planning, acquiring the right skills and tools! Don't get me wrong, all this adds to the ultimate sense of achievement at the end, every time I look at these cushions now I can't help but smile (and let out a sigh of relief!). Here's why...

After I met Rob Ryan at the Somerset house "Pick Me Up" exhibition in 2010, I fell in love with his work. So for my birthday that year, my boyfriend took me to Ryantown and I picked this Clothkits sewing pack as a birthday present...little did I glance over the word "sewing" because I can't sew (hmm yes, slight problem...) the lovely printed fabric plus instructions stayed on my to-do-shelf for another two years...

On my thirty birthday, perhaps feeling a bit more mature and overly ambitious, I asked for a second hand sewing machine to make some curtains and boxed cushions (the fact that I still haven't got round to blog about these projects may indicate the amount of effort required for me to actually complete them, though I am proud to report they were finished and currently in use!).

So three years later, two old curtains revamped, one box cushion (still in one piece), piping and mock button tufting mastered. I finally felt equipped to give these cushions a go and confident that I will do these beautiful fabric justice.

(Notice I only added piping to one of the cushions. I miss calculated the length of piping required for both cushions and after spending 2 hours on the right hand beauty, I had a decision to make either 1. spend another hour faffing with new piping and pinning it to the fabric before sewing it into a cushion or 2. just run a few stitches over the two pieces of fabric to make the second cushion. Guess which option I took :p)

See my Pinterest board for more DIY inspirations!