Cover for Seat Cushion DIY

Cushion covers do not last forever, so what do you do when they are no longer useful? Buying a new cover for this Roho cushion was going to be very expensive, but instead I sewed a cover from a piece of fabric in my "stash"! It was "Sew-easy"! Check out my DIY and photos of 2 cushion cover variations.

Have Cushion; Will Travel!

My husband Charlie loves his Roho cushion. He "earned" this very expensive cushion while in the hospital following a car accident several years ago, and it has served him well. He has taken it on trips, uses it in his chair for work, and also for dining. Believe it or not, he has even used his Roho in his ladder tree stands! 

Eventually, all good things come to an end, and the cover was starting to shred. There was no way it could be repaired, so I decided to sew a new one. When I checked the price of a new cover, it was almost $60, so I made the right choice!

I had a piece of mid-weight denim that I thought would work well, so I marked and cut a straight crosswise line on the folded denim. I then laid the cushion on the fabric and folded it around the cushion to figure out the dimensions of the fabric piece needed. I wanted it to be "roomy", so I allowed for that and also for a 3/8" seam. For this cushion, I found out that I needed a piece of fabric 46" long and 20-1/2" wide. This denim is about 60" wide, so it worked great. 

Charlie's Low Profile Roho cushion is 17" x 19" x 2".

Ms. Nancy's Note: Cushions vary in size, so measure carefully to determine what size you need!

Cut and Sew!
After you get your dimensions, follow these directions to cut and sew your own cushion cover!

Remove the selvage edge from the fabric. Measure and mark the dimensions on the fabric and cut it out. 

With right sides together, fold the fabric together crosswise. Pin and sew a 3/8" seam down both sides. Finish with a zigzag stitch or serge.

 

Hem the top!

Fold the top edge down 1-1/4" to the inside and pin.

Serge or zigzag stitch the edge all the way around.

Sew 1" from the edge, creating a hem. Press.



Square Those Corners!
To create square corners, on the inside, match the side seam of the corner to the bottom fold. Pin across the seam 3/4" from the corner. Stitch straight across. Repeat on the other side.

Outside of the Square Corner

Add Velcro!
Cut a  13-1/2" piece of 3/4" velcro. Mark the center of the length of velcro and the center of both sides of the cover. Match centers and pin the velcro to the cover, about 1/8" from the edge. 
The velcro will not cover the whole opening.




Sew the velcro to the cover. Repeat on the other side of cover with the matching piece of velcro.

Your cushion cover is done! 

Sewing the velcro to the center of the cover allows the valve and rope hanger of the Roho cushion to be easily accessible.

 

Here's a variation of the cushion cover. My "Donut" Cushion Cover with handles makes it easy to grab and go!

The Cushion Cover was made following the directions above with different dimensions to fit the "Donut". After the cover was finished, two (2) rectangles (3" x 15") were cut from a jeans leg to make sturdy handles. The fabric was folded under and sewn down the middle creating handles about 1" wide. The handles were then attached to the sides of the cover opening with ends 4" apart. A "box" and "X" was sewn at each end to make the handles secure. A 4" piece of velcro was sewn between the handle ends on both sides.

Ready to go!

Ms. Nancy's Additional Notes:

• If your fabric is not wide enough to cut the cover in one piece, cut 2 pieces and sew together. Don't forget to allow for a 3/8" seam!
• These directions can be used for stadium cushion covers, etc.
• The handled covers can easily double as tote bags! 

Have Cushion, Will Travel!