cushions and crafts

How to Make Natural Upholstery Cleaner

2020-06-14T23:54:00.000+02:00

When cleaning your Upholstery at home, it’s advisable to use organic products to avoid any dangers that may arise out of using other chemicals that you may not know;

These are the things you will need to do your job well;

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

White vinegar
Castile soap, or similar natural liquid soap
Spray bottle
Soft, lint-free cloth
Olive oil

With the above items, you will follow the steps below to achieve great results in the work that you are doing;

Fabric Upholstery

Mix 1/4 cup white vinegar, 3/4 cup warm water and 1/2 tablespoon of natural liquid soap, such as Castile soap, in a spray bottle.
Shake the bottle vigorously to uniformly mix the ingredients.
Mist the soiled area lightly with the spray bottle. Scrub the area with a smooth bristle brush or cloth in a circular motion, working the cleanser into the nap of the fabric.
Repeat step (3), until the soiled area becomes clean. Moisten your cloth with clean, warm water and repeat the scrubbing motion to remove excess soap.
Blot the damp area with a dry portion of your cloth to speed drying

Leather Upholstery

Measure 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar into a spray bottle.
Shake the bottle vigorously to uniformly mix the two ingredients.
Spray the leather surfaces lightly.
Rub with a soft cloth
Repeat step (3) and (4) accordingly, to remove soil, fingerprints and oils from your family's skin. The vinegar will clean the surface and then evaporate.
Buff the leather with a dry portion of your cloth until the olive oil has absorbed evenly into the leather, conditioning and softening it

Synthetic Upholstery

Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1 cup warm water in a spray bottle, for use on plastic, nylon and synthetic leather upholstery. In case the furniture is badly soiled, add 1/2 tablespoon of natural liquid soap
Shake the spray bottle vigorously to uniformly mix the ingredients.
Mist the soiled areas lightly but thoroughly.
Scrub the soiled areas in a circular motion with a soft, lint-free cloth until the soil is removed.
Repeat steps 3 – 4 if necessary.

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The power of imagination

2015-05-12T03:13:00.001+02:00

Hello, are you frastrated because you have run out of ideas and yet you need money to sustain you and your family?

Here is a solution that will earn you a million dollars regularly as long as you keep following these tips;

Get some time off your daily schedule and go to a silent place.

Try to observe nature. Our nature has got an infinite amount of designs that you can use in your craft making. That shows how God is so powerful in his creation.

As you're seated where ever you are, try to remember a wonderful event that happened some time back in your life and try to paint it with various colors.

Draft this on your piece of paper. If you have a smart phone like samsang galaxy 3 or a better version, make use of the paper artist app.

Continue the painting until you are satisfied with what you have drawn.

Save your work and then go back home.

After some time go back to your work with a fresh mind and try to brain storm on the materials you can use to get your design to reality.

List the materials down and their possible sources.

Collect them and start on your work but first make a prototype before starting on the real project.

After the prototype complete your project and make money after panel beating.

Good luck with the new product ready for market.

If this article has helped you, don't forget to share it by using the share buttons below.

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How to make a Cushion cover

2012-07-07T19:20:00.003+02:00

Learn how to make a cushion cover by yourself and save that money for other things

Here are the steps that you will follow to do so;

a) Generate your idea by doing the following;

First visualize your end product before you make it. In other words, see the end from the beginning.
Write down your ideas on a piece of paper as soon as they register in your mind
Sketch your designs carefully. You could do around four designs
Look at the requirements for each design that you have sketched
Choose the best design basing on the uniqueness and the availability of materials for making it.

b) Put your generated idea following the steps below;

Measure your cushion pad (or check size on label) and add 3cm to each measurement to allow for 1.5cm seam allowances. Using a ruler, set square and dressmakers’ chalk pencil, mark out this area on your fabric, once for the cushion front and again, for the back. If you want to centre a pattern or motif, or cut lots of cushion pieces, make a pattern from tracing paper, position on your fabric and draw round. Cut out pieces and iron.
Pin the cushion front and back together with right sides facing and tack 1.5cm in from edges round three sides and four corners, leaving a gap on one side. Machine-stitch close to tacking, reversing for a few stitches to secure thread ends. Remove tacking.
On heavier-weight fabrics, such as velvets, clip across the corners to remove bulk. Alternatively, to give sharp, slightly padded corners on lightweight fabrics, fold the double seam allowance down on both sides, pressing along stitching line, then at top and bottom.
Turn cushion cover right side out, press and insert cushion pad. Using a needle and matching thread, slip stitch opening to close.

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Animal Cushions for you Animal Cushions for you Animal Cushions for you

2012-07-01T07:00:00.001+02:00

Animal cushions can bring the African bush, the Amazon rainforest, the Australian wilderness or the English garden into your room.

These will reflect your favourite animal or provide a matching colour for your settee. Whatever you choose they will be a focal point and have cause for discussion.

Picture Panels can be bought with lots of different kinds of animals printed on them.

These can be made into wonderful cushion covers for a basic cushion or made into a quillow with the internal quilt showing more of the theme on the front.

These panels could also be made into wall hangings instead of cushions and used like a picture on your wall.

You can create your own animal designs using techniques such as Appliqueor Cross Stitch These panels could also be made into wall hangings instead of cushions and used like a picture on your wall.

For your domesticated pets, cushions can be made to provide them with a place to sleep or to cushioned bed for them. The cushions can be made to fit the size of the basket or the box to give your pets extra warmth and comfort.

Cat Cushions

Cat cushions are fairly straightforward to make and apart from the occasional paw padding cats use to get comfortable they should last quite a long time.

I made some cushions for my cats baskets when they were just kittens and they are now 14 years old. Apart from a little colour fading they are still good.

Dog Cushions

Dog cushions are very different mainly due to the wear or mainly tear these will have to endure. Puppies have sharp teeth, bored dogs chew, and their claws and rip a cushion in half.

With all this in mind your dog still enjoys a comfortable bed to sleep in and if it has other things to bite and chew may leave the bed alone. If not then at least you know that these can be replaced fairly quickly.

If you are not confident in making a cushion for your pet, I have got a selection of ready made ones in books and more which is an Amazon shop. You may also find you could recover these yourself if you wanted a different outer cover.

Hope you enjoy making cushions to suit your type of animal.

Return from Animal Cushions to Cushions and More

Sewing by Hand

2012-06-30T13:37:00.001+02:00

giving your cushion a very personal touch.

Sewing by hand is an alternative way to sew cushions, this will take longer but the end result is a very special cushion, made and crafted without the use of a machine.
Personalising your cushion covers with patchwork can be done by machinesewing or sewing by hand.
Even when using a machine for sewing cushions there are a few steps that need hand sewing. An example would be sewing on sequins, braid or buttons.
Types of Stitches for Hand Sewing

Tacking stitch- This stitch is also known as basting stitch. This is used when two pieces of material need to be held together for a short time while the seam is sewn. This could be used for holding any applique patterns in place to make sure that they do not move.The stitches are usually long in length, usually sewn from right to left, and can be easily removed when the finshed sewing has taken place.
Running Stitch- This stitch is used when material is needed to be gathered up as with frills or ruffles. The stitch is similar to tacking stitch but the stitch length is smaller and neater. This is to get even gathers as if the length was too large or varying then the gathers would be different sizes. This stitch is also usually sewn from right to left.
Back Stitch- This stitch is a strong stitch and is good for sewing seams. This is usually sewn from left to right and gives a line of stitches on the top that overlap underneath.
Slip Stitch- This stitch is usually used when two edges of fabric need to be joined such a along a folded corner or when joining patchwork pieces by hand. These stitches are not sewn tightly to allow for a little movement.
Blanket Stitch- This stitch is a decorative stitch and is usually seen along the edge of a blanket. It is usually sewn from left to right.
Overcasting Stitch- This stitch is used to stop the fabric edges from fraying.
Hemming- This stitch is sewn on the wrong side of the fabric and small stitches are used with just a thin thread taken from the fabric and then into the hem. This is to make sure that the hemming stitch is not seen on the right side of the item.

Return from Sewing by Hand to Cushions and more

Cushion Gallery Cushion Gallery Cushion Gallery Cushion Gallery

2012-06-27T13:34:00.001+02:00

the showcase for your cushions

Welcome to the Cushion Gallery.

I have created this page for YOU, visitors to my site, so that you can show how creative you have been in making a cushion, cushion cover, or a cushioned item. Be it very simple or complicated everybody's idea of achievement is very different and all will be respected.

Have you just finished a cushion or cover that you may have worked on for a long time. The end result is much better than you thought it would be and it looks fantastic....

Have you just started sewing and you have made your first cushion or cover or any other cushioned item that you are really proud of....

Have you tried to do a more complicated sewing project that looks just great....

When I am building the pages for my site and describing the different ways of making cushions. I make them so I can take pictures at every stage to help with the explanations.

One kind of sewing work I had never done was reverse applique.

This took me a long time to make but when it was finished I was really pleased with the result and the effect cutting away the fabric gave. I made a few mistakes along the way and for me the hardest part was to think of a picture to draw and getting all the layers of material in the correct order.

Made a cushion or a cover?

Whether it has taken you days or hours to complete, are you proud of it? Is it the first item you have ever sewn? Are you really pleased with how it has turned out?

Why not show the end result in the gallery.

View Cushions Other Visitors Have Made

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Quilted Cushion
I made this as part of a GCSE project.

I joined the 3 coloured panels together and sandwiched thin wadding between these and a backing layer.

The ...
Applique Floor Cushion
Using scraps of tie-dyed materials to make autumn leaves and the tabby cat, I cut out the shapes and used an iron on webbing to attach them to the background....
A Ribbon Cushion
I made this years ago when I attended a class at the local college.

Basically two different shades of the same colour of ribbon are woven together to ...
Click here to write your own.

Return from Cushion Gallery to Cushions and more

Cushion Shapes

2012-06-25T07:31:00.001+02:00

Not all cushions are square

The cushion shapes can play an important part of your interior look and have just as much impact as the types of designs that you choose.

When most people think of a cushion they imagine a soft padded cushion in usually a square shape.

This doesn't need to be always the case as there are cushions that have a cylindrical shape. These rounded cushions are called bolsters and fit very nicely into the side of a chair or settee. They are a good design for a head-rest cushion for that extra bit of support.

Heart shaped cushions bring out your feminine side and can give a room a romantic feel. These cushions or pillows look very good in the bedroom but are just as at home in the lounge or any other room you choose.

A shape that is very good for giving a different appearance and for a cushioned seat is round cushions.

If your passion is playing cards then why not add cushions in club, diamond and spade shapes.

Living by the seaside? or have an interest in Astronomy? Then why not make some cushions in star shapes.

Whatever shaped cushion you decide to make you can put the filling straight into the cushion and then sew the seams together. This is ideal if the cushion is for decoration only and will not get a lot of day to day wear. The whole cushion will then need to be washed or cleaned.

If you would like to have a cushion with a removable cover then thecushion pad will need to be made in the same shape.

As you can see the designs of cushions are not the only way to personalise your room in making it yours. Shapes can enhance your individuality as well.

Garden cushions

2012-06-22T07:30:00.002+02:00

Relaxing is made possible outside with the addition of outdoor cushions. What can be more rewarding on a nice sunny day.

Garden seating can be a little hard or uncomfortable making relaxing in the garden a bit difficult. Bring your cushions outside and your relaxation is complete.

Plastic or wooden garden chairs are great to leave outside and can be used all the time. They are fairly comfortable to sit on for short periods without the need for any extra padding. But by adding a thin squab cushion to the seat of the chair and an optional one for the back, your comfort levels will be increased.

Another type of cushion that is excellent for outside are those with aboxed edge or a gusset to them. These have a firmer, deeper seat than the squab cushion and are great for larger areas such as bench seats.

One of the wonderful aspect this kind of soft furnishing is that it is extremely portable. Smaller versions can be made astravel cushions. Your outside comfort can now be taken with you to stadiums, on picnics, aboard boats and in parks. Virtually anywhere you will need some extra padding to make your day or evening more enjoyable.

How often have you gone to the park and found that the benches are either taken or not in the best position. Picnic seats can be made with a boxed edge so sitting on the ground is more comfortable and these can be tied together to make carrying them easier.

But enough about relaxing and enjoying a summers day........ there is another side to having a garden or outside area.

By that I mean to have a lovely place you want to unwind in takes a bit of work to get it as you want it. Some people are able to bend while standing up to weed the garden but if you have a weak back then it is advisable to kneel down to do this part of garden work.

What has this got to do with cushions do I hear you ask.....?

Well..... what I am talking about are kneeling pads or cushions which if you think about it are outdoor cushions as well. These have the job of keeping your knees and sometime your shins from getting too sore.

Whether you are working in your garden, relaxing in it, at a picnic or sailing in the lake I am sure you will agree that outdoor cushions are a really good idea.

Making cushions with cotton

2012-06-21T13:28:00.000+02:00

Cotton

a versatile material

Cotton - this is one of natures natural fibres, the others being wool,linen and silk.

These fibres grow on a plant as a flower similar to a Hollyhock. The flowers come in red, white or yellow and when these die the seedpod opens to show the white hairy down. The long hairs that cover the seeds look like fine wool and these have to be separated from the seeds to make the material. Years ago this was done by people until a special machine called a "gin" was developed to do this and made this process quicker.

This was an important material and has been around for many centuries. The Indus valley and Peru were the places that this fibre was first used. Gradually other places around the world began to grow it as well like the Persian Gulf, Egypt, China, India, North America, and Australia.

There are many varieties and those grown in one country will not grow properly in others as the temperature and humidity all play a part.

Cotton was not grown in Britain. Manufacturing inventions such as "The Spinning Jenny" by Hargreaves, the "Mule" by Crompton and the power loom by Cartwright changed the way it was produced and the cotton mills in Lancashire were born.

Before the fibres can be turned into cloth they have to be spun together to make long threads either by hand or machine. These threads are then woven on a loom to get the final fabric.

This fabric is ideal material for cushion making as it is hard wearing and washes well, although it may shrink. Because of this it is probably best to pre wash the fabric before the casing is made.

It also creases when in the pure form and may be difficult to iron. But mixes well with other fibres like polyester and this tends to reduce the creasing.

This comes in a variety of different colours and weights. There is a wonderful choice of plain and patterned material to please most tastes.

The types of material with this fabric base are Brocade, Corduroy, Calico, Chintz, Damask, Gingham and Lace.

It is best to use a good quality fabric as cushions may need to be hardwearing, however if the cushion is only for decoration, as on a bed, then finer fabric can be used.

It is always worth thinking where the cushions are going to be placed so that you can decide how strong the fabric should be.

I personally feel that any weight can be used for cushion covers as the lighter ones can always be lined for extra strength.

Kyambogo University results 2011/2012

2012-03-21T16:59:00.000+01:00

Hello reader, at such time when everyone is anxious about the results, we need to realise that last semester's results are a mediocrity for this semester.

I encourage you not to be deceived by the success you got.

Try looking for extra success

Secondly some of you have got good friends you have got but I encourage you to respect them because they will help you in future and also its because its for such a reason as that that you are friends

Thanks

How to make an African mat

2011-09-15T16:48:00.001+02:00

A mat is some thing very interesting to use especially in Africa.

It’s used for sitting on visitors and children at home. Therefore a mat is one of the very important items an African in particular a “muganda” one of the tribes in Uganda, should have in his /her home.

I would like to take you through the ways in which it’s made

First of all we harvest palm leaves from the palm trees

These trees are found mostly near lakes and swamps and they are mainly characterized by their many long leaves

After harvesting the leaves we then dry them indirectly under a shade to avoid them from drying quickly and breaking.

This process takes a bout two weeks to reach the required amount of moisture in the leaves

Drying is followed by colouring process which takes a period of 2-5 days for the dyes to colour the leaves permanently.

A big bowl is got and water is added into it.

Then colouring dyes are added to it depending on the concentration required to produce a certain intensity of colour on the palm leaves

The dried leaves are soaked into the bowl and then the mixture is boiled for one hour and left to cool

After cooling, the leaves are removed from the bowl and hanged on a wire to dry completely.

After the colouring process, the weaving of the mat starts.

Its done by twisting of different leaves in a skillful way around each other carefully until a mat is produced

Them we start weaving

what cushions are to your visitor

2011-07-05T13:01:00.000+02:00

Hello i have discovered the usefulness of cushions to my visitors whenever they come home.

cushions show someone that they are special besides they give him/her some resting peace as you serve your juice and every thing.

yes we should have them always in our sitting rooms

deal in cushions from my company and get money

2011-07-03T17:10:00.001+02:00

hello personal selling is what every one wants, do it today and earn your self a big sum of money
just feel confident and approach your neighbor and tell him/her about this blog's products, there after when that customer accepts contact me for full details on how to get the products and selling them
you can do relationship marketing and it will work for you
thanks
any questions am always here for you

personal selling

2011-07-03T15:21:00.000+02:00

who is a personal seller?

i think a personal seller is one who goes door to door selling goods on behalf of the company or his/her own
have you ever tried it?
tell me what you think of it

Blogger Buzz: The best blogging advice you’ve ever received

2011-07-02T14:50:00.000+02:00

Blogger Buzz: The best blogging advice you’ve ever received

Hello every one

2011-07-02T13:44:00.002+02:00

Am very happy for those who have viewed my blog.

The total number of those who have viewed bout 180 and I want to say thank you very much for choosing to visit my blog among all others.

Am planning to upgrade it the more basing on your corrections and encouragements

Thanks very much

cushions and crafts for you

2011-05-24T10:11:00.000+02:00

Hello world this is Sendege Andrew presenting you a new product on market from creativity
these cushions and crafts are really nice and you will like them if you get a chance to buy them