Elephant Cushion

BY MARY FOGG

This lovely cushion with its sweet elephant appliqué design would make a lovely new baby gift to decorate the nursery.

Time: 2 hours

Difficulty: Get stuck in

You Will Need

Fabric for cushion front: 28.5cm × 41.5cm (11¹⁄₄in × 16¹⁄₄in)

Fabric for cushion back: 28.5cm × 41.5cm (11¹⁄₄in × 16¹⁄₄in)

Fabric for appliqué: 14cm × 21cm (5¹⁄₂in × 8¹⁄₄in)

Red and blue felt for appliqué

Fusible webbing

Black and white sewing thread

Toy filling

1. Iron the fusible webbing to the appliqué fabric (if you have some spare you could use the same fabric as the cushion backing) following the manufacturer’s instructions. Use the template reversed to cut out the elephant body and tail from the appliqué fabric and fix to the middle of the cushion front, making sure the design is the correct way round. Using the machine zigzag stitch, sew all the way around the appliqué design.

2. Use the template to cut out the eye and ear from red felt and the water spray from blue felt. Use a straight stitch to attach, and work a large cross stitch in the centre of the elephant’s eye.

3. Place the cushion front and back right sides together, and pin. Machine stitch around the edges using a 1.5cm (⁵⁄₈in) seam allowance and leaving a gap for turning.

4. Trim the corners; turn the cushion cover through to the right side. Press gently and stuff so the toy filling reaches into the corners. Slip stitch the opening closed by hand.

Full-size templates for this project are available at: www.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk/patterns