DIY Patio Cushions (Part II) - No Sewing Machine

Yesterday my fabric came in the mail from fabric.com. They ship their fabric on poly mailers which surprised me. I think they purchase those in bundle on eBay since they are super cheap; however, the fabric itself does not look cheap at all! The fabric is beautiful. I will definitely order again. To remind my viewers, I ordered Richloom Solarium Outdoor Fabric. That link shows you the search results for all the choices you have for that brand of outdoor fabric. I ordered the styles in Kiwi and Navy.There are others but I truly love the Richloom Solarium the best because it's designed and pre-sprayed with Scotch Guard or some other equivalent fabric protection spray from UV rays and other weather conditions.

Now let me just tell you, I am probably one of the serious newbies on re-covering old cushions. I have never taken a class or learned previously on my own how to work with fabric, needle and thread. I don't like to spend a lot of money and even at a store like Ross and Marshalls, outdoor cushions were as low as $25 per cushion (minimum $100 for 4 cushions)!!! I spent $35 on 4 yards of fabric (my cushions are pretty much $8.75 each) that I plan to use to cover 4 to 5 cushions. I am estimating to have a small bit of leftover fabric as well for other projects. I think I need another yard; however, in a different fabric design for smaller cushions for back-rests. It would look adorable!

Okay let me tell you how I actually did this project with ZERO experience and NO sewing Machine. (I've owned two but got so frustrated using them since my foot could not control the speed at all and my sewing got out of control... so I prefer to go by hand until I get comfortable with stitch). Baby steps...

Here are my steps:

1. Watch some videos on YouTube about how to cover patio cushions and/or make pillows
2. Buy your fabric: 2 Yards in each Fabric will cover about 3 cushions if they measure 19.5 x 19.5. 
3. Know how much a yard is in fabric. I learned that it's about 36 wide and whatever length the company designates the length. When you order the fabric they will tell you on the listing or description the length is 54" or 64" etc. 
4. When you receive your fabric, get super excited and squeal at how awesomely pretty it is!
5. Use a long quilting needle (its about 2.5 inches in length) so you have firm control over your needle and no issues with breakage on the needle or thread. 
6. Use heavy-duty thread. Use a color that goes well with your fabric because your last seam will have to show the thread. 
7. Lay your cushion over the fabric and re-adjust its position until you feel your fabric will cover the entire cushion. Make sure you have a minimum of an inch on each side of the fabric too for the rounded part of the cushion. You wouldn't want to be short on those sides. 
8. I used a ruler on the backside of the fabric and marked a straight line that I want my thread to run on. I created a second line above that about a centimeter apart for my second lined stitch. I did a straight line all throughout the fabric and then a criss-cross stitch between the two lines. It may be over-stitching but I was worried it wasn't going to be durable enough and fall apart on me. I wanted to do it right the first time. 
9. I had the back-side of the fabric facing me and sewed the two sides together on the lines I had created. I didn't want to have a crooked stitch and it helped to have a place to pinpoint the needle quickly. 
1. On each knot that I had created when running out of thread, I used fabric glue to seal the knot and let it dry for 10 minutes. 
10. On the last open side, I flipped the fabric to the correct side and checked my seams. Then, I stuffed the old cushion inside (did not remove the fabric on that cushion at all since the interior of that cushion had horse hair in it instead of foam... kind of grossed out by that discovery but didn't want to deal with removing all that hair)
11. I folded the fabric about an inch inward (toward the cushion) and held it tight. I began my stitch like that and did one line all the way across first. I went back since I had extra thread and did another line across and tied the thread with my initial knot's excess thread. I knotted it like 5 times. 
12. Again, even on the outside, I had glued together my knots to seal them really well and protect them from breaking. 

Here are the cushions that I used to have. They were green and brown but have faded into a terrible and hideous color. 

Here is my upgraded cushion (and remember, I have zero experience and no sewing machine). It took me a day and a half to complete just one cushion. I know, I know... with a sewing machine, it'd take me a few hours but like I said, I'm not too good with a sewing machine. 

When I'm totally done, I'll upload a picture of all 4 and on their proper chairs. For now, it's back to work... on cushion 2....