Christmas Fabric/Christmas Decorating

I have a weakness for novelty and holiday fabric.  But after I bring it home I have to do something with it.  Either that or I store it for years.  I pull it out on occasion and wonder what I could make with it.  And who I would gift my creation to.  After all, I have enough of that kind of stuff cluttering up the place.  Turns out most of my family and friends have more than enough (usually given to them by me) so they really don't feel a need to have more.

So I have put a stop to bringing home the holiday fabric.   My stash is slowly going down.  In the past few years I have made place mats, runners and wall hangings.  Using up a lot of my Halloween and Christmas stash.  I won't say what I've done with these items. Some have gone to charities, some have been given away more creatively.  (There are rumours of a short grey haired woman roaming the streets in the early mornings leaving packages hanging on strangers' doors....and you thought it was the Great Pumpkin.)

So now what to do with the last bit of Christmas fabric I have left.  There was enough for two table runners and cushion covers.  Added bonus, these items will store easily with the Christmas towels and placemats. 

Any cushion that is plain received a band of fabric to make it fit the season.  A wide band of fabric works great on chair pads as well. 

Any cushion that looks so bad that it really should be replaced gets a new cushion cover.

For these covers I cut fabric the width of the cushion plus 3" by double the length of the cushion plus 7".  Each long end is folded over 1" and again 1" then stitched for a finished edge at each end. 

With the wrong sides together I fold the fabric lengthwise with the finished ends over lapping by three inches.  Stitch the sides together (1/2" seam), leaving the finished edges open.  Turn the cover right side out.  Slip the cushion inside. 

If the cover is too wide, it's very easy to fix.  Turn it inside out again and run another seam up one of the stitched edges.  If it's too long, turn the cover inside out and run a seam at one end.  There are no exact measurements for these cushion covers.  Depending on how much use your cushions have seen, they may be puffy or very flat.  Also depending on the type of stuffing in the cushion it may look better when in a smaller cover.  I have several cushions that should be replaced but look great when stuffed into a smaller cover.  (Guess I best make some new covers that will look good in the living room year round.)