On one of our regular visits to our local charity shop, I spotted this framed needlepoint. It was wedged in a basket at the back of a stack of picture frames and would probably have been consigned to the bin had I not rescued it.
I was struck by the hours of work that had obviously gone into it and was disappointed, if not surprised, that the value that had been attributed to it was just ONE pound.
Unfortunately, as a picture, it just does not work.
It’s old-fashioned and the cheap gilded frame couldn’t be further removed from current interior trends, yet it totally misses the ‘vintage’ vibe, too.
Without really thinking it through, I knew I had to buy it and try to reinvent it as something I would be proud to have in my home – no small task!
A number of Instagrammars had the great suggestion to turn the needlepoint into a tray by adding handles to the frame, or a suitable alternative frame.
I love this idea and very nearly went for it until I was honest with myself and admitted that I have lots of trays and this one simply wouldn’t get used, which seemed such a shame.
Going with my initial idea, I decided to turn it into a cushion cover, after all, the colours would tie in seamlessly with the ones currently in our lounge.
I started by running a blade around the edge of the backing to remove the needlepoint from the frame.
The canvas had been criss crossed with thread to hold it in place, so I was careful not to cut through the canvas when removing the thread.
Having liberated the needlepoint from its frame, it was obvious that it had been a kit originally. I used the colour guides on the side of the panel to choose a fabric from my stash that would serve as the cushion back.
Luckily, this herringbone tweed matched the colours in the needlepoint exactly. There was just enough cord left on a roll to make some piping, too.
The piping cord was made first, by cutting strips of fabric on the bias and basting it around some cord.
I basted the piping as close as possible to the edge of the needlepoint, clipping up to the stitching to turn the corners.
I had to piece the remnants together to make a 15″ square backing to match the size of the needlepoint front.
The zip was inserted into the back section rather than any one of the side seams to minimise bulk at the seams. I top stitched it down close to the zip to stop the fabric getting caught in the zip when removing the cover for cleaning.
With right sides facing, I pinned the backing to the front, remembering to open the zip for turning through later.
As the zip was too long, I would just sew all the way around, in effect creating a new zip stop in the seam, so I didn’t cut it to length at this stage.
The excess canvas was trimmed and the corners were cut across.
Turned through to the right side, this is the finished cushion, shown on a grey chair for contrast: –
I think it will actually live on this sofa.
When I said it coordinates with our existing colour scheme, here’s what I meant – it sits perfectly with the other cushions. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it looks at all dated now, quite the reverse, in fact and I love it!
The total cost of the cushion was…….£1.00
Not bad when you consider that this kit is currently available for around £40.00, not including the backing fabric or insert!
Not so old fashioned now, is it?!
Sewchet 