Spray paint on fabric for designer cushions

Have been loving this chevron pattern for some time now and still haven't seen any nice fabric in the shops. While making the garden table, I also spray painted a couple of old plastic chairs that were stuck in a corner of the garden and also decided to add some colourful cushions. Since I wasn't able to buy chevron fabric, I made my own !

 

I have previously spray painted fabric with excellent results. Some years back, one of my first Rust-Oleum projects in fact, I spray painted a set of bathroom curtains. For some reason I cannot find this on the website, which means I need to do some searching to see why it's disappeared! Anyways, the curtains were washed and washed and washed... for about three years before I decided to take them down. So for those of you wondering, no it won't wash out and yes it will last.

To make the cushion you will need to cut out two squares for the front and back. Use a cushion inner or old cushion cover to work out the size for the fabric and allow 2cm extra all round for seams. I am recycling some old cushions and using the inners for my new cushions. If you need more padding, put two cushion inners inside.

 

CONTINUES BELOW

 

 

To start off I laid 3cm-wide strips of masking tape on a glass cutting board and then marked along the length at 10cm intervals. This will be the length for each strip. Use a steel ruler and sharp craft knife to cut along the marked line. I laid quite a few rows, so that I cut could as many 10cm strips as possible in one go.

To make life easier, I printed out a chevron design on my PC printer and put this under the fabric as a guide. The 10cm strips were then stuck down to mask out the chevron pattern. There must be no gaps or irregular edges as these will show up and the tape must be stuck down firmly around all edges to prevent the paint from bleeding underneath.

After masking off all the rows, I took the fabric outside and sprayed on a very light coat of paint. USE ONLY RUST-OLEUM MATT OR SATIN spray paint, as gloss bleeds too much. Spray on light, even coats as you move around the fabric until completely covered and then let dry.

Once the paint has dried you can slowly peel off the masking tape to reveal the blank, unpainted fabric underneath. Oooooh, I am so looking forward to finishing these cushions!

Now it's time to sew the fabric to make the cushion cover. Place the painted fabric face down over the back section of fabric.

Sew a 2cm seam allowance on three sides of the fabric. Before continuing, turn the fabric right side out and test fit over your cushion inner. If it fits nice and snug, put back in the machine and do a zig-zag stitch around all edges to prevent fraying, or make any adjustments as required.

Turn the cushion right side out and put in the cushion inner. Fold over the open edge so that the fold is on the inside, and use a running stitch to close up, gently pushing the cushion out of the way as you sew.

With this technique there's no reason why you can't spray paint matching accessories. How about a tablecloth, placemats, or even a canvas floor cloth with matching pattern.