Bench Cushion with Piping

Created by: Leila.Makes

As I dive further into a van conversion, I thought I’d throw in some sewing projects to make it more fun (and familiar). I just finished building a storage bench and I desperately needed some cushions to place on top. This blog tutorial can be used for ANY square/rectangular-shaped cushion, whether it’s for a bench in your van or a bench in your hallway. 

Supplies Needed: 

• Janome Adjustable Zipper foot – traditionally used for inserting zippers, but can conveniently be used for maintaining a close straight line beside your piping 
  
• Janome HD9 Professional sewing machine 
  
• Piping cording* size 00, 4/32” used here 
  
• Bias tape* ½” double fold bias tape used here, ironed out to single fold used here 
  
• Fabric* repurposed curtain + polyester twill used here 
  
• Note: for a cushion cover, upholstery fabric or a repurposed curtain may be the best way to go for a sturdy fabric that will not wear easily with use.  
  
• 2-4” foam* 3” thick foam used here 
  
• Velcro strip 1” wide used here 
  
• Upholstery batting/cushion wrap hi-loft polyester batting used here 
  
• Basting spray  
  
• *Yardage/length of material depends on your cushion size (read below to determine these specs) 

Steps: 

1. Measure your base (bench) to determine cushion dimensions 

• I set out to make two cushions for my storage bench since it has two lids. In this blog, I will focus on the smaller one (see arrow in Image 3), but the same concepts apply to the larger one in the finished picture (Image 1 + 20). 

2. Cut your foam shape

• Mark your foam to help guide cutting and cut out your foam block according to your base measurements (see Image 5)  
  • For mine, I cut out a 21” x 22” square foam piece 
  • Commonly, an electric carving knife is used to cut through foam pieces, but a serrated bread knife works in a pinch. Be sure to keep your cuts perfectly perpendicular to your foam surface so that you have a nice even shape cutout. 

3. Calculate your fabric dimensions + assign pattern pieces + cut fabric 

1. You will need a top + bottom + perimeter pieces: 
   
2. TOP + BOTTOM 
   
   • Top + bottom = 21” wide by 22” long + seam allowance (see Image 4 above) 
     
   • I will be using a ½” seam allowance, so add 1” to your measurements → final dimensions for the top + bottom pieces will be 22” wide x 23” long 
     
3. PERIMETER PIECES 
   
   • To make this cover removable/washable and to facilitate inserting the foam into the cover after all is done, you will need to create a flap opening along the back perimeter piece. Therefore, you will need 2 back perimeter pieces and aim for a 1” overlap with or without velcro to keep it closed and snug. 
     
   • Perimeter pieces include = 2 sides + 1 front + 2 backs (see Image 6 below)
     
     • 2 Sides = 3” wide (foam height) x 21” long 
       
     • 1 Front = 3” wide (foam height) x 22” long 
       
     • 2 Backs = 3” wide (foam height) x 22” long  
       
     • With a ½” seam allowance added (i.e., add 1” to the measurements), the final dimensions for the perimeter pieces will be: 
       
       • 2 Sides = 4” wide x 22” long 
         
       • 1 Front = 4” wide x 23” long 
         
       • 2 Backs = 4” wide x 23” long 
         
4. Cut your fabric pieces = top + bottom + 2 side perimeters + 1 front perimeter + 2 back perimeters 
   
   • Generally speaking, you want your cover to be slightly smaller (by ~1”) than the foam cushion itself for a snug fit. This can be accomplished by using the exact measurements of your base to cut your foam piece, then wrap it in upholstery batting AKA cushion wrap (here, I am using a similar material, hi-loft polyester batting, that I had on hand from a previous project).  

4. Create your piping with cording + bias tape  

1. Here, I am creating my piping with 1/8” cotton cording (size 00 or 4/32”) and premade ½” double fold bias tape (see Image 7 below) 
   
2. You will be sewing this tape with the enclosed cording positioned to the LEFT of the needle. I recommend using a longer stitch length here to baste the tape together and enclose the cording.  
   
3. Tip: If you notice that your bias tape is bunching up – consider shortening your stitch length (3.5mm length worked well for me here), adjust tension, be sure not to pull on your tape as you sew it and inadvertently introduce stretching tension to your stitch line. 
   
4. Note: Do not sew close to the cording edge at this step. That way, you won’t end up with unnecessary stitches showing along your piped edge when all is finished 
   
5. The length of your piping bias tape can be calculated from the perimeter of your cushion. And you can decide if you want to include this piping on the top +/- on the bottom of your cover. 
   
   1. Perimeter of a 21” wide x 22” long square = 2*(length+width) = 2*(22”+21”) = 2*43” = 86” long  
      
   2. Add the ½” seam allowance = 87” long 
      
   3. If you want to incorporate piping along the top and bottom of the cover, you will need double this calculated amount = 87”*2 = 174” long 

5. Sew your cushion together 

• Sew the piping to your top piece and bottom piece 
  • Place the piping against the right side of your fabric, with the raw edges of the bias tape facing outward (see Image 8) 
    
  • Sew with a longer stitch length (~3.5mm) and again, don’t sew too closely to piping edge yet 
    
• When you sew around a corner, clip into the piping bias tape (see Image 8) to release some tension and prevent fabric bunching 

• Tip: I noticed that some of my cording bunched up while I sewed the piping to the top + bottom pieces. To fix this and ensure a smooth piped edge, I ended up pulling some of the cording through the bias tape at the start + end to make it as taut as it needed to be to appear smooth before sewing the start & end pieces down to secure it. 
  
• Leave ~2” of piping tape at start and end so that you can join the ends cleanly (see Images 9-11 below) 
  
• I finished the start & end of my piping in two different ways to see which one I preferred (spoiler: method 2 is better in my opinion!) 
  
  • Method 1 (see Image 9 below): Similar to a quilt binding technique, trim away excess cording so that they match up and lay flat. Fold the edge of one tape under to create a clean finish, then sew in place to secure. 
    
  • Method 2 (see Image 10 below): Overlap your start and end piping with the ends directed away from the fabric edge and sew in place.  

• Create the back perimeter piece flap opening with velcro 
  
  • To create a finished 4” wide back perimeter piece, fold a long side to the wrong side by ½” then again by 1” and attach the velcro strip 
    
  • Note: the velcro will be on right side of one piece and the wrong of the other piece (see Image 12) 

• Sew the perimeter pieces all together (front → side → back → side → front) 

• Optional step: add velcro strips to the bottom piece so that you can affix it to your bench/base later on (see Image 15). I find that it’s easier to secure your velcro during this step before you put the whole cushion together. 

• Sew the perimeter piece to the top and bottom pieces 
  • Enter: the Janome Adjustable Zipper foot! (see Image 16) 
    
  • I’m using this foot in an unconventional way, i.e., not for inserting a zipper, because it can also be used to sew a straight stitch close to the edge of something… something like the edge of piping along some fabric edges 🙂 
    
  • Note: Be aware of the back flap opening orientation and position it so that the flap is overlying the velcro on top (for aesthetic purposes only) 

• Here you will sew with a standard stitch length of 2.4mm and rely on the adjustable zip foot to sew as close to the piping edge as possible 
  
• Note: You won’t be able to SEE the piping, but you will be able to FEEL the edge of the piping bump between the fabric layers (see Image 17) 
  
• Tip: I like to first pin the piping tape to the top/bottom piece and push the cording to the folded edge as much as possible (they are already sewn together here). THEN use those pins to attach the top/bottom piece to the perimeter piece. This helps me determine if I need to pull on the cording through the bias tape to ensure no excess cording is bunched up inside and cause a bumpy piped edge along the seam. 

6. Wrap foam in batting 

• In lieu of upholstery batting/cushion wrap – I used hi-loft batting that I had on hand (a suitable substitute) and spray adhesive/basting spray to wrap the foam (see Image 18). 
  
• Note: I only had enough batting to attach to the top and sides of the foam and left the bottom part uncovered.  

7. Cover your foam cushion! 

• Turn your cover right side out and insert your batting-wrapped foam into the cover through the flap opening in the back. 
  
• It should be a tight fit, make sure the corners are pulled out all the way and the foam is arranged so that the corners align. 

8. Install your cushion onto your bench/base and stare in wonder 

I hope you enjoyed this little journey into creating your own bench cushion cover. I’ll admit, piped corners felt very intimidating to me, but it was surprisingly painless overall (still nerve-wracking)! I think the biggest challenges for me were sewing around corners and especially making sure that the piping was smooth as I sewed everything together. Using the adjustable zip foot was incredibly helpful in getting a close seamline up to the edge of my piping and I definitely credit it for my piping detail work here.