DIY and Crafts

4 DIY projects with velvet that will add soft style to your home

Article by Your Home and Garden

Your Home and Garden art director Shani Luckman gets crafty with these four projects using velvet. Find out how you can add some soft style to your home

Cushions

Cut 2 pieces of fabric each 55 x 50cm. Place right sides down, pile running downwards and long edge at top. Make a mark halfway across top edge of both pieces. Draw a line from this mark to bottom left corner,and again to bottom right corner.

Cut out the 2 triangles. With right sides together, sew an invisible zip along bottom of cushion, then sew up sides, keeping zip partly open. Turn right side out through opened zip. Fill with hobbyfill.

Chair seat

Choose a chair with removable seat. Remove old fabric and any staples or tacks. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to wrap around seat, allowing 5cm of fabric on all sides to fold underneath.

Fix fabric to underside with upholstery tacks or staples. Optional: paint chair in complementary shade.

Soft toy

Download and print out the ‘Baby Cat’ pattern by CreateJoyMakeStuff from etsy.com. (We enlarged ours by 50 percent.) Pin the pattern to the velvet (make sure the pile of the velvet is running downwards).

Cut out pieces, sew and stuff, following instructions. Sew on strands of wool by hand to make mouth and whiskers. Glue on eyes and nose.

Covered books

Cut a piece of fabric to cover your book, allowing about 2.5cm overhang all around. Brush art cement or similar glue over front cover and spine and press down onto wrong side of fabric.

Once dry, brush art cement over back cover, fold fabric over and press down. Snip slits in fabric either side of spine, top and bottom. Tuck these strips down spine. Cut corners on a diagonal so fabric will fold flat. Fold in edges and stick down.

Created by: Shani Luckman. Photography by: Wendy Fenwick.