Miranda The Avion Gets A Cushion Makeover

I'm not going to lie. Our remodel was a little slow going due to rain.... and Dustin's work schedule.... and just life in general. 

But each day I tried to spend a little time on something that would get us closer to the end. 

When I say we remodeled - I mean we redid everything from top to bottom. That included the dining area cushions. In order to spend more money in certain areas I tried to save where I could. With that in mind I decided to try to redo the cushions myself. 

Now I do know how to sew.... but I would call myself a basic sewer. Nothing to complicated. Of course I went to Pinterest (click here to view my "camper remodel" board) in search of ideas. And let me tell you.... there are so many awesome ideas! Some I loved but thought there above my level of expertise. I was hoping to do removable covers but I didn't think I was skilled enough to try tackling zippers. In mind I was thinking along the lines of envelope pillow style. I tried my style of this and let's just say it was a crash and burn... but looking back I know where I went wrong and if I have to do the cushions again I may go that route. 

Back to Pinterest. Scrolling.... Scrolling.... Then I saw a picture I loved. The cushions were simple but perfect for the look I had in mind for Miranda.

This picture took me to A Mountain Modern Life and a feature on their page of a camper remodel. (Check it out for more pictures of this fabulous camper remodel.) I admit I looked at aaaaallllloooottttt of pictures of camper remodels and this was by far my favorite. Not going to lie I love the farmhouse look. So I quickly knew I wanted to incorporate some of these ideas into Miranda. 

A little more clicking away and I found my way over to Proverbs 31 Girl the person behind the camper makeover. Allie at Proverbs 31 Girl is the camper remodel queen (link to her post)! She tackled many things herself that I am not sure I would have been brave enough to. Plus she was kind enough to share tips, tricks and tutorials. So after some more clicking around on her page I found her tutorial for the dining cushions. 

Hmm.. seemed simple enough. And definitely budget friendly. All I needed was a drop cloth. Simple enough - right?!

--->In case your not Instagram savvy here is the direct link to Allie's Instagram Video How-To. <---

Needless to say on Dustin's next Lowe's run I had him pick me up a couple of drop clothes. Our local Lowe's had a small drop cloth and a large drop cloth. Since Dustin was not sure how much I would need he purchased one of each (Smart man). I was able to make 4 cushion covers out of the one large canvas drop cloth and have some excess left over --- I'm thinking future throw pillows...

Now I had my supplies it was time to get to work. I admit I wasn't really sure what I was doing. I removed the original cushion covers and pleased to find what appeared to be a new cushion on the inside. Since the cushions were in great condition I just cleaned them all and proceeded with making the new covers. 

First things first I measured my existing cushions. I measured length, height and width. And per Allie's instructions added an extra inch. 

Second I sewed the side pieces together - long, skinny, long, skinny.

Third sew the sides to the back piece. Now some may be able to do this easy peasy. Me... pins are my friend. Before attaching the sides to the back I had to sit down and pin it all out. So this is what it should look like:

 

I admit I lost Allie for minute when getting ready to attach the final front piece. Again I do not consider myself that good of a seamstress. So in case you are confused or lost here is a little addition to her instructions.... consider it a cushions for dummy's edition (note these are not stand alone instructions but a little of what helped me to understand Allie's steps):

Part 1: I'm done sewing the sides to the back - now what?!

Part 2: Attaching the Front to what is already sewed

Part 3: What mine looked like after pinning the pieces together

Part 4: Ok I have one side of my front piece attached --- now what?

Part 5: Flipping it right side out and checking for any missed spots

Part 6: Almost done

Part 7: Cushions In

Part 8: Preparing to hand stitch the trim

Redoing the cushions was a process. We will just leave it at that. The only thing I purchased for the cushions was the drop cloth. I already had an off white thread that I used. 

And I lucked out and had some off white yarn that Maddie and I had used for another craft project. And after some digging through my Grandma's old sewing box I found an embroidery needle that worked perfect for doing the hand stitching. 

For anyone interested this was the yarn that I used for the trim and it was purchased at Walmart: 

Ready to tackle this project for your camper? Share your pictures and let me know if you have any questions!

And stay tuned for more pictures of the cushions once they make their way into Miranda the Avion.

UPDATE

I knew I had some more pictures of the finished cushion. Just took me some time to find them:

I had to leave a pretty large opening in order to get my cushion into the cover.....

My first one was definitely the worst of the four. I learned from doing it that I needed to shorten my measurements just a little. Now if you want to add tufts in the seat I would leave the excess. I decided I did not want the tufts but a plain, flat seat. 

Now bloopers. My first one I misunderstood and didn't pull the sides together to hand-stitch.... yeah talk about a blonde moment. But hey that's ok. Life is trial and error. So if you decide to DIY. Don't give up! You got this! And once you are done you will be so happy!!

Happy remodeling! Here's a sneak peak at our almost finished dining area...