How to Create French Mattress Cushion

Hey guys , it's Michelle with blue cabinet upholstery .

And today I'm gonna share tips on making French mattress cushions .

So the first thing we do is we figure out what size to cut the foam and the fabric .

Um After experimenting with several different methods , I finally settled on just doing it the way I do a regular cushion .

You don't need to add tons of Dacron or anything like that .

Um The stitch will go through the foam and create that nice look .

So , um there's a video on my youtube , um go check it out and explains in detail how I make my cushions and especially how I oversize foam for longer cushions .

So check that .

Here's the supplies that you need .

First , you start with a good quality foam .

Um , density and thickness depends on what your client prefers , but I typically use a medium density um 3 to 4 inches depending on the size of the bench .

And then I wrap it in Daron .

Next up , you'll need hand stitching thread , which is these guys in the middle and a curved needle to make the decorative stitch along the edge and then the button nylon button tufting twine and a long needle is how that you will make either the um X style stitch for the tufting detail or you can use it to pull your buttons through if you're using buttons .

So you can see with my method , you're going to start out with a really tight looking cushion .

If you want yours to look a little squishier or be easier to stitch , add one half inch to my boxing with recommendation .

So tip number two is if you're a right handed person , start stitching from the right to the left .

So you wanna go this direction .

Um If you , if you go the other way , it's just gonna feel really awkward .

Another tip would be to add Dacron to the corners .

So after you insert the foam , um , just shove a little bit extra Dacron in the corners to fill them out because even though you , um , typically for a long cushion , you'll oversize the foam , they still tend to be a little puny in the corners .

So , um , I would just recommend adding a handful of Dacron stuffing it in there to get started with your stitches .

You'll want to measure every two inches and put a pin in .

And , um , depending on the length of your cushion , you may need to adjust that a little bit for the measurements to work out .

Um , but two inches is what I like to go for .

So you're using those pins as a guide for your stitch , come up on one side , go over a quarter inch and back down .

And then when you come down on the boxing , you want to make sure that those stitches line up so that you get that nice pull mark , um , on your finished cushion .

And then when you get a few stitches going , you just sort of squeeze and pull .

You don't wanna go too far or , um , it's really hard to get it to tighten up .

So just every , every three or four scrunch it up .

So here it's a , a larger cushion , it's five inches .

So I'm able to take a bigger stitch uh for a bigger roll on the edge .

Um , and I'm just using the previous line of stitches um as my guide .

And so I'm eyeballing it and I would , you know , I would just recommend when you're first starting out .

Definitely use pins .

You can also use pins on the boxing side and then my last tip would be to start on the back side .

So that would be the side that you hand stitched closed or maybe you put in a zipper .

Um That way you , you get a little practice in and your best stitches are on the finished front side .

Um That always seems to be like the last row , stitches is the best row .

Different fabrics will give you different looks .

This was a stiffer velvet , so it has a firmer look to it .

It was a more typical fabric and I was able to make a bigger edge roll because of the five inch foam .

So it was just bigger all around and then you finish it off with uh button tufting and you can either use buttons or a stitch detail , uh any pattern diamond or square , whatever you would like .

I hope that was helpful for those that want to give it a try .

They are a lot of fun to make , even if they are a bit of work .