Banquette & Chairs

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Two 1"x 8" pieces of wood (desired length to fit in your banquette area)
• 4" foam (you will need enough to cover 2 pieces 8" wide by length of your board)
• Batting
• Fabric of choice
• Electric carving knife
• Scissors
• Staple gun & staples
• Sharpie
• Spray glue
• *If you need to cut your boards to length you will also need:
• Saw
• Tape measure
• Pencil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut your 1"x 8" to the desired length using a saw, make the length using a pencil and tape measure. Keep in mind, if your piece is fitting tightly into a spot (say between two cabinets) you will need to make the wood slightly smaller to leave room for the batting and fabric allowance.
2. Once your wood is cut to length, place the wood onto the 4" foam, lining the top and side edges up. Trace the remaining 2 edges onto the foam with a Sharpie.
3. Using the electric carving knife, cut along the lines so you have a piece of foam the same size as your wood board. Repeat so you have 2 pieces.
4. To keep your foam from slipping, spray the board with spray glue as well as the side of the foam that will be against the wood. Let them slightly dry so they are tacky, and place the two pieces together.
5. Shape the foam into a slight rounded dome shape by cutting down the sharp edges with an electric knife.
6. Once the cushions are shaped, lay them facedown on a piece of batting. Wrap the batting around to the back to secure in place. Depending on how precise your curves are you may need two layers of batting to smooth out the overall shape.
7. Staple the batting in place along one of the long edges. On the other side, start in the middle, pulling the batting taught and stapling in place. Continue working from the middle out in either direction to keep the batting from buckling.
8. For the ends, trim away any excess so they don’t pucker and wrap similar to a present. Secure with staples.
9. Trim off any excess batting with scissors.
10. Lay out your fabric right side down and place your cushion facedown on top. Similar to the batting application, pull the fabric to the back and staple one side in place. On the other side, start in the middle and work out in either direction stapling as you go. For the ends, fold in the corners and pull the fabric to the back. You will need to make a pleat in the middle to make the fabric follow the curve of the cushion. Secure in place with staples and cut off any excess fabric on the back.
11. Repeat to make another cushion backer.

JOANN HACKS:

• Many home improvement stores will cut your wood to the desired length you need for free or a nominal fee, this will save you from step 1.
• If your fabric has a design, be mindful of the design when lining up the fabric onto your cushion in step 10.