Cushy for little Tushy

Do it yourself

Angelie Martin-Spencer

Thursday, February 09, 2012

With kids comes the litter of toys, and if we don't start teaching them fairly early how to keep clean and tidy up after themselves, then they will never learn. A good way to start is in their own rooms, but to help them on this journey, you have to have a place for everything and everything in its place. And by this I mean, shelves for books, drawers for clothes and storage chests or boxes for toys. As always, if you have to live with something, you better love it and love looking at it, so my philosophy is to make it a part of your room.

We found the perfect toy chest for the little one's bedroom, and what made it even better was that it was unfinished, so we were able to finish it in the perfect stain to match his bed. With that done the chest was ready for use, but was still missing something. It was able to double as a seat, but not with that hard surface which wasn't very easy on the tushy. So a seat cushion was definitely necessary. Which was just what I did: made a seat cushion that fit right in with the room decor. Since it was a custom-made piece, I had to order the foam sponge to make the cushion, so Polyflex Foam Ltd came to the rescue, our friends at the Morgan's Group. Just give them your dimensions and it is made to fit within 24 hours for under $300.

To make your own seat cushion you will need:

o Foam sponge (to your own dimensions)

o Fabric of your choice

o Contrasting fabric

o Piping cord

o Ribbon

o Zipper

You will then:

o Cut two pieces of fabric the dimensions of the width and depth of the sponge. This is for the top and bottom of the cushion

o Cut a strip of fabric for the border of the cushion, measuring the height of the sponge (2 inches in this case) and enough to go all around the cushion

o Attach piping cord and border to the top piece of cushion cover

o Attach piping cord to bottom piece of cushion cover, making sure to insert ribbons to both sides. These ribbons will act as the ties to secure cushion to the chest

o Attach to border now attached to top piece

o Insert zipper

o Insert sponge

Voila! Your cushion is done. A soft comfy padding for little ones' tushies