Make A Modern Cross Stitch Cushion

When I think of cross-stitch needlepoint, my mind goes to that of my Grandmother’s craft and in no way modern & textural. But this project is here to change all that and (hopefully) help us rethink the art of cross-stitch. It’s a needlepoint seat cushion made with a rug hooking grid + super chunky yarn and the finished result is a deliciously textural surface that’s perfect for softening bare accent or dining chairs.

 

If like me, you love the Mid Century style and a good thrift store find now and again, then maybe you won’t think I’m crazy when I tell you I purchased this old beat up chair that was missing it’s cushion and had structural issues, annnnd I couldn’t have been more stoked about my score!

Now before you send me straight to the nut house, hear me out. The chair was a Mid Century diamond in the rough rattan occasional chair that cost me $4–Yep, four $1 bills–at the North Loop Salvation Army. As for those structural issues? Nothin’ a DIY gal like myself couldn’t fix!

Of course, what I hadn’t accounted for was how I’d style the chair in my home–I just saw it, picked it up, gave the checkout guy the quad of $1 bills, and drove off with it tucked in the back of my Volks Golf.

The looped rattan back was too pretty to cover with a throw pillow, and the seat was round which made it hard to find the right cushion. So it hung out in the guest room until I got the idea to cross stitch a cushion for it. I wanted the cushion to fit the chair similarly to cushions on Eames Wire Chairs. A round, low profile, cushion. But instead of plain old fabric, I’d cross stitch the faces of the cushion, modernizing the look of the chair, and also in a weird way nodding to its Mid Century roots.

Find the full tutorial for the cushion over on Sugar & Cloth!

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