Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants - Memories Cushion

Have you ever read 'The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants' by Ann Brashares? Or seen the movie? If not, here is the general idea - a group of friends find this amazing pair of jeans that happens to fit them all perfectly even though they are all different shapes/sizes (awesome right!). It is the first summer that they will spend apart and they swear to mail the jeans (or pants if you are American!) with letters to each other throughout the whole summer. The jeans end up with little things sewn on, things written on them, and essentially hold the memories of each of the girls' summers. Pretty cool idea right? It certainly got me thinking...and took me where my thinking usually takes me ...a cushion!

The great thing about this cushion is that making it from the jeans (which takes about an hour ) is just the beginning. I made three cushions (one for everyone in my house) and then we had a pyjama party and decorated them. 

I supplied felt, fabric scraps, sharpies, beads, lace, badges and my hot glue gun and we went to town! 

Seriously...we were at it for two straight hours, capturing the memories of our time living together on this cushion - Many of the pictures/words etc. won't make sense to anyone but us but that is definitely part of the charm! This is a great sleepover activity - supply every guest with a blank cushion and let them decorate it - decorate each others - get all your friends to sign it....there are so many things you could do here! And at the end you will have a truly unique cushion that will hopefully make you smile fondly at all the memories it holds!

I have included a tutorial for how to make a cushion out of your jeans but the rest is up to you!

Materials

Pair of jeans

Quick-unpick

1. Using your quick-unpick unpick the two seams shown in the picture - they are essentially one seam when you look so unpick the whole thing making sure you go at least 3/4s of the way down the leg

 When you have unpicked it it will look like this... if you cannot unpick the tiny bit in the middle joining them together, cut it with your scissors

2. Pin the seams together like shown in the picture below. Basically, you are creating a front panel and a back panel, rather than separate legs. Sew down each to create a tube from your jeans.

3. You may have to sew down like shown in the picture to make sure you get a straight edge - trim any excess.

4. Turn the jeans right side out and it should look like the picture below. Trim the bottom of the legs off. Using your scissors, cut down the side seams to separate the front from the back, you should now have two separate panels

5. Measure the top of the front of your jeans (it won't be completely straight but that is just jeans for you - go with it in the knowledge that this is not an exact science!). Trim the front jean panel so it is square-ish - i.e. you should trim the bottom so it is the same height as the width at the top!

6. Place the front panel over the back panel and trim any excess off the sides. Cut the back into two pieces, each about 3" shorter than the front panel. Hem the edges as shown.

7. Lay the front piece right side up on your work surface. Lay the back panel with pockets on top, right side down. Finally, lay the second back panel on top. Sew all the way round your cushion (complete square) to create an envelope back. Make sure to use a sturdy needle for this bit - your will be sewing a lot of denim - particularly at the top!

8. Turn right side out. 

9. DECORATE!

Suggested Materials for Decoration

Badges

Felt

Fabric Scraps

Lace

Ric-rac/ribbon

Sharpies

Hot Glue Gun

Make sure to put newspaper inside the cushion whilst you are decorating to ensure it doesn't go through

If you have a go at this I would love to see! We had so much fun...three twenty-somethings laughing, reminiscing and gluing until 11.30pm!

Have a great Friday!

Love Rebecca