I remember my Granny commenting years ago when Gemma & I were fledgling salvagers that we were obsessed with buying cushions. This was probably true. When you are working under fairly limited budget constraints, without opportunity for upgrading things like sofas, a few scatter cushions can cover a multitude of sins. You can use them to highlight bits of your color scheme, make a style statement or instantly cosy up a bare space. This tendency to over-cushion has persisted, though a few years ago it became apparent that running them up on the sewing machine is incredibly easy. I advise any sewing beginners to start with some simple cushions. The other great thing is that you only need a small amount of fabric, so remnants are ideal.

Here are some recent additions to my growing collection. The first were made from a patchwork Accessorize scarf, simply cut in 4 with 2 pieces sewn side by side. The next 2 were made from fabric remnants picked up at charity shops. The floral one is a Sanderson print for which i paid 50p.

A few pointers on cushion making. 50 x 50cm is a standard size, and the first step is to cut your front piece slightly larger than this to allow for seams. Then cut 2 more pieces each approx. 2/3 as wide and of similar length to the front. These will overlap at the back, so you will need to hem them both. Then place all your pieces facing inwards, sew, turn inside out and hey presto! Once you have mastered that, you can get fancy with things like piping (a worthy education), buttons, zips etc, but for now, this will provide you with a basic, no-fuss cushion. Finally, it really does make a difference if you fill them with a feather liner, but to keep costs down, once again our faithful charity shops have ugly cushions permanently on display, so you can do them a favour by hiding them inside your beautiful handmade treasure!