I established yesterday that my office wouldn't be complete without a DIY cat perch. But what kind of crazy cat lady would I be if I didn't also provide a cat perch cushion??
I wanted to add a little bit of padding, that could also be cleanable. I had fabric waiting in the wings for an upholstery project in another room that I had extra of that I thought would be just perfect. Enough pattern to be interesting, but subtle enough to become more of a texture. It has a nice little metallic gold fleck in it without being annoyingly glitzy. I'm planning some bold shades in here so I don't want the fabrics to compete.
(fabric and image via Tonic Living)
I started by tracing the cat perch onto several layers of quilt batting, then using that as a template to cut my fabric.
In order to end up with the batting in the middle of the 2 pieces of fabric, you need to layer them into a weird sandwich before pinning it all together: fabric face up, fabric face down, and the batting on top.
Pin all 3 layers together before sewing. (please excuse the cutting board- it's been with me since college and we've bonded, but he's seen better days...)
Be sure to leave an almost 6" gap unsewn on one side to allow you to flip it right side out. I left my gap on the long straight side, since that would be facing the window. After sewing, pull your corners through the gap until your cushion is starting to look more like, well, a cushion.
Once your cushion is all right side out and straightened out, it's time to sew up the gap. I use a hand sewing blind stitch that my mom taught me when I was a wee lass, but instead of trying to explain it myself, YouTube exists. How to sew a blind stitch.
I could have just left the cushion here, but I wanted to add one more level of interest.
I sewed a simple stitch with my machine a few inches in on all sides to create a border.
But the real test here was the kitten test. After bringing Daisy in to give the cushion a try, she debated a moment then made herself right at home.
Then completely melted.
I'd consider that a win.
It's a pretty good bet that one of the cat's is hanging out here- we call it Master Kitty Theater. Looking out the window is like tv for cats. Those birds out there provide lots of drama.
Even the ladybug that's been flying around my office for the past week is making herself at home on the new cushion.
And that my dears is proof that cat furniture doesn't have to hurt your retinas. For another pleasingly stylish cat accessory, check out Designlovefest's DIY cat bed. So adorable! We're on a mission to eradicate ugly cat furniture once and for all!