Quilted Babushka Cushion

I made this cushion for my beautiful niece Isabel.
I have been working on it for the last couple of months and while the journey has been both exciting and frustrating, I am happy with how it turned out.

I wanted it to be a little bit vintage, so bought a range of mis-match materials, as well as used a few I had already.

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I first cut half of each kind of material into random width strips, then ironed over the edges, ready to pin them together.

I had had this image in my mind of the material strips being woven in a pattern, and after pinning them together, overlapping and filling gaps, I sewed any seem that I could find.

I had cut out a 'pattern' from baking paper and pinned it to the sewed material pieces, cutting around it leaving a 1cm overhang for sewing.

The next thing I needed to do was attach the face. I found a bowl in my cupboard that was roughly the right size, traced it and then cut it out. I ironed the edge and then attached felt eyes and mouth through blanket stitch. When I was happy with it, I then sewed it onto the centre of the head. I then repeated this process and made a smaller version

(I think the face looks a bit funny on the baby babuska, but my husband insists that it is fine)

I decided to make the front piece into a cushion (without stuffing), and the back piece into a cushion (without stuffing), and then attach the both (inside out), turning in the right way and then stuffing. Zippers had always gotten the best of me, so I was unsure at the start, how I was going to seal the bottom, as it needed to open and close to remove the smaller babushka. Well.. after leaving it for a while, waiting for some inspiration, I had taught myself, through reading many others blogs, how to sew a zipper. Unfortunately, this was after I had passed the point where I should have done it for this cushion, so decided to sew some hair ties into the seam and then some buttons for them to hook over. I actually think this was a better option, and love how it turned out.


I think she liked it... The smaller doll is exactly the right size for her to hold at the moment. I am a bit biased, but isn't she just adorable.