a spiderweb stitch cushion cover
UPDATE - To find out more information about the Making Zen Online Creative Retreat visit this page. If you join the waitlist here, then I’ll let you know when the next event starts.
I spent a whole week stitching this. Of course I slept, and did make food for my family. I even washed up a few times (as I’m writing this, the dishes are piled beside the sink, and I am ignoring them). I did regular work stuff too; packing orders, writing emails, writing for my substack.…. and I filmed the process because it’s going to be a tutorial for the upcoming Making Zen retreat.
Here’s a little of the process in photos, as I enjoyed making this so much. I shared a little on Instagram over the week, and thought to share some here too.
This is a blanket stitch that is stylised into a circle, starting from the centre.
The cushion cover itself has a hidden zipper in the back. I used to make these many many years ago, when we lived in Brisbane and ran a different iteration of our business called Red Seed Studio. We hand screen printed our own fabric, then I sewed cushions, tote bags, zippered purses, note book covers, fabric greet cards and more. We went to lots of craft and artisan markets over those years when our children were very young, and we were starting our business.
Seems a long long time ago. Before Instagram, when building a website was clunky and blogs were the big thing. I collected mailing addresses - I must have known even back then how important a newsletter list was. Future me is thankful that past me knew lots of stuff, and experimented with lots of stuff in our business.
Here’s some photos of this cushion. Totally hand stitched, including the zipper insert.
stitching the spider web blanket stitch to become a cushion
the back of the stitches give me ideas for a different project
zipper hidden under a beautiful row of hand stitching
blanket stitch in a circle becomes a spider web
If you join the online Making Zen retreat you’ll learn how to make the cushion cover, which has a hidden zip in the back. It’s free to join for the week long gathering, with a beautiful facebook group too. There’s a paid vip pass that offers lifetime access to all the courses, as well as lots of bonuses, including me showing you how to make the stitched design of this cushion cover.
Making Zen online retreat is on again May 2026. You can find more details and information here, as well as the updated link to this year’s event.
