A Vintage Cotton rug as a Seat Cushion

Happy New Year! let's dive into 2019, I've got so many plans and so much to share. 

Not my first project of the year but one on which I can easily report: I've redone the cushion on my beloved leather chair yet again. I bought this old, tattered thing with my older boy almost 10 years ago. It sits in the main room by the dining table and gets a good amount of use -especially by the dog. I will say, it's kind of a great place to sit and have a tea in the afternoon, which I'm reminded now that I need to do more often.

I have changed out this cushion already once before. The original was replaced with a feather one I made myself. And there have been two (1) (2) other covers here as well. 

The feather cushion had lost some of its loft and was looking a bit worse for the wear. I decided to try another tack and ordered online a custom down/feather cushion with a foam core (no affiliation and not dirt cheap, but a good source). The springs on this chair are a bit wanky so this offsets that issue beautifully.

The new cover is from a cotton rug that my husband had in his first Manhattan apartment from around 1987. Two things about that: first, I guess I am OAF and two, use this as a reminder to keep all that Konmari shit within reason. I mean, obviously I held on to this thing for a long time -folded up and stored in a fabric pile, and clearly it did not always spark joy. However, its weave and colors are really nice and I always wondered if I might find a use for it again, if not on the floor. Sooooooooo, in other words, don't go chucking everything you own, especially nice vintage stuff.  

The construction method of this cover was like any other box pillow cover (thorough how to post here), with the exception that prior to cutting the rug, I ironed interfacing onto the back side to prevent it from unraveling, as it is woven, plus a zigzag stitch around all cut edges. I was concerned that my machine might have a tough time with the thickness of this, but my old gal Bernina just plowed right through with no issue. Fresh needle always helps too, I buy them by the dozens these days.

I have some final thoughts on sizing of slip/cushion covers. I made this cover slightly on the larger size. I did this because in my experience, my covers always continue to shrink down as they are washed -probably because I usually use hot water to get rid of grease stains. I seem to experience the shrinking even with pre-washing and drying my fabric prior to construction. This will probably be the same. 

Thoughts? Do tell.