DIY Tufted French Mattress Cushion {Ballard Catalog Knockoff}
Step-by-step tutorial to make your own Ballard-style tufted French mattress cushion in just a few hours using basic material and sewing skills.
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I’m SO excited to finally be able to share this tufted French mattress cushion I made because it’s been 2 years in the making. Yes, really. It was in the plan back when we completedĀ our French-style bench out of a pair of broken chairsĀ (because that was inspired by aĀ Ballard Designs benchĀ that is no longer available with a similar cushion) and it’s been sitting half-completed in my workroom ever since.
Like many other things I put off, by the time I actually get to it I can’t believe I didn’t get it done sooner – it literally took only a couple of hours.
Not only that, it’s not hard, requiring only straight-stitch machine sewing and basic running-stitch hand sewing. I made sure to take pictures along the way so I wouldĀ be able to show you how to make one too, and I’m passing on a few tips and tricks I learned to hopefully make it even easier for you!
How to make a Tufted French Mattress Cushion
What you’ll need:
- 2″ to 3″ thick foam cut to desired size
- quilt batting – enough to completely cover foam piece
- sturdy fabric to cover top, bottom & sides of foam (I used a piece of cotton canvas drop cloth, but about 1 yard of upholstery-weight fabric will cover most chair cushions and 1-1/2 yards for bench-sized cushions)
- ball-head pins, thread (regular for machine sewing and quilting or button weightĀ for hand sewing), upholstery needle, sewing machine
- optional: disappearing ink fabric marker, small fabric-covered buttons, small craft scissors
Tufted French Mattress Cushion Steps
Cut Fabric
1. Measure your foam piece and make a pattern out of newspaper – top and sides. Lay it on your fabric, pin it so that it doesn’t move, and then use a ruler to mark an inch Ā beyond the pattern, all the way around. This extra gives the room you’ll need to pinch together and sew for the mattress edge. For the cushion side pieces, only mark 1/2-inch where the side corner pieces come together, but for long sides at the top and bottom edges, leave the 1-inch seam (i.e., all other seams are 1 inch).
UPDATED TO CLARIFY:Ā Ā ALL the edges where the side pieces meet the top/bottom pieces should be cut 1-inch larger (leaving 1/2ā³ seam allowance – i.e., where you will sew – AND 1/2 inch for pinching edges), BUT the side corners only need the regular 1/2ā³ seam allowance, since they donāt need extra. Again, when you cut the side pieces you add same one inch for seam allowance on the LONG edges only. The short edges that will make your corners you use the 1/2″ when cutting because you are not pinching.
If it helps, just imagine that you are cutting 1/2″ seam allowance everywhere and then ADDING another 1/2″ on all the top and bottom edges that you are going to be pinching and hand-sewing.
2. Ā Cut out all pieces on marks.
Sew Cushion
3. Sew side corner seams with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. (If you’re in the market for a sewing machine, I use a Janome machine similar to this oneĀ that I’ve had for 10+ years. It’s still going strong evenĀ with a lot of tough sewing projects I throw at it!)
4. Pin sewn side piece to bottom piece, easing as needed since the pieces are different sizes through straight edges and around corners.
5. Sew the side-to-bottom seam with a 1/2-inch seam allowance (the extra we left will be for the hand-sewn edges) all the way around.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for cushion top piece, except leave a wide opening to insert your foam. A trick I use to help me remember to stop sewing is to use two pins next to each other as a visual reminder (yes, I learned this the hard way – too many times, actually!). You’ll also want to bar-tack (sew back-and-forth a couple times) to lock both sides of the opening, since a lot of pressure will on those areas when you’re inserting the foam.
7. Make sure to check each corner before inserting your foam for creases or pleats. Just remove a few stitches and re-sew to make smooth corners.
Apply Batting & Insert
8. Cover the foam piece with batting.
9. Ā Fold the batting at the ends like wrapping a present and slip stitch it closed. There’s no need to sew where the batting overlaps length-wise, just sewing the ends will keep it in place.
10. Insert the batting-covered foam into your cushion cover (folding foam as needed to get that baby in there!), fold the raw edges of the opening under to match the 1/2-inch seam and pin closed.
11. Sew opening closed with a simple slip stitch or running stitch.
Create French Mattress Edge
12. Now it’s time to create the ‘mattress’ look for the cushion: Thread a long upholstery needle with a sturdy quilting or button thread, knot the end and insert needle into the seam at your starting point on one of the bottom edges – then pull to make your knot pop into the seam so it disappears. Now start sewing by grabbing about an inch of fabric and batting at the edge and sew at the base (mine is about 1/2″ from the sewn edge) using a 1/4″ running stitch.
13. Continue hand sewing the running stitch all around the top edge, rethreading and hiding your knots as you need, and the bottom edge.
14.Ā The bottomĀ pictures above show tips for hiding yourĀ starting and end knots when hand sewing: bring your needle up to the top of the seam from the running stitch and create the knot where the fabric comes together in the seam.
15. After making your ending knot, send your needle back through the seam and a bit of a way down into your side fabric. Pull your thread so it’s a bit tight and then snip – the end will ease back into your foam and you won’t see it or the finishing knot.
As you can see, you don’t need to worry about imperfections in your hand sewing – crooked stitches, different lengths, and such – it’s just part of the charm of this type of cushion – ha, at least that’s what I’m telling myself!
Create Tufting
16. Creating the tufted top – I’m not gonna lie, this is the toughest part of this project! And really, you don’t have to do it – I thought it looked fine with a plain top, but the tufting does add the mattress look we’re after, so it is a nice finishing touch. Start by marking where your tufts should be using a disappearing ink fabric marker (or light pencil mark – you really won’t see it after the tufting) on the top and bottom of the cushion. For reference, my cushion is 38″ x 16″ and I marked 8 tufts by dividing the length by 5 (to get 4 equally spaced tufts along the length) and marking 5″ in from the sides.
17. Use a heavy-duty button and upholstery thread if you have it, because there’s a lot of pressure on the tufts and you want them to last as long as possible. Even with the thick thread, I still double-threaded the needle for even more strength.
18. Starting from the bottom of the cushion, insert your needle at your mark and, squeezing the cushion as much as possible, bring the needle through the foam, batting and fabric to your mark on the top, leaving a long tail of thread on the bottom. Re-insert the needle close to where it came up through the top (optional: you can use a small fabric-coverd button here to create a button-style tufting) and go back through the foam, batting and fabric, squeezing again as you go, and pull the needle out close to where the starting thread is. Tie the thread ends together semi-tightly (not too tight as to tear the fabric over time, but not too lose or the tufting won’t be distinct) and clip the thread, leaving about 1/4-inch ends that will be visible on the bottom of the cushion. (Using small scissors like shown is the easiest when working on projects like this.)
19. Like I mentioned, this is hard – pulling the needle through 3″ thick foam and hitting my marks was way more difficult than I expected and I found two things that made it a bit easier:
- Using a leather thimble on my thumb allowed me to be able to push the end of the needle hard while pulling from the other side.
- Using my knee to hold down the foam when I was at the tying stage (this eased the pressure on the thread making it a breeze to tie without having to hold down the foam, too).
20. Repeat with all your marked areas until the tufting is complete.
Then sit back and enjoy your sweet tufted French mattress cushion!
Since I’ve seen similar cushions in catalogs for upwards of $129 (really!) I think this 2-3 hour diy project is totally worth it, don’t you?
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Thanks for the wonderful tutorial…I’m going to try for my kitchen banquette. I’m curious, did you pre-wash the drop cloth?
Yes, I did Pam – I find it makes it a bit softer and easier to sew. Hope your project turns out beautiful!
Your bench is absolutely adorable & I love the cushion you made!!! Great job & thank you for sharing!!!!!
Really great looking cushion! Thanks for sharing Jami. Just wondering – did you end up using 2-1/2″ or 3″ thick foam for this one?
Thanks, Annette! I used 3″ foam, then wrapped in that in the batting, so it’s slightly bigger than 3″
When you do the tufting through the foam, use waxed dental floss instead of upholstery thread. I have sewn for ages & this is a trick we use for tough places, including sewing on metal buttons. The dental floss is very tough & will hold up well. The waxed floss makes it go through the foam easier. (And it is so durable that metal buttons won’t cut through it like they will button thread.)
That’s a great tip, Renee, thank you so much!
Just beautiful! I agree, tufting can be killer for sure…but sooo worth it! š
Did you make that tea label pillow? If not, where did you get it? It’s amazing!
No, that was a pillow from H&M Home a few years ago – I thought it was great, too! You should check them out for pillows – they have great prices and fun motifs (thought not this one any more, sadly).
Thank You soon much for this wonderful “Lesson”! I have been wanting to make this cushion but really didn’t know where to begin. YOU have now made it possible! THANK YOU for taking the time!
Pam
Thank you for this tutorial! Beautiful work!
I am having trouble attaching the sides to the top and bottom since the pieces aren’t the same length. What am I missing? Please help if you have time.
Thanks!
They shouldn’t be too much different, Leslie. I always match up the corners of the sides to the corners of the top/bottom pieces, pin, and then pull to make the parts in-between the pins fit, pinning as I go. If there’s just to much fabric to ease together, go ahead and take larger seams in the side pieces (if the sides are longer). If the sides are long enough (I don’t know where you’re having trouble), they need to be made long enough to fit around. Sorry, it’s hard without knowing your exact issue. š Hope this helps some!
Thanks so much for this tutorial!!! Your bench is so beautiful!
I’m having the same issue! Step 1 says to make the largest top and bottom pieces 1 inch larger all the way around, but to make the smaller, side pieces only 1/2 in longer on either short end.
First question, don’t I need to also add 1/2 inch seam allowance to sew all the pieces together? The one inch is just to make the finishing outside pinched seam that runs along the top and bottom, right?
So in my own case my bench measures 13.25 x 42.25. Just adding the one inch, I need to make the large top & bottom pieces 15.25 x 44.25. But then the smaller side pieces would only be 14.25 long if I only add a 1/2 in allowance to the length on either side–the longer side pieces would only be 43.25 long. Is this correct?
Sorry for the confusion, Elisabeth! I mean that ALL the edges where the side pieces meet the top/bottom pieces should be cut 1-inch larger (leaving 1/2″ seam allowance AND 1/2 inch for pinching edges), BUT that the side corners only need the regular 1/2″ seam allowance, since they don’t need extra. Does that clarify more?
I was wondering about this…
If you are adding a 1″ seam all around on the top and bottom pieces, but only 1/2″ to the side piece (side seams). The top pieces will be a 1″ longer (1/2″ each side) when you go to sew the sides to the top?
Hopefully this makes sense.
For example my foam is 25″x 50″
The top and bottom pieces will measure 27″x 52″ (add 1″ each side) the side pieces will be 26″x 51″ (adding 1/2″ each for the side seams, which you then sew together making the total length of the side pieces 25″x 50″ the size of the foam) but then how do you attach the side pieces to the top and bottom with this length difference? (the side pieces do have the 1″ seam allowance on top and bottom, but that doesn’t address the length issue)
The 1/2″ on the sides is only for the corner seams – the top and bottoms of the side pieces will also be 1″ larger all around. You will then need to ease the top and bottom seams to make them fit and not have pleats at the corners (because, yes, the sewn together side piece will be smaller than the top and bottom pieces). This is just so that the cover is not too big length-wise, but you need extra on top and bottom to pinch for the mattress seams. Hope that makes sense!
Amazing! Doesn’t matter what type of batting is used? Foam? I want it to have that soft custom (like down feather inserts in pillows vs. foam) feel to it and not a hard, stiff I-made-this-myself feel. Do you know what I mean?
Thanks!
Sarah
I think I do, Sarah – but even with down you’ll need a center core or some way to keep it in place, right? For other cushions I’ve made with feathers, I’ve used pillows on top of foam cores. But of course you can experiment with whatever you want to use – that’s one of the benefits of DIY š
so pretty I’m totally doing this right now! I’m going to share to my IG too!
Thanks, Lisa!
I love the pinched edges. it looks much more achievable(and less formal) than piping. So now I’m on the lookout for two matching/ wobbly french chairs. I so want this for my 18th century bedroom to echo the curves of the sleigh bed (I haven’t bought yet… š ) I have to ask, how did you do your floor? It looks wonderful!
Beautiful job! I have an antique coffee table that is too low by today’s standards, so my plan has always been to make a cushion for the top of it. I purchase the fabric about a year ago and it’s still sitting unfinished! Maybe this is the push I needed. Lovely job and you make it look simple. š
Thank you, Christy! Glad to hear it looks simple – my goal was to get that across even with all the photos and steps. š
Oh my goodness … I love you! š
I’ve had my eye on these forever but just haven’t been able to bring myself to pay for one. I’m so excited to get started!
Glad to know I could help you out, then!
Shared to my facebook page. I think this is an awesome tutorial. Thanks!
Lisa
Thank you so much for the share, Lisa – I’m glad you found this helpful!!
Nice job Jami, as always. Something fun for a couple of old chairs! Love the cushion too.
That is one fine looking cushion! I never saw a finish on the edges like that before but it makes perfect sense and I will be doing this soon. Thanks for the instructions.
Amazing job I love it and everything you do beautiful did you make the pillows to I agree looks like a cover of magazine I told you a long time ago you need a store thanks from Rocklin Calif
Wow! Great job and terrific pictures. After first look I thought you used binding cord on the edges. Obviously I have never seen a french tufted mattress before š I have a hope chest that is begging for a cushion. I think this is the answer. Thanks so much for sharing.
Lol, I was busy looking for your version! I thought the top of the page one was from a catalogue! That should tell you how fantastic it turned out. I totally love this.
Wow, thanks Pat – that IS a compliment!
My dad made the mostly same bench with the same chairs that I gave him to dink around with in his wood shop. (Duncan Phyfe right?) Now I’m going to steal it š Amazing how the paint alone changes it. Thanks for the great tutorial. I’ve pinned it so when I have time in two years… .
Ha! Hopefully you won’t take 2 years to make yours, Amy. š