What to do with all those scraps?

One of the ideas behind my refashioning is the idea of reusing and recycling. I prefer reusing and repurposing things over throwing them away. Naturally, after refashioning you get left with a lot of fabric scraps and most of them a re too small to be of any use. So I found a way to use all those tiny scraps and all worn-out or partially ripped pantyhose.

I use these to make ergonomic office chair cushions! I hope you will enjoy this project and recreate it!

First off, you will need to cut off the pantie part of the pantyhose and fill each of the 'legs' with scraps. The smaller the fabric scraps, the more comfortable the pillow. So enjoy cutting the fabric. Even children can help which helps them become involved in your repurposing projects. They can thank you later :)

 

Once you have filled the stocking, you will need to close it. The easiest way to do it would be running a threaded needle along the edge and pulling the thread to gather and close the stocking. Then hand sew to secure the closing of the stocking. It should look something like the one on the above photo.

 

 

Next up, you will need to use these stocking-sausages to form the pillow. Safety pins are very useful for this process. You will need to curl the inside sausage like shown on the photo below. As you go, secure with safety pins.  

 

Once you are done with the first one, continue curling the second one from the end of the first one onwards. When done, it should look like this:

 

When your sausages are curled up and secured forming a sausage disc, you will need to proceed by sewing sausages at the positions where you have placed security pins. As you go by stitching, remove security pins one by one. When done stitching, the pillow should hold as it is. However, it will need a lot of reinforcement to be able to withstand the daily pressure of your sitting weight and provide you with adequate posture support.

Next, you will need some ribbon:
- 4 long pieces (contrasting colour to the stocking works best) and
- 18 short ones of the same or similar colour of the stocking

The long pieces should be long enough to loosely wrap around the disc dividing it in halves. Place and tie each of these 4 ribbons by turning the pillow by 45 degrees (1/8 circle). Tie them at the centre and the bottom of the pillow to make the ties inconspicuous.

When the long ties are placed (not that they should be somewhat loose, as the short ties will tighten them) start making hidden (short) ties. You can start either from the inner or the outer circle. After tying, trim the excess ribbon.

How to make the short ties: take a piece of ribbon, push it between the sausages over the long ribbon, push back between the sausages and back. Tie over the long ribbon at the bottom of the pillow.

Do not forget to make two ties at the centre of the pillow. Tie them at 90 degree angle to secure the long ribbons in the centre of the pillow.

When you are done tying and trimming the short ties, you should end up with barely visible knots over long ribbons.

And voila, your cushion is ready to go to the office with you and provide support to your back during the long office hours.