Upcycled Storage Cushion

We are moving and redesigning Chiquita's room and I had been thinking about a reading corner. I found this adorable cushion tutorial on Pinterest and thought I could make something like that!

In high school I bought a polyester 70s prom dress at a yard sale for 10 cents.  I had actually already tried upcycling it to a skirt, but I never wore it and still had the skirt and the rest of the dress.  Since polyester is nice durable fabric and Chiquita loves bright colors (especially pink and purple) I knew it would be perfect.  I often use fabric from old clothes for smaller crafts rather than buy new fabric.  This was a little larger so even though I only needed a yard,8 I did have to piece some parts of it together and cut across seams.

The first divergence I made from the tutorial was skipping the piping.  Most important, I didn't have piping, but I also felt the busy fabric didn't really need it.  Then I added an invisible zipper and instead of filling it with fiberfill I stuffed it full of Chiquita's baby clothes and blankies.  I had saved almost everything (in case we have another girl) and even after giving some away, selling some, and pulling out what baby boy can use, we will have 3 or 4 huge plastic tubs of things.  I picked out the fluffiest coats, fleecy pjs, velvet shirts and fuzzy blankets to fill the cushion.  I had to fill it really full to keep it from being lumpy.

All my favorite things: cheap, recycled and multipurpose!  Chiquita loved it and I think it will be adorable for her new room.