I am a tailor, originally uploaded by benaston.

The credit crunch has landed. To mark the occasion, I thought I should probably craft some celebratory cushions.

I’m not exactly a cushion expert, but I learnt a few valuable lessons along the way, which may be of assistance to those bidding their goodbyes to Tesco Finest and embracing a life of thrift.

Quackers – I went for duck feather cushions, and the biggest I could find – 91cm ?. They?re heavy. No surprises there, but the word on the street is polyester is portability.

Widths – When buying fabric, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was all about square meterage. But no, you buy it in widths. So, asking for 3m x 2m was a bit of a faux pas. How embarrassing.

Zippage – For sewing machine novices, these are particularly difficult. The combination of tacking, pins and narrow seams make this a painful process. Put them on first, putting them on at the end is trop difficile.

Machining – Make sure the sewing machine is set up properly, if it’s not, you can waste hours wondering why the sewing machine is broken. It also helps if you double check what you’re sewing, so you don’t end up sewing two bits together that shouldn’t be. That saves hours of unpicking.

Mothers – Helpful when engaged appropriately, they know all kinds of things about sewing machines.

Cushions x 3 – ?44.04
Continuous zip – ?5.72
Fabric – ?45.54
Labour – ?85.95 (15hrs at the minimum wage)
Total – ?181.24

Take that crunch, credit.

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