How to Make a Farmhouse Style No-Sew Bench Cushion

Hey there!  My farmhouse style no-sew bench cushion is all done and I love, love, love how it turned out!  This is a super fun DIY project that anyone can do and it adds tons of character to a room!  This took about two hours to finish and was pretty inexpensive (about $60).  It ties everything together nicely and makes the room feel warm and cozy.

This bench has a 3/4 inch mdf base to give it some rigidity, a piece of high density foam cut to the same size as the mdf, and some batting wrapped around the foam to soften the edges.  You don’t have to use mdf this thick for your bench cushion but you will need something firm enough to staple into.

When you choose your fabric, obviously you will want to pick something that goes with your decor, but make sure that it’s strong enough to work with and durable enough for everyday use.  I love to use flannel or cotton bed sheets because for $20 to $40, I get lots of material that’s easy to work with,  it’s durable and there’s always lots left over to use on other projects.  Plus, there is an abundance of farmhouse style patterns out there right now, to choose from.   For this farmhouse style no-sew bench cushion, I chose a grey buffalo plaid, flannel king size bed sheet.   This is a super easy and fun project to do.  

Material’s you need to make a bench cushion:

• 3/4 inch mdf cut to the size of your bench
• piece of high density, 24″x 12″x 3″ foam such as this
• high-loft batting
• fabric
• spray adhesive
• staple gun & staples

Here’s how you make a no-sew bench cushion:

• Cut your mdf board to the size you need using a miter saw or a circular saw
• Cut the foam to the same size as the mdf board using a utility knife or a bread knife
• Glue the foam to the mdf using a spray adhesive for foam
• Wrap high-loft batting around the top and sides of the foam
• Cut the fabric large enough to to wrap it around the sides, and underneath the mdf board
• Place the fabric on a large surface with the print facing down
• Place the mdf board with the attached foam and the batting facing down on the fabric
• From the centre of the board out, pull the fabric taught (without pulling too tight) and start stapling
• Works best if you work from the center of the board, adding staples, left to right
• Keep the tension of the fabric equal across each end of the board
• Tuck the corners around and under the board until they fold neatly
• Continue stapling around the entire perimeter of he mdf board (the more staples the better!)
• Complete the job by cutting off the excess fabric

TIP: Do not staple either side right up to the corner. Leave 6 inches unstapled and work on forming the corners first. Once the corners are tucked and stapled in nicely, staple the remaining open area along the sides. If you don’t do this, you’ll end up removing a bazillion, well secured staples first, to get those perfect corners! TRUST ME!!

So that’s it! Super easy eh?! Hopefully you guys give this a go and enjoy it as much as I did. If you liked this tutorial and are looking to dress up a room even more with some pretty farmhouse style curtains, check out my easy-sew curtain panels tutorial. Ciao for now!