Recycle project; Cat Cushion

Ivy inspects the finished cushion

 In my usual pursuit of recycling 'rubbish' and plastic, I came up with the idea some time ago to use plastic bags as stuffing. Plastic takes a long time to break down and does not rot. In most cases it erodes into tiny 'micro plastics' that get mixed up in the sand on the beach and stuck inside ocean life.

I 'd put aside some fabric scraps cut into large squares and I collected the plastic bags from around my house. Before using them as a cushion filling, I cut off the handles.

It annoys me so much when bags get stuck onto trees via handles, or when they are wrapped around branches. I still send plastic and other rubbish to landfill, Pagan or not it's difficult reducing waste with a modern lifestyle - but at least I've found ways around it - and I don't buy foods with a lot of wrapping such as ready meals.

Step one; the fabric. We've had a few things around the house that can be turned into something else, I can sew quickly by hand, it's not perfect but it is passable- some curtains that were too long were cut off and the ends made into laundry bags. This fabric was in our bag of scrap materials. I made two rough squares about 45cm x 45cm.

Step two; to pin the squares together and sew about 1cm in from the edge, all around. It took me half an hour. Leave one side of the cushion open, then turn it inside out so the mess of thread and rough edges are on the inside.

Step three; stuff it with the plastic bags. It may be useful to mention that bags and newspaper can be used as insulation. Just remember that in the event of a fire it will potentially give off a nasty chemical smoke. In the past when homes and furnishings were made entirely of wood and natural materials it would take longer to burn (say 15 minutes or more), in modern times of synthetic fabrics and board walls, it takes minutes and the fumes are more toxic.

Step four; finish by folding the open side inward and sewing along in what is called a blanket stitch. The other sewing style I used is called straight stitch and that is almost my entire cauldron of knowledge about sewing. If you can make a cushion, you can probably extend that to make almost anything.

Two of our cats seemed interested but not enough to lay on the cushion. I thought the crinkly sound may be of interest to them. I'll post an update if they use it in the future.

I have to say it is comfortable to lean on and I suspect will not flatten as easily as softer stuffings or normal cushions.

Anyone making this should be wary of pets who may rip the fabric and accidently eat or suffocate in the plastic, as well as children who could be harmed by it. I've no idea as to how easy this would be to wash but it's better than bags being stuck on a tree or harming sea life.

NOTE; if you don't have time to sew, try keeping old plastic bags inside a zipped cushion cover. My version is designed to be difficult to open and so more cat friendly.

Plastic bags in sea life, images found via Ecosia search engine.
Other photographs by myself Volk B on a Nokia mobile.