I am not making one so I am not the expert, but, my friend is making one by herself, via videos online. She then went to a quilt store that had classes and sold kits as she was looking buttons. She found out that she should have used muslin to stabilize the strips, using the muslin as a foundation. I think it is so that when you stretch the fabric over the cushion and sew/pull on the buttons, the stitches will not pop in the seam areas?