klswift

Sunbrella is an outdoor canvas type material. It is treated to be weather and fade resistant (not proof, but resistant). It is a bit 'better' than Waverly Sun and Shade and Solarium, but along the same line. Even if you live on the beach and experience a lot of salty fog, it should last outside for several seasons. It is not hard to sew on (easier than regular canvas). Just use a heavier needle, the correct thread and don't do an overly complicated pattern. I topstitch all my seams, just trimming one seam a bit to reduce the bulk. Hope this helps.

carolynjo

Can you dust them with cayenne pepper? Or, spray them with liquid cayenne pepper and let dry?

JanieH

I bought some outdoor fabric last year to recover my chaise lounge pillows and never did as I wasn't sure just how to sew on that type fabric. This site is really helpful. Thanks for posting it.

Carol34446

http://www.beaconfabric.com/vindex.html?cat14.htm
They have a great selection of sunbrella and thread and other outdoor materials. Good prices and shipping.
This is what boat tops are usually made of, and do well with ocean air and sun.

pennycandy

http://fabricwarehouse.com/

Bree123

I didn't use pins with Sunbrella. Back then, they didn't have WonderClips so I used the metal clips. If you pin the fabric (at least the one I used), the holes will not heal. That means you also want to carefully match your poly thread to the right needle (definitely wouldn't use cotton thread -- it won't hold up) so that the thread completely fills the needle hole. I used a topstitch needle. I've also heard of people having trouble getting layered Sunbrella through their machine. It worked fine on my old Singer, but that thing is a workhorse & I can put vinyl or 4 layers of denim through it no problem. Here's a link with good info on that & why having a roller foot helps (it does!): http://www.sewingmachinesteve.com/Pa...Sunbrella.aspx

I'd use a synthetic fill (Mountain Mist Fiber Fill is my favorite) instead of a cotton so you don't have to worry about mold or mildew growing inside your pillow -- and if you're doing a batting, I'd go with a low loft poly (or a bamboo-rayon batt might work even better -- I'm allergic to rayon so I can't speak from experience, but the rayon batt should quilt similar to cotton). We also sprayed the finished product again with a UV sealant.

Should be lovely! We made a Sunbrella cushion for my grandmother's porch swing some years back. They've made a lot of changes since then & use that wonderful no-water dying process that I wish was used more with cotton fabrics so I didn't have that twinge of guilt about my lovely quilts destroying someone's drinking water in an economically-poor country. Good on Sunbrella for making a decision to promote water security! Really hope you can make the quilted pillows work.