I decided on burlap and velvet. I ordered both from fabricwholesaledirect. I loved the idea of combining something rustic and something luxurious...just like my home. I went with a beige colored burlap (but it comes in 12 colors). It's an extremely versatile and durable natural fabric at a great price! The micro velvet is extremely soft and comes in so many colors, it was difficult to choose.
I'm not the best at sewing but I can manage simple projects like curtains, cushions, pillows. :) I decided to try piping for the first time....it was not that easy for me but I'm happy with the results for a first-timer. I found the burlap very easy to sew but the micro velvet can be a bit challenging.
CUSHION
I also made some pillows for the bench. I combined the gold and blue velvet for the larger pillow and backed it with burlap. I also added a burlap trim to the pillow.
STRIPED TEXTURED PILLOW
I made a smaller pillow and added some texture by removing some of the burlap thread in rows, vertically and horizontally. I cut the velvet into strips and weaved it through the fabric at different lengths to create a criss cross pattern.