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How To Make A Beanbag Pouf

It’s Wednesday the 14th… so it’s time to share this season’s (completely unofficial) Pinterest Challenge (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else, just dreamed up by Katie to make us stop pinning and start doing).

Pinterest Challenge Banner

I actually tackled a homemade beanbag for Clara’s closet, which I mentioned last Wednesday when Katie, Erin, and Cassie and I issued our little get-off-our-bums-and-make-something challenge.

how-to-make-a-fabric-pouf-ottoman

As are the rules, I took inspiration (or Pintspiration, har-har) from the projects below and then I did my own spin. Which added up to this comfy little bean-bag…

Ottoman 1

… for the bean to plop down on…

Clara Close Feet

… or the pooch to hang out on…

Burger Sitting

… or for a toddler reading to a chihuahua…

Clara And Burger

… or a tired momma or daddy (it works for that too).

John Burger Ottoman

And after declaring my goal, two kind commenters shared a link to this blog, which had an awesome tutorial that I decided to go with.

Pouf

It was clear, concise, and pretty darn easy to follow, even for a novice like me, so I can’t say enough about how much it came in handy! Oh my gosh, and I actually mastered piping. This is big guys. So big I actually had to call my mom and tell her. Big sewing strides going on in our house. Haha.

My method? I just crossed my fingers, tried to follow the instructions, and did my own riff when it came to size (I wanted something a bit bigger than 17″ wide, so I made my pattern 22″ wide (by just sizing up the instructions that were over here). But seriously, a seamstress I am not. So all you fancy sewing folk try to hold your giggles as you read about the most-likely-not-proper ways that I cobbled this thing together. The result is comfy, looks good, and gets two toddler thumbs up, so I’m thrilled! And it made all of that sewing machine wrestling (more on my tumultuous relationship with my sewing machine here) worth it. And now, more pics:

Ottoman Front

Clara Reading

Clara Reading2

Ottoman Close

And here’s how I made it (there are much clearer explanations and pics over on this blog, where she clearly knows gobs more about sewing than I do!). First I cut out two 22″ circles, two tabs to make the handle, and fabric to make the rectangular-wrap-around part (all measurements/pattern details are on this blog). I used leftover fabric that I had from a book project actually (wahoo, secret sneak peek!) but only had a yard so I was just shy of having enough to make the last circle so for the base I just used other fabric I had on hand (both are from a local fabric store called U-Fab but I don’t know the fabric name/model since it’s an outlet – so sorry!).

Ottoman Sewing1

Then I pinned my piping around the perimeter of the fabric (piping side in, with the end lining up exactly with the perimeter of the fabric, print side up).

Ottoman Sewing2

And I left the ends like this as directed in the tutorial. I also did the same thing for the other circle of fabric…

Ottoman Sewing3

… and used piping on either side of one of my fabric tabs to make the handle.

Ottoman Sewing4

Then I stitched them all on the sewing machine, being sure to follow the stitching in the piping with my needle. I thought it would be hard to stay right on top of that line of thread, but it was actually really simple and I got into this zen-like rhythm with it. So there’s hope for non-sewers out there (I would have laughed if you told me last week that I’d describe any sewing step as zen-like).

Ottoman Sewing 5

Then I did the exact same thing with the other circle…

Ottoman Sewing6

… and also ran a little stitching along the piping on each side of the handle.

Ottoman Sewing7

Then I had these:

Ottoman Sewing8

Next I pinned the other side of the handle to the first side (print side in) and stitched along the thread on the other side that I had stitched when I followed along the piping.

Ottoman Sewing9

Then I turned it inside out, which is where I got to see my purrrty purrrty piping. I know it’s just a handle, but at this point I ran outside to show John. Seriously, I was proud with a capital P. Then the sewing gods brought me back down to earth.

Ottoman Sewing11

While sewing the ends closed (just tucking them under and running them through the machine to get a line of thread to hold the handle closed) I broke a needle. Bam! And it was scary and frustrating and all that jazz. But I got back on the veritable horse. Thank goodness my sewing machine came with some extra needles so I just popped one back in there and was off to the races again.

Ottoman Sewing10

Next was pinning the circle to the long rectangular piece of fabric that wrapped around the entire perimeter (print side down).

Ottoman Sewing12

Then I ran that through the sewing machine, again following the line of thread that I made when I sewed the piping on. See that subtle line of white thread around the perimeter below? I just stitched right over that.

Ottoman Sewing15

And then turned things rightside out, to see this beautiful sight. Wahoo! A partially piped beanbag! Then I pinned my handle in place and stitched that into place by making a box with an X in the middle of it (there are great pics of this on the site with the tutorial that I linked to ten million times above).

Ottoman Sewing 000

Then I turned it back inside out and pinned the other circle to the bottom of the rectangular piece of fabric that creates the middle part of the beanbag and stitched along the piping thread line again.

Ottoman Sewing16

Except I didn’t seal the whole circle because I needed to turn the whole thing rightside out again…

Ottoman Sewing17

… and stuff it with batting (I used four old pillows we had stashed in the linen closet that were well past their prime for the guest room but perfect for being recycled as beanbag innards).

Ottoman Sewing18

Then I hand stitched it shut. I gotta admit that I purchased a zipper in the hopes of adding that (so I can unzip it and remove the batting to wash the cover) so I hope to “upgrade” my little beanbag someday. But in the meantime, I can always use a seam-ripper to open the hand-stitched part and just resew that up after I run it through the wash (sewing this five inch part shut took about four minutes total).

Ottoman Sewing19

And now for the craziest thing of all. See how the pattern on the top of the beanbag sort of curls over the top and drips down the side since it all lines up?

Burger Sitting

Um, yeah, that was an accident. The fabric was inside out at that point, so I randomly pinned it and stitched it and turned it rightside out later and said “holy cow, that was the best accident ever.” John even noticed it and sweetly complimented me on my “attention to detail” later, to which I sheepishly responded “total accident, dude – the fabric was inside out and I didn’t even notice- I just randomly pinned it and sewed it up.” How crazy is that? Must be beginners sewing luck.

So that’s how it all went down. Of course for the tenth time, this tutorial is waaaay better than mine, so be sure to check it out if you have any questions! Now for the money stuff – here’s the budget breakdown (thanks to a bunch of 50% off coupons at JoAnn):

  • $0 for one yard of leftover fabric (originally from U-Fab here in Richmond)
  • $2.38 for two 25 yard packs of white piping (from JoAnn thanks to coupons)
  • $1.19 for a zipper that I vow to someday add (from JoAnn, again thanks to coupons)
  • $1.50 for white thread (from JoAnn)
  • Total: $5.07

Oh and don’t forget to check in on Katie, Erin, and Cassie to see what amaaaaazing projects they whipped up (they’ll be sharing theirs sometime today as well)!

Pinterest Faces Banner

And now here’s the part where we invite you to share all of the fun Pinterest Challenge projects that you guys have tackled in the last week (right along with us, well at least virtually with us). If you’ve already blogged about it, just:

  1. click on the blue “Add Your Link” button with the odd cartoon head at the bottom of this post (you might have to do some scrolling, depending how many projects are added)
  2. add a link to your specific blog post about your project in the url field (not your home page)
  3. where it says “name” write a descriptive name for your project (ex: “Homemade Beanbag”) as opposed to your actual name
  4. we’d also love if you could quickly link back over to our project posts within your own (here’s Katie’s, Cassie’s, Erin’s, and ours) – it’s also nice to link to your inspiration project on Pinterest as well as to directly link to the original project/site, just so they get some love too.

And if you’d rather just link over to your project in the comment section, feel free to do that – or even add a link to a free photo sharing site like Flickr with your pics if you don’t have a blog (remember to set the gallery to public so we can all see it). We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to! Freaky-deek-excited doesn’t even begin to describe it.


Comments

  12. Lani says

    You officially cannot call yourself a novice on the sewing machine anymore! This looks AMAZING!!! I got beanbags for my boys from pottery barn 2 years ago because I thought they were “the best”…and they are already collapsing on themselves. I am SO making these this spring! We plan on having them share their rooms and these would be great for their reading nook in their walk in closet. Thank you for all the inspirations!

    Reply

  14. Melly says

    You should be so proud of yourself! I am a fairly experienced sewer and I haven’t been brave enough to try piping. You are giving this old gal courage.

    Reply

  15. pam says

    Great job!!! You have some cuties there.
    Just an FYI for future piping projects. It is so much easier to sew on piping if you use the zipper foot. You can get right up to the cording with the foot. You did good tho! pam

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Really? Good to know! Although I thought it was really easy this way. I got zen with it. Haha. Maybe I like the challenge of trying to stay in the line? Haha. Such a rebel I am.

      xo,
      s

    • Kelly says

      Agreed about the zipper foot and piping… I’ve been sewing since I was about 5 years old and JUST figured this out. It’s seriously changed my LIFE. So much easier. And yes, great job!

    • Donita says

      FABULOUS job Sherry. That is just so cute. I too was going to suggest the zipper foot. It makes is SO much easier. Looks like you did fine though, without it.

  17. cassie {hi sugarplum} says

    LOVE THIS!!!! And it looks like Clara and Burger (and John!) do too! Thanks for sharing, and including me!

    ps — you’ve accidentally got erin and ana from the last challenge listed and linked twice in this post.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      She woke up for a nap and I got to proudly present it to her. She loved it. I had to tell her to sit on it and crawl all over it though. But she got the hang of it quickly enough. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  20. Traci says

    Too cute! What a great job! Do you sew often or was the tutorial just that thorough? I have a sewing machine, but I’ve only ever made pillows. I’d never be brave enough to try piping.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I have sewed like three things in my life ever. So I’m definitely a novice! The tutorial made it easy though! Well, except when I broke a needle, but I survived.

      xo,
      s

  21. Alex - Old Town Home says

    Thanks so much for hosting this challenge! We had fun giving an alternate use to our wine bottles.

    I really like the end result on your effort, it turned out great. Besides, any project that makes Burger’s life more comfortable (even if he’s just claiming it for himself) is a win in my book.

    Reply

  22. Amanda J. says

    Yay! I’m so glad you tackled this tutorial – I’d seen the tutorial before and thought it was brilliantly adaptable (this could so easily turn into footstools or go giant, if you’re intrepid). My SO and I will be facing a cross country move in the next couple of months that requires us to get rid of almost all of our furniture, so cheap alternatives like this MAY have to be a sit-in (ba-dum, pishhh) until we can afford “real” stuff.

    I’m a fellow village sewing idiot, and I’m thrilled to see a newbie complete this project with a fabulous end result. Cheers!

    Reply

  24. Jessica says

    oh my gosh, as i was surfing pinterest waiting for this post to come up, i see your beanbag on pinterest!! I had just checked to see if there was a post up only 2 minutes before. People are fast!

    Reply

  25. JMJE says

    I love your bean bag. I made an apron once a few months ago and yelled at my sewing machine (and perhaps my husband) all day. It might be time for me to attempt to use it again.

    Reply

  26. Katie says

    I just recently learned how to use a sewing machine and have been eyeing beanbags like this too. You have just inspired me to give it a try! Great job and I hope I have as good of luck as you with mine. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  27. Lori says

    Wow! Mucho impressed with your sewing :-) Not to mention how pretty the fabric is also. Great job and thanks for the kick in the pants to get this challenge done!

    Reply

  28. Andrea says

    I’m so afraid of using a sewing machine, so I definitely feel your anxiety…but holy wow. You did a terrific job! What an awesome little pouf for Clara (or Burger, or you or John!)! =)

    Reply

  30. Christine @ Casa-de-Christine says

    This turned out great! Well done Sherry! Looks like you have conquered the sewing machine- I’d almost dare to say you are becoming friends! This definitely has me thinking about tackling something like this for a niece come Christmas time!

    Reply

  31. Shannon says

    I’m obsessed with the fabric you choose for the bean bag! It looks great under that white fur rug.

    Thanks for hosting the pinterest challenge! Last time I found some wonderful crafts, recipes, and blogs and I can’t wait to see what everyone did this time around. My sister and I started a blog a few months ago to document all our attempts at pins we’ve seen – pinstersisters.com. It’s been a blast so far!

    Reply

  32. Amanda says

    OMG I totally LOVE this! It doesn’t look like it was that hard to make! I’m still a beginner with sewing. Do you think I could make it?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes! I’m totally a beginner. I’ve made like three things ever. You can totally do it! Just take it one step at a time and follow the original tutorial. Her pics/words make more sense! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  33. Allyn says

    I still think that Clara’s closet might be my favorite room in your house, probably partly because I love that you want her to be a bookworm in it! Such an awesome bean bag too. I remember wanting a bean bag SO BADLY when I was about 11 (to read in, natch), and my friends surprised me with one for my birthday.
    It wasn’t nearly as cute as Clara’s.
    We’re doing the challenge too!, But with cocktails.
    http://lollingabout.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/wasted-wednesday-white-sangria/

    Reply

  34. Barb says

    THE BEST PROJECT EVER!
    I have looked at all of them and yours is the nicest! Love it. Susie seamstress you are becoming. Nice work Sheriseamstress!

    Be proud!

    B.

    Reply

  35. domestiCate says

    Oh, your beanbag is awesome! I know Clara will love it. I think our own little Bean (who’ll be 1 this weekend) will love one of her own in a year or so.
    Thanks for hosting! Can’t wait to see all of the projects.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I jammed four whole old pillows in there. They were kind of flat, but pulling out the batting and stuffing it into the beanbag sort of fluffed it up, so I really packed it since I don’t want it to deflate over time. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  38. r8chel says

    Nice job, Sherry! Did your machine come with a zipper foot? (A zipper foot looks like the left side of the presser foot is missing.) That would make it so much easier to stitch down the piping, because you can just guide the foot along the edge of the piping. I’m surprised and impressed that it went so well for you with a regular presser foot!

    Also, are you sure your packs of piping are 250 yards each? What a bargain! Haha. ;)

    Reply

  39. Emma says

    Oh my gosh! So pretty. That fabric is amazing Sherry. I started sewing about the same time you did and I’m always terrified of the results during the project and a bit surprised when something actually turns out OK. Thankfully, only take on pillows, curtains, aprons, and other simple projects. Zippers aren’t too bad either – just need a zipper foot (which may-haps you used when you sewed on your piping?). Looks great! Congratulations!

    Reply

  40. Amy @ Elephant Eats says

    Wow, I’m seriously impressed! That’s a pretty damn good beanbag chair for a self-proclaimed sewing novice. I think you’re well on your way to being an expert ;) I just took a sewing class for the first time and now you’ve indspired me to try something out of my comfort zone!

    Reply

  41. Gracie says

    Hey Sherry, you put Ana’s name by accident at the top of the post when you mentioned the other contributers to this edition of the Pinterist Challenge. Just wanted to let you know so you could switch it out for Cassie’s.

    Your bean bag looks amazing! I love the fabric and the piping!

    Reply

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