Pouf -- It's Magic

Since becoming a woman of leisure stay at home mom a little over a month ago, I have been hard at work cleaning and organizing our home. Having moved in over 4 years ago, getting knocked up immediately following the move and working (sometimes more than one job) - I never really had the opportunity to "style" our home (although, truth be told, I am really not sure that I will ever completely understand the concept).

So when I got this month's Better Homes & Gardens magazine I was super excited to see the cover story: "50 Ideas for Under $50" (BHG, you are totally speaking my language!). In the article, I happened on an idea for a pouf - sort of a cross between an ottoman, floor cushion and bean bag chair.

It's exactly what I have been looking for; floor seating for children in our family room is at a minimum and Z is constantly pulling hot pink princess chairs all over the house.

So without further ado, let me present the pouf that I made and how I did it (I didn't follow the BHG instructions, I hate hand sewing, really didn't think that stitches would hold up to my mini-tyrant and wanted something circular).

It's big. 60" around and 14" tall

Step 1. Iron all of your fabric. This is a very important step that I learned the hard way. 

The colors I used were chocolate, cream and caramel - I had them on hand and they match my couches.

Step 2. Design your template. I wanted my pouf to be about 60 inches around, 24 inches wide and to stand about 14 inches high. I also knew that I was going to be doing a 1/4" seam allowance so I needed to allow for that. What I designed was sort of a triangle without a point. The top of the triangle is 1", the base of the triangle would need to be 6", and the sides of the triangle would be 12" long. I also knew that I would need to have another 7" inches in height on the bottom end of the triangle.

This is what I came up with.

Step 3. Cut your fabric. You will need 24 total pieces - 12 for the top, 12 for the bottom. (If you used a thin fabric, you should also cut 24 pieces of muslin to attach to the back - it will make it more durable.)

Pretty, pretty, pretty.

Step 4. Pin two triangles together, right sides facing.

Better ironing would have been a great idea. 

Step 5. Sew down one side of the triangles. Open up and place your next triangle on top of your work. Pin together, right sides facing and sew. Repeat until you have put all of the pieces together. 

It will look a little weird until you get it all put together. 

Step 6. When you finish, you should have two circles that look like this. 

Outside

Inside

Step 7. (Optional) Cut 2 foam rubber circles to provide some extra stability on your top and base. Use your circles as your template for cutting. 

The foam rubber should fit inside of the circle. 

Step 8. Use a 2 inch button in the center of your top circle. Use embroidery thread as it is more durable and it takes longer for kids to pull it off. Pull the button down taut so that it slightly pulls the fabric. 

Step 9. Put the circles of foam rubber to the side. Sew your two fabric circles together (right side facing and base of triangles lining up) leaving about 5 inches unsewn so that you can stuff. Insert foam rubber circles first and then fill the center with poly~fill or other stuffing material (clothes that your kid has outgrown, ripped pillows, etc). Hand sew the rest of the way and enjoy!

Let me know what you think of this week's tutorial and if you have any other ideas for upcoming tutorials!