POUF! sewing magic.

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RE_created on twitta...

this project is dedicated to my lovely mother, who was thoughtful enough to pick up a Better Homes & Gardens magazine for me when she saw it for 50 cents! this particular magazine contained an image of a "pretty pouf" floor cushion that i thought was fantastic, and wouldn't you know they had a place you could go to on their website that gave a tutorial for it! score.

our living room is very spacious, and while we do have the seating provided by the sectional couch, a chaise, and a chair, we started thinking about if we had enough for hosting Christmas this year. i thought these poufs were a great idea for some casual, non-committal, smidgens of a seat that could be easily moved and/or stored. PLUS i had a ton of one kind of fabric that i got a sweet deal on and was wondering what to do with it. here's how it happened:



the tutorial came with a printable pattern, which, for your 411, is the very first pattern i've ever used. i liked it!

i layered the fabric as i cut so i wouldn't have to make as many cuts. efficiency is key.

i also used some white muslin to line the pouf with, for extra stability and luxury ;)

after all cuts are made, stack them right sides together WITH lining, then sew one side to make a pair of pouf panels

PAIR!

after all pouf pairs are sewn, press seams to lay flat, like so.

JOIN PAIRS! joining one pair makes half of the pouf.

measure from the top 5" down and do not sew the top 5" together, you gotta have a hole at the top to stuff the pouf!

the tutorial didn't say anything about using a walking foot for this, but with all the layers of fabric (4 at a time), i expertly deduced that a walking foot would be more appropriate to avoid bunching, so shake it if you got it

all sewn!

this is the best part, you can stuff the pouf with ANYTHING you want. the tutorial recommends stuff like old jeans, towels, and pillows to increase stability. i used all these things and more!

for my very first sewing project, a t-shirt blanket, still sadly unfinished and just really not right, i kept the scraps from the t-shirts and sweatshirts i cut up. at this time i really didn't understand why i was so compelled to hang onto a bag of shirt scraps, but alas, today is the day they became the perfect addition!

stick all the crazy stuff in first, then use fiberfill to smooth out the outer shape and the top for perfect poufiness.

time to suck it up and HAND-STITCH the top closed, ugh. i really hate hand stitching, i have no joy in hand sewing like some other people do, gimme a motor baby

top is all closed, time to fashion the top pouf piece

you may notice that neatness in stitching the top is totally unnecessary, because it'll be covered! yay.

another piece of the pattern

iron down seams

i also expertly deduced ;) that using fabric glue along with more hand-stitching would be better. i used small dots along the entire edge and throughout the entire middle, stacked some stuff on top of it to dry, and moved onto the worst part of pouf construction...

*side note: bring the double threaded needle up through the bottom before it dries down. just realized that i don't have any pictures of the top after hand-stitching! figures, my fingers still hurt from it, i just wanted to be done! i just used a simple straight stitch around the edge, no big deal!

while, i apologize for my husband's feet, i didn't want to use my own so beggars can't be choosers ;) TA-DAHH! ottoman, extra seat, super-cute casual decor addition, and made from junk i already had! i think i'll make another.

POUF! that word has lost all meaning!