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10 Sept 2014

DIY Bean Bag Pouf

Today I'm sharing something I made that was a huge hit with my boys.  They played with this diy bean bag pouf for hours.  I used some more Marimekko PVC-coated fabric that I received from FinnStyle to make my pouf.  Using this type of fabric made it a perfect for inside or outside.  We've been having fun using it out on our new deck and in the house as well.  I filled the pouf loosely with bean bag beads so that the boys could use it as a little bean bag chair as well.  I love the super fun pattern Pikkujätski "little ice cream" from Marimekko.  I also decided to leave the serger stitching visible on the seems for some interest.  If you don't have a serger, you can still make the pouf with exposed seems by using a zigzag stitch on the exposed edge.  I think this pouf will make a great addition to the boys play space (if our basement ever gets finished!).  You can find the tutorial below.  It was really a very simple sewing project.  Warning: this post contains a lot of pics of my kiddos (I couldn't resist!).




DIY Bean Bag Pouf How To:

1.  Cut six equal sized strips of fabric (mine measured 39" long by 14" wide - I tried to make each panel wide enough to accommodate the ice cream pattern on the fabric).  The overall size of my pouf is 24" wide by 13"tall when filled.
2.  Use pencil or dressmaker's chalk to mark the lines on your fabric pieces for sewing.  Make a mark at the centre of each short end of your fabric strip.  Mark 12" down each side from either end of the fabric (i.e., four marks).  Now draw a line from the centre points to either side to the 12" mark (see the picture above).  You will use these lines as your guides when sewing.  You could trim the excess fabric at this point if you wanted to (i.e., the outside corners above the sewing lines).  I left mine on as my serger would do the trimming for me.
3.  This step is not necessary, but I basted all my pieces together before running them through the serger again.  In picture three, you can see the sewing pattern.  You want to sew all the pieces together to form a six-sided bag.  Place two pieces wrong sides together and follow the stitching line (picture 2), then take another strip and sew it to the other side of strip sewn above and repeat sewing all the pieces together until you get to your last seam.
4.  In the last seam leave a 4" opening from which you will fill the bean bag.  If you haven't already, serge all the seems (leaving the opening) trimming the excess fabric at the top corners.  If you end up having a small opening at the top where your seams didn't perfectly line up, you can hand stitch it closed.
5.  Fill your pouf with bean bag filler (styrofoam beads) and then sew/serge the opening closed.


*I received this fun Marimekko fabric from FinnStyle to use in my home.


27 comments:

  1. love this- love the design and the fabric you chose!

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    1. Thanks Cassie! Marimekko always has best fabric.

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  2. LOVE IT! And I can see the boys love it too. :D

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    1. They really do! They've had a blast playing with it.

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  3. love it, where did you find your bean bag filler?

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    1. I ended up buying a inexpensive small bean bag from a discount store (for the "beans" inside), but my original idea was to just buy bean bag filler. They sell bean bag covers and filler separately at Wal Mart. Unfortunately for me, they were all sold out at our local Wal Marts.

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  4. So fun! Love the fabric AND all the kiddo pictures :)

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    1. The boys had no problem "posing" for these photos. ;)

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  5. This is so cool!! I've been wanting a pouf for a while but hate how expensive they are. If I ever get around to really learning to sew, this is at the top of the list!

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    1. Thanks Emily! The sewing is really not too bad in this project - if things don't line up perfectly you can always hand stitch the top and bottom openings. I think the planning of the pattern and filling the bag with the "beads" were the most time consuming. :)

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  6. What a terrific project!! I love that you made the seams visible and I love the hint of a hexagon shape. This is so fresh and awesome Anu!!

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    1. Ha! I didn't even realize that it was kind of like a hexagon (If you were to fill it a little more it probably would look more like one). I just ended up going with six pieces since I wanted to be able to fit an entire "ice cream" pattern on to each strip.

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  7. Great Job! I have been trying to think of a way to make a DIY pouf for my little boys to enjoy. I will give this a try! Thank You.

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    1. Thanks Laura! Let me know how it goes if you give it a try. :)

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  8. That fabric is wonderful! Such a fun addition to the patio!

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    1. It really is a fun fabric. It's helped us hold onto summer a little longer!

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  9. Another fantastic project with gorgeous fabric, love it!

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  10. Very cute. I like the outside seams. I don't think anything I could sew would hold up to little boys though, haha.

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  11. This is such a fun piece- it would be a huge hit with my boys too!! I can't wait to try making one- pinning, and thanks for sharing it!

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  12. Speechless about this one again. It's just so so good!

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  13. This is so cute - love the fabric and colors. I know Henry would love one of these.

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  14. How cool is this one!!
    And th epic of Co-Pilot, omg! <3

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  15. Do you think this could be done without a serger? Really cute!

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    1. You could just sew it with the seams inside, I would think. If you end up having difficulty getting the top opening to line up, you could always add a small circle of fabric that you hand stitch on. You may be able to use an overlock stitch on a regular sewing machine (if yours has one) to create the exposed seam look. I hope that gives you some ideas. :)

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