Monday, July 07, 2014

scrap fabric floor pouf


Recently I taught a surface design class in my studio where we spent two days making all kinds of handmade fabric and that means I had tons of scraps left over from all my teaching demos! So I decided to use all those scraps to create a big colorful floor pouf for our living room. 

I started by cutting my scrap fabric into smaller(ish) squares and then I sewed all those squares together to make two large pieces of patchwork fabric- one for the top of my pouf and one for the bottom.

note: I wasn't at all concerned with perfection (cause I never am) or with things being perfectly straight or square.

This process would have gone a lot quicker without a toddler in the mix but projects are WAY more interesting with a tiny helper!

Next, using a paper pattern that I made (simply by tracing a large circle) I cut out two large circles from my patchwork fabric- one for the top and one for the bottom.

Then I sewed the two pieces together leaving an opening for stuffing.

I stuffed the pouf as full as possible with stuffing.

Then I used heavy twine to tightly wrap the pouf 4 times- this immediately transforms a pillow into a pouf! 

Note: For all those sewers out there, this is basically using the concept of making a pin cushion but REALLY LARGE. And while you could use a long tapestry needle to pierce the center of the pouf and then wrap, I found it WAY easier to use my husband's brute strength to tightly wrap the twine!

I finished it off by sewing a button into the middle of both the bottom and the top.

The result is a super fun and colorful floor pouf made entirely from hand painted fabric! I can't wait to make more!

P.S. For those curious about the techniques that I used to make the fabric- I teach an online class called Beneath the Surface that covers all my favorite surface design techniques! You can read more about it HERE

25 comments:

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

NICE idea! I like your bracelets, too!

Ingrid Orens said...

Fantastic !!
What did you use for stuffing ? And... How much stuffing ? I can imagine you needed a small truckload...

Meghan Thimjon said...

Adorable like always!

Potiron said...

Your Giant pincushion is extraordinary and beautiful and fun!!! (I also like the yellow flower cushion on your couch!!!) ;-)

and now I'm thinking "Now why didn't I think of that?" Even with any kind of fabric scrap.... Thanks for the reminder!!! You are such an inspiration!!!

CREATIVE KHADIJA said...

superb! loving these badly!!

Unknown said...

wow love all those fabrics and looks super easy to make

Margaret said...

Love it!

Mary said...

So Chic!

Dorothy said...

So cool!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Spectacular....

livethegoldenrule said...

Well, You've done it again! Making something so cool and SO beautiful for next to nothing. You are somethin' else... ;D)

Hannah at The Lemon Hive said...

This is amazing! Do you think you could use any scraps or are specific materials you would recommend?

Anonymous said...

Alisa, I won't ever get tired of saying YOU ARE BRILLIANT! I've had such a yen to sew lately that I need to make one of these for Forrest's big-boy room. And some of your canvas bags for his toys. And work on my Larger than Life piece and sew that into a wall hanging. And, and, and!

studioGypsy said...

genius!! lovethis!! xoxo

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

STELLAR idea...you slay me over and over Alisa! thank you ALWAYS for all the sharing you give us, such GIANT GIFTS! i ALWAYS love seeing Lucy as i know others do as well. HAPPY MONDAY OXOX

trish said...

What type of sewing machine do you have? Is this heavy weight fabric like canvas?

AlexM said...

This is amazing!!! Brilliant! Love this pouf! I want one for my home!

Bryn @ Her Own Wings said...

That is the coolest cushion eva! I think I could even handle making that too! Thanks!

Daisy Girls Old Blog said...

Super cute!!

Marissa Mumbo said...

What a great outcome! I adore the colours and messy-ness of the fabric. I think a pouffe was the perfect thing to make with them.

I've recently been experimenting in pattern and surface design myself ( my teachers are books) but I haven't been brave enough to print anything onto fabric yet. I guess my main surface is paper but I've never really thought about what my own designs might look like three dimensionally! But I guess when you're designing for surface you have to think about application and how the final pattern might be used. :)

Kind Regards,
Marissa Mumbo

Stephanie said...

great project. Lucy is getting so big!

Carolyn said...

Wow! You are so dang creative:).

Susana Tavares said...

amazing project, thank you for giving so much. xox

leisure-articles said...

great project.

Anonymous said...

I have tons of scraps so am going to make one this week. Thanks for the idea.

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