DIY sewing: handmade pouf ottoman from one yard of vintage fabric

What do you do when you come across a single yard of vintage linen velvet at the flea market? Buy It! There are a million projects you can do with one yard of great fabric, not to mention all the things you can do by pairing it up with other materials... Today we'll take a look at what I did with my amazing flea market find; and how I turned it into this little gem of home decor!

Well I admit I'm a little late to the pouf ottoman craze, but I have been making pillows, dog beds, and floor cushions since I can remember... and they're essentially the same thing, right? So I took a look around online to see if I could find a pattern I liked, that called for one yard or less of fabric. No luck, but I did get some ideas for what I wanted; and my pouf was born!


Let's get started!I knew I wanted 3 things: a round pouf, something that would take advantage of the lines of the velvet, and tufting! So I came up with this hexagonal pattern, made up of 6 pieces that come together to form the top and sides. To make this pattern, I just determined the finished diameter of my pouf (18 inches) and drew a triangle with a base and height of half that size (9 inches) on a piece of brown paper. From the base of the triangle, I added a rectangle that would be the same width as the triangle, and equal to the finished height of my ottoman (12 inches). Last, I added .5 inch seam allowance to the whole thing. Cut 6 and seam together!

On a side note, I forgot how hard velvet is to sew... Like trying to put 2 like charged magnets together. If you're new to sewing, I would not recommend it ;D


Look at that... we're almost done already!Next we need a bottom. I added in a zipper to make it easy to stuff, and re-stuff, because in my experience that is a must! So take the finished diameter of the top measurement (18 inches), and cut a circle that size. Since this is the bottom, and really won't show, you can use another fabric... I used a navy blue duck cloth.
Now cut that circle in half and add in a zipper that is large enough to get stuffing through (I used 12 inch zipper). With right sides facing, pin the bottom piece to the bottom edge of the sides and stitch using a .5 inch seam allowance. Then turn the entire piece right side out, pulling it through the zipper opening.


Last step: the tufting!
I'm a fool for tufting, and since this piece is for me: tufting required ;D
For this I'll take a large button (from my crazy lady button stash) thread it with twine and cover it with a scrap of the velvet. Then take a scrap of left over upholstery foam (because I waste nothing!) and pass the button thread through the top of the pouf, through the upholstery foam, and secure in place. To secure, I usually just grab a piece of scrap fabric (wadded up) and tie the button twine around it as tight as I can. This keeps the knot from popping up through the foam.
All that's left to do here is stuff it, and voila! I like to stuff mine with scrap fabric and bits of upholstery foam, but you can use just about anything... I even heard that some people use crumpled newspaper! I like the weight and solid feel the scraps give my pouf. I actually use mine as a foot rest, so it eventually lose it's shape and start to sag in spots. It's no problem though... every once in a while, I just open up the zipper and add a little more stuffing!

OK, that's all for now; on to the next project! Want to know what it is? Follow me on twitter for sneak peeks and updates! If you're just looking for DIY inspiration, stayed tuned @ dawntoussaint.com for more on my DIY projects through the summer! If you're looking to get some of the items you've seen here, on twitter, or on my boards, check out my etsy shop!