When I looked into how to make one of these a little more, I found out that the first picture followed the pattern and directions from the second picture. Perfect, right? So, I won't be going step by step through the process since that has already been so nicely done right here. Instead, I'll just add in the parts where I veered from the original pattern.
First, I took the pattern cutout and laid it out on my old curtain (after ironing lightly and wiping off all the cat hair I could).
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| It's true, I don't have a table. I've been using my hope chest both as fabric/ yarn storage and as a craft surface. |
Here comes the first thing that I did differently. Instead of laying out and cutting along the side with scissors, I used my chalk pencil to mark the corners. I can never cut a straight line while holding the fabric up and I wanted this to be as straight as possible.
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I did this for each of the 8 pieces, making sure that it all matched up with the original pattern.
When I was completely finished, I had cut up a little over half of my Ikea curtain panel (I still have a complete one to transform into something else later).
Now, in the original pattern, the next step is to sew all the pieces together. Here is another alteration that I made. Since I wanted this floor pouf to be function, I didn't want to sew up all my blankets into it and not be able to retrieve them later on. I thankfully have a drawer full of old zippers, one of which was a nice long invisible zipper. Since I had never sew in one before, I once again turned to the internet for some help. These two sites proved to be very helpful: Sew Serendipity and Coletterie. As they both suggest, I ironed my zipper flat, then pinned it to my fabric.
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| It was long enough to extend from one corner, almost all the way to the bottom |
Unlike the two invisible zipper instructions, I don't have a zipper foot. Instead, I right aligned my needle and carefully lined up my zipper in the middle of the foot. Starting slowly at first, especially after ironing the zipper, sewing it on this way was fairly easy.
After finishing the zipper, the only difference in sewing it was that I didn't have to leave a 10" opening to flip (simply open the zipper up). Once done, I started with putting in the extra comforter I have.
Following that I put in all the bed sheets and heavy blankets.
Finally, I squished in all the pillow cases and smaller blankets into the corners to even out the shape. Once all the blankets were inside (all but one fit!), I zipped it up.
I was so stoked at how perfect it turned out. Perfect size and shape, that is; my sewing could probably still use some work.
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| Still a little lumpy looking. I was eager to try it so I didn't spend much time smoothing everything out. |
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| I think he likes it (Skitter moving around to get extra comfy and lay down) |
Eventually I would like to add an off white doily to the top to tie it together more with my furniture but for now, it's great!
Difficulty: Beginner
Time to complete: 1-2 hours
Price: $0
You can really make this out of just about any spare fabric, could easily have a smaller zipper, be filled with whatever you're wanting to store, and done by any beginner. Just follow the instructions, try your best to sew straight, and you're golden!
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Until next time, dear readers, live long and prosper!
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