Giant Bean Bag Chair Tutorial

Making your own giant bean bag is the way to go!  These comfy, foam-filled chairs cost upwards of $300 to buy new, and by making one yourself, you can not only save a ton of $$$, but you can customize with fabric you love, and know it is made well!!

Y'all, it is really amazing I am just now sharing this tutorial. I have homemade bean bag chairs all over my house, so it is probably the sewing lesson I have shared via word-of-mouth the most! FINALLY I am sharing it here!

I will show you what you need, where to get it, and how to put it together, so your giant bean bag will last you for years and years to come!

To make a 50" diameter, 28" high bean bag chair,

YOU WILL NEED: 

• 6 yards of 60" wide inexpensive fabric. This is for the insert, so the fabric won't be seen. I paid $1-2/yard for some plain white cotton quilting fabric.
• 6 yards of 60" wide heavier, comfortable fabric. I have used denim, corduroy, decorator fabric, and velour. This is the fabric you will feel, so make sure you not only like the look, but also the way it rubs your skin. 
• 1 LONG zipper. I recommend 48" at minimum for this size chair. Many fabric stores sell zippers-by-the-yard. I have used these and they work great for this project. 
• Shredded Foam Filler. My source for this can be found HERE.  You will need approximately 45 lbs of foam for one large bag. The 36"x 36"x 48" (30lb) size ($34.99 at time of publishing this post)  and two of the 8lb sizes ($12.99) to make one Giant Beanbag Chair. If you are making more than one (or want to do this project with a friend!) you can get free shipping with a $75+ order. Three large (30lb) orders would be perfect for two chairs. 
• One note about the foam: I have been SO pleased with this foam. We have had one of our beanbags for over 5 years, and it still returns to its original poofy-ness. But be warned, it comes vacuum-sealed, so as soon as you open it to fill your bags, the foam expands LIKE MAD. So I recommend waiting to open your packages until you are ready to fill; then place the whole package inside the bag to open.  You'll thank me, I assure you.

TO  CUT OUT AND ASSEMBLE: 

1. MEASURE AND CUT CIRCLES. Beginning with your insert fabric, cut two circles with a circumference of 170 inches. I fold my fabric over on itself enough to cut 2 at once.  

The easiest way to measure is via the radius of the circle, which is 27".   Cut a string about 40 inches long and tie one end to a pen or straight pin. This will be your pivot point. 

 Tie the other end to a piece of chalk or a fabric pencil, making the string exactly 27 inches long from tied-end to tied-end.  Find the approximate center of the area on the fabric you will be drawing your circle, and hold the pivot end in place there. Extend the string until it is taut, then use the chalk to draw a perfect circle. Cut out both circles.

Repeat with your nicer cover fabric.

If you have a friend who can hold the pivot in place, it makes the drawing a bit easier. 

2. MEASURE AND CUT RECTANGLES. From each kind of fabric, measure and cut out two rectangles, 87" long by 32" wide. 

3. SEW ONE END OF RECTANGLES TOGETHER. With right sides together, pin and sew the two rectangles together across the shorter (32") side.  Now you will have one long rectangle, 32"wide x 170+" long.  Do this for each kind of fabric.

Now that your pattern is cut, you are ready to assemble!

ASSEMBLY CHART

4. PIN ONE CIRCLE TO RECTANGLE and SEW IN PLACE.  With right sides together, pin one circle to the long side of the rectangle. Sew in place with a 1/4-1/2 inch seam allowance (depending on your fabric/ sewing machine. Heavier fabrics should have a larger seam allowance, but if you have a serger, 1/4 inch will be strong enough). 

Sew the final short ends of the rectangle (right sides together) after you have attached it to the first circle to make sure everything lines up well. 

5. PIN & SEW THE ZIPPER and THE BOTTOM SEAM*.  With right sides together, pin the second circle to the bottom side of the rectangle, leaving space for the length of the zipper. Pin the zipper in place. (I have a zipper tutorial HERE in steps 6-12 of my T-Shirt Pillow Tutorial). 

*Adding a zipper to the insert is optional. You can leave a 2-3 foot opening for filling the insert with foam, then sew it closed.

6.FILL INSERT WITH FOAM. It is in your best interest to follow my next advice carefully! Place the package of foam INSIDE the insert before you open it and expose it to air. It will expand like crazy, and the foam is super static-electric, so it sticks to everything. Once the insert is filled, pin it closed, then sew it up!  (Or zip it up if you made your insert with a zipper!)

7. STUFF INSERT INTO COVER. This is where you will be glad you got a mondo-big-o zipper. Once the insert is in, zip it up, and you are done! 

Sharing at some of these link-ups. 

T-Shirt Pillow Tutorial

Several months ago I was at a friend's house and complimented her on a cute pillow on her living room couch. It had pretty, metallic detail that really made it the perfect accessory for the space.  I was looking for a similar pillow at the time, and after being sticker shocked at stores like Pier One,  I was wondering if I would be able to find anything affordable that I liked. 

So, I asked her where she found her pillow. "Oh, I made that one--from an Old Navy tank top!" 

I think some angels began to descend from heaven singing a hallelujah chorus behind her about then and rays of light were shooting out of her head.  Why had I never thought of that?!? I am always repurposing stuff, but it had never occurred to me to use discarded t-shirts to make trendy pillows! Brilliant!

It took me several months to actually get to it, but I finally made my blingy t-shirts into pillows! 

Here's what I did: 

1. These are the two t-shirts I started with. I actually bought the first thinking I would wear it. And I did--once--but I felt like a clown or a jockey the entire time. It was one of those cases of "the model wore it better." 

I found the sequin tank in a bag of discarded clothes a friend was tossing and invited me to rummage through. I grabbed it with a pillow in mind. 

2. Once you have your shirt(s), you'll need pillows. I would just take the shirts to the craft store to make sure they are the right size. I decided to go with a square and a round because of the shapes of the shirts I had. 

3. For square/rectangle pillows: Carefully measure and cut the dimensions recommended on the pillow form package. Since t-shirt material is stretchy, choose the smaller dimension if a range is given. If you don't have dimensions, just measure and add 1" for each side (so a for a 12"x12" square, cut a 13"x13")

 4. For circular pillows, measure the diameter and divide by 2 to get the radius. Add 1/2 inch to that. Cut a string about twice that length, then tie around two pencils so they are exactly the radius+1/2" distance apart with the string taut.

5. Find the center of the garment, and using one pencil as the pivot point on the center, use the other to carefully draw a circle around the garment. (It helps to have someone hold the garment in place as you do this).  Add a few pins to hold the two layers together, then cut out the circle through both layers.

6.  Turn right sides together, and pin around each shape. If you would like to add a zipper (which I NEVER regret doing), the next 5 steps will walk you through how to. 

(I used a separate zipper and fabric to teach this tutorial since a white zipper on white fabric doesn't show up well.)

 7. With the pillow pieces laying right sides together, begin pinning the zipper from the top about 1/2 inch from the edge of the pillow pieces. Right sides of the zipper should be facing the right sides of the pillow pieces. The zipper should just be open a few inches.

 8. Unzip a few more inches of the zipper. 

 9. Continue pinning along the edge of each pillow piece, RST. 

10. Unzip a few more inches, add pins, and continue this until you are at the end of the zipper. 

11. Pin the ends of the zipper below the pull. 

Once you are done pinning, use the zipper foot on your sewing machine and sew 1/4 inch seam allowance along the length of each side of the zipper, removing pins as you come to them. 

12. Zip up the zipper. Sew around the rest of the pillow, taking your stitches all the way up to the metal base and top of the zipper (but leaving room for the pull to swivel). 

*I was pleasantly surprised to learn while doing this project that the sequin fabric was easy to cut and easy to sew! My (not industrial) machine went right over the sequins with no problems!!

Voila! A professional-looking zippered pillow! Now I can easily remove the cover to wash! 

So, the next time you clean out your closet, keep this idea in mind! What you don't want to wear any more may look fabulous as a pillow! 

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