I finally managed to work on another scrap-busting project. I have seen Closet Core Patterns DIY Pouf floating around on Instagram, but I hadn’t given myself the push to try it out. I was hopeful that I would find ways to use some of my smaller scraps, as I had many plans for them. But as it typically goes, I have more ideas than time. I was also beginning to feel the weight of all my scraps. We live in a small house and I just don’t have the space to store unlimited amounts of little bits of fabric that –might– be able to be used someday.
I used the CIoset Core Pattern Pouf as a starting point. I’m not 100% sure why I didn’t just follow the pattern, but for some reason, I really wanted to try and make a square pouf. After reading the tutorial, I decided to take the elements of Heather’s pouf that I liked and make it my own. I liked the zipper so you could add more scraps as needed and so the pouf cover could be washed. I also liked the drawstring bag to hold the scraps. It’s not 100% necessary, but keeping all those little bits a little more contained seemed like a good idea.
I’d like to say that I had a full plan mapped out before I started, but that’s just not how I operate. I did have a general idea of how I wanted to make the pouf though, so I started to go through my larger scraps to find as much heavy-weight fabric as possible. I had a grey denim remnant, few pairs of old jeans, and some random pant legs. By laying out all the pieces that would work for the cover, I was able to come up with some dimensions to start with.
I knew I wanted a zipper with a drawstring bag inside to hold the scraps, but I didn’t want my zipper on the bottom because we have hardwood floors and I only had a metal zipper. I decided to put the zipper on one of the corners of the pouf. My zipper was just a bit shorter than the height I wanted to make the pouf so I had to add little fabric extensions to the ends of the zipper to make it work. You can see this detail in the photo below. You can also see how much more space there is to add more scraps!
The drawstring bag that I added will be helpful if I need to take off the cover, but my zipper opening is too small for it all to come out at once so I will still need to take the scraps out little by little. Oh well! At least I can wash it once someone around here spills something on it.
For the general design of the cover, I decided to go with a random layout that was dictated by the shapes of my scraps. At first, I thought about making a more geometric layout, but in the end, I just decided to go random. I was getting impatient with myself and I couldn’t decide on a more structured layout so I just got started and this is what I came up with. I’m pleased with the final layout, but I was hoping for a more square pouf. I realized after the fact that there is no extra structure to the sides of the pouf so no way to stop them from bulging out. I’m hoping that once I put more scraps in it will be a bit more square, but it’s not a big deal.
I didn’t manage to get as many process photos as I had hoped. I always have grand ideas of taking lots of process shots, but then I get to sewing and I forget. Or I only work on something for 10 minutes and it sits for a couple of days making it hard to remember and make the time for photos. But you can see that a little someone likes to play on it!
Have you made a scrap pouf? How did the process go for you? If you have any questions about the process I used please don’t hesitate to ask. I would love to help!
I began to research what I knew I could do…sew. I searched for different DIY backpack sewing patterns to see if there was anything that would work. I came across many different patterns (
I know this sounds like I’ve got this huge hoarding problem, but really all this fits in one big plastic tub so its not that bad! I love that I can go to this stash and find bits and pieces that can be used to create something new, useful and beautiful.
Once I sorted out which materials could be used, I began to take measurements and think about construction. Once I figured out what needed to be sewn together when, the process went pretty quickly. The one thing that I still need to figure out is how to make the straps adjustable. I could buy a backpack hardware kit or the likes or I could see what I have laying around that might work. Currently a safety pin is doing the job.
