Textile Tuesday: DIY Bean Bag Chairs

A Person of Target

Let me start by asking, have you ever seen “People of Target”?  It’s a web site that posts photos of people shopping in Target that may or may not be the most attractive/fashionable/upstanding looking.  Just keep this in mind.

It all started when we spotted some bean bag chairs in Target while doing some weekly shopping and ended with me sewing Christmas bean bag chairs on Christmas Eve morning before the kids woke up.  We saw some really cute bean bag chairs and my little one immediately wanted to try one out.  Being the patient mother I am, I let him sit in a few of them to try them out.  He couldn’t get enough of them and decided I should take part in the fun and sit in one also.   It was fun until it was time to get up and continue my shopping.  Imagine a slightly over-weight mother of two trying to roll out of a bean bag chair in the middle of a Target aisle wearing jeans that gap in the back with bright pink undies on while a three year old boy pushes on her back yelling “Come on momma!”.  It’s okay…I laugh at myself too.  I swear, for a week I kept going to People of Target just to make sure my moment didn’t appear on that site.  Whew!

In the end, I made them these great bean bag chairs.After my Target fiasco I scoured the internet looking for bean bag chairs that (a) had a slipcover and (b) were within reason, since I was going to be buying two.  There were some lovely options out there.  But honestly, spending in excess of $200 as part of a Christmas present just didn’t seem like a good use of money so I decided to DIY bean bag chair them.

I started with the tutorial from Project Nursery.  I loved how simple she made it and I felt like I could really accomplish this sewing project with ease.  This is the picture you will find if you look on Pinterest for her tutorial.

Once I knew what I was going to sew I was off to the fabric store to come up with a great design.  These bean bag chairs will live in our media room which is on the list to decorate as part of the 2015 Year of the Bedroom Project I am in the midst of.  So far, I have finished my oldest son’s bedroom makeover.  The plan for the media room is a nice dose of white, navy, and seafoam blue.  I found this great geometric and paired it with a plain blue.They look a little deflated but you can’t “stuff” them or you won’t be able to sink into them.  It was easy to stitch them up and insert a zipper in the back for quick removal.

I wanted to be able to remove the covers and wash them so I made an extra chair out of drop cloth to go inside the decorative one.  Overall, it was a really easy project I was able to complete in less than an hour.  The funniest part was that I ordered the bean bag fill from Wayfair and when it was delivered it came in three huge boxes (I used three bags of fill).  My oldest saw them on the porch and asked, “Are those presents?”.  I said they were and you could see the wheels turning in his mind.  I don’t think bean bag fill was rattling around in there, but he likes his none the less.

Overall, the price for this project including the fill, zippers, fabric, and drop cloth was less than $100.  A big savings compared to the ones I found online.  Plus, I was able to pick the fabric I wanted.  Give it a try.  On a scale of 1-10 I would give these a 5 in difficulty (only because of the zipper).  If you skipped the zipper it would range around a 2 or 3 in difficulty.  Enjoy!

Nancy

I’m sharing this project at:

The Crowned Goat

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Between Naps on the Porch

 Savvy Southern style