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3.14.2011

Bean Bag Chair Slipcovers!

My boys have some plain vinyl beanbag chairs they really love to sit in. The blue didn't match our new space and they were a little loud and cold so I decided to dress them up a bit for our new basement.

I began by measuring for a pattern. Two 36 inch circles and one long strip measuring 110 x 12 inches:



I cut a 36" circle from brown craft paper. I made a perfect circle by going old school and looping an 18 inch piece of string around two pencils. I held one pencil in place in the center and made a compass out of it, letting the outside pencil draw the circle. (if that is confusing see how to draw a circle.)



I needed a few pieces of fabric to make up the 110 inch length. Once I had a long strip, I turned right sides together and sewed the short ends, making a big loop:



Next, pin then sew the edges of the first circle to the edges of the loop with right sides together. You will be sewing the edges of the looped 110" piece to the edges of the circle like this:



Repeat with the bottom circle, leaving about an 18 inch gap un-sewn so you can slip your bean bag into the the cover.

*Tip* I found it easiest to pin the circle to the loop methodically to avoid a bunch of puckering at the end. I pinned it in quarters first then filled in the pins in each quarter, to help spread out the fabric evenly - making a pleat with any extra fabric.

I stuffed the bean bag into the open side then whip stitched it closed. I had intended to use a Velcro closure but decided against it.

Before:


After:


Not perfect, but perfect enough... Warm and cozy, too!

Come back tomorrow to link up your own tutorials for Tutorial Tuesday!

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6 comments:

  1. that looks fab, well done, it looks like it wants to be stroked! I love tactile fabrics.

    Bee happy x
    Have a delicious day!

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  2. Yep......good call on sewing them shut!

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  3. Ahhh - I have been needing to do this also - but had no clue what the measurements would be. Thanks for the tutorial and inspiration
    -Casey

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  4. Nice job!
    If you did go with velcro, you could swap em out for the holidays or summer/winter colors.

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  5. Sounds easy enough - I'm going to try it. Wish me luck!

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  6. Thanks for the tutorial it was a very helpful tip.
    Please may I know how many inches was the width of the rectangle?

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