I don’t typically post about home dec projects, mostly because they are boring but also I never do them (because they are boring). I’m making an exception today because I made the free Closet Case Patterns pouf and I feel like there are other garment sewists interested in this.

My husband and I occasionally play video games together and we always fight over the lazy boy. The controller cords aren’t long enough to reach the couch, so the second person is stuck with a kitchen chair or the floor. The hubby had the brilliant idea to get an ottoman or something for extra seating and a foot rest. This probably coincided with the pattern release because I’ve been hoarding scraps in my storage cupboard for about six months waiting to run out of garment projects so I could finally force myself to make something that’s not clothes.

In the meantime, I realized that the shams I made for our livingroom throw pillows BEFORE WE EVEN STARTED DATING (like, I actually think I made them in 2011) we super faded and falling apart. I tried to find ready-made shams (have I mentioned how much I hate sewing home decor?), but of course I didn’t, so I had no choice but to make some. I rolled both projects into one and made the pouf out of scraps from the pillows.

The pattern is really easy to follow and I have absolutely no complaints. I serged all my pieces before putting them together as the solid fabrics I used were fairly loosely woven and pretty prone to fray. I also wanted to make the pouf a bit taller than the pattern. I wanted it to be comfortable to sit on, not just as a foot rest. I originally added 6 inches  height, but realized it was too high to fit under my coffee table, so I shaved off two inches. If you adjust the size and want to check before stuffing with every tiny scrap in your house, try pushing a few pillows in to give yourself an idea of the size in 3D.

The pattern instructions recommend making a sort of drawstring bag to hold your scraps to make it easier to wash your pouf. I did not do this, even though I had an old duvet cover hanging around that would have been perfect. I blame impatience and laziness. I do recommend that you do this as it would make stuffing (and re-stuffing) easier.

I used about ten grocery bags full of scraps to stuff my pouf to mostly stuffed. Light-weight fabrics and small cuts work the best. I left out any old jeans I had as I figured they would make my pouf lumpy. After about a week of sitting on the pouf, I’ve stuffed another grocery bag’s-worth of scraps and can probably put another two in. I actually recommend that you sit on the pouf upside down for the first week or so to get everything to settle and compress at the top and get a nice smooth sitting surface.

We have yet to use the pouf for video games, but we’ve all three tested and approved of it. I really like it right now because I can sit and play with my daughter without needing to sit on the floor. My kiddo is a pretty big fan because she can finally sit at the coffee table and she really likes laying over it on her stomach and lifting her feet off the ground. I’m not sure why, but she thinks it’s hilarious.