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Garden Pouffe Debbie Shore Sewing Pattern – Outdoor Seating

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Debbie Shore's footstool or pouffe sewing pattern makes stylish, handy outdoor – or indoor – seating.

When you’ve got guests over, this garden pouffe sewing project will prove useful if you don’t have enough chairs to go round. Being filled with beans, this DIY stool is lightweight and easy to move wherever you want it, too. The kids will love having their own seating, and it’s great for just putting your feet up!

I’ve used a 17in (43cm) round cushion for the top of my stool pattern, as I found this gave a good shape to the top; I filled the rest with polystyrene beans that I upcycled from an old beanbag. A pouffe project of this size will take approx. 2 cubic feet of beans; use more if you’re not using a cushion pad. If you’re buying beans, I’d suggest that you buy them in a mesh bag: they can spill everywhere if not contained! Biodegradable beans are also available, although they are more expensive.

You can make this stool in any size you like. To customise the size, first measure the diameter of your cushion and cut two circles of fabric to this size for the top and bottom. You’ll also need a rectangle of fabric for the sides. To calculate the size of the side fabric, beginning by calculating the width: multiply the circle diameter by 3.142 to find the circumference, round down to the nearest inch or cm then add 1in (2.5cm) to this measurement to allow for the zip seam. My width measurement is 54in (137.5cm). For the length of the sides, simply decide what height you’d like then add 1in (2.5cm) to this measurement. I’d wanted my pouffe to be 15in (38cm) high, so I added 1in (2.5cm), making the cut length of my fabric 16in (40.5cm).

I’ve laminated the base of my pouffe with a gel laminate (I’ve used OdiCote® by Odif) to make it waterproof. This is optional. Alternatively, you could use an iron-on laminate film, such as Lamifix by Vlieseline; this is applied to the fabric before you sew the pouffe together.

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You will need:

Equipment

• Sewing machine
• Fabric shears
• Seam ripper/quick unpick
• Pencil and ruler, for drawing your circles
• Optional: glue pen, to help hold the zip in place while you stitch; gel laminate, to waterproof the bottom of the stool (I’ve used OdiCote® by Odif)

Materials

For a 17in (43cm) diameter stool:

• Two 17½in (44.5cm) squares of strong fabric from which to cut the top and bottom circles: canvas or denim is a good choice. If the fabric has a pattern, think about fussy cutting these with a motif in the centre
• 54 x 16in (137.5 x 40.5cm) rectangle of the same strong fabric, for the sides
• 14in (35.5cm) zip (or zip slightly smaller than the finished height of your pouffe if making a different size)
• Approx. 2 cubic ft. of bean-bag beans, ideally in a mesh bag
• Optional: pillow pad, for the top of the pouffe: I used a 17in (43cm) round pillow insert

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