Poof! A Pouf!

Poufs. They're expensive. Why? I don't really understand. They start at about $150 and the sky is the limit from there. This doesn't really fit my style or my budget, so I pursued other options, like making my own.

I was inspired by various DIY pouf projects I've seen on Design*Sponge, Apartment Therapy and more. 

Design Sponge

When I saw a post on Welcme to Heardmont about a "Pouf-A-Long" I knew it was time to act. 

I decided I wanted to use this tutorial from Bromeliad.

From Bromeliad

I really dig the metallic poufs I have seen, so I decided to search out metallic fabric options for my pouf. One day in Joanns, I stumbled upon the pleather section, where I found some snake skin textured metallic silver pleather. This fabric is intended for apperal. I can't imagine a situation in which someone would want to wear this fabric....

I bought 2 yards for this project, and at $15 a yard, I think this was actually my most expensive fabric purchase to date! Of course I used a 40% off coupon, so I didn't pay full price.

The pieces I cut looked like this-- I made a pattern based on the directions on Bromeliad, using pieces of paper taped together to be the correct size.

I sewed the pieces together as described in the tutorial, and then was ready to stuff it. I put in a few things while looking around for appropriate filler. My cats really enjoyed the opportunity to explore inside the pouf. Perhaps this is a project in the future for the cats! When they came out of the pouf after napping in there, it was like they were hatching. Pretty hilarious. At one point I didn't realize there was a cat in the pouf and then it started moving and making noise. Freaked me out good for a second, until a furry head popped out!

I originally thought I would use comforters that I could get for "cheap" from the Salvation Army, but I was shocked when I got there to discover that the comforters were like $20 each. I knew I would need 2-3 of them, so that didn't seem like a good option. In the end, I decided to go with a combo: old sheets I had around, some clothing I was intending to donate, and a 20lb box of fiber fill that I bought at Joann's with a coupon (I'm seeing a pattern here). The fiber fill was the only thing I actually bought, and that cost me about $10. I then made a medallion to go on top and attached it with some super fancy hand stitching. 

And Poof! It's a pouf! I intend to eventually have it outside on my balcony, but its kind of late here and also about 100 degrees out right now, so these inside pictures will have to suffice for now!

The kitties approve, even if they can't burrow in anymore.