Trying to furnish your new digs on a shoestring? This fabulous ottoman/hassock can be made for next to nothing. Go to a hardware store that sells electrical wire off of a wooden spool and ask for a discarded spool. Next, go to a fabric store and buy a cool fabric remnant that will cover your ottoman. Hint: Upholstery fabric is 54″ wide. If you have a twenty inch round (diameter) ottoman and you want it approximately fifteen inches tall, you’ll need one width of fabric about 22″ long and another piece that will equal the circumference of your ottoman and measures about eighteen inches deep. Since your fabric is only 54 inches wide and a twenty inch diameter circle has a circumference of approximately 65 inches (don’t ask me about the math, I just measured with a tape measure). So…you need about a 10 to 11 inch section to add to the band. For this size spool you’ll need 1 1/2 yards of fabric. (this doesn’t include extra fabric for matching patterns).
Middle taken out of wooden spool and five inch 1×1 posts screwed in to make frame of ottoman.
Pattern drawn on foam with marker and cut out with an electric knife. Add 1/2 ” all around. Spray adhesive on top of wood top and place foam on top.
Cut a piece of bendable, but firm, cardboard the width of the open space and staple on to enclose the open space and give the ottoman firmness and stability for fabric.
Sew a strip of batting longer than the entire depth of the ottoman to a circle of batting cut the same size as your foam circle. Pull the cover down over the ottoman and staple to the bottom.
Now cut your fabric pieces identical to the batting cover and sew the same way. Always works better on a circle to sew the strip of fabric to the circle when the circle is on the bottom. After stitching all the way around, clip the curve being careful not to cut through your stitching. After this, for a finished look, you can flip the cover to the right side and topstitch approximately 1/4″ from the seam.
Pull down over ottoman, adjust, add a little batting, if needed, to certain hollow areas. Pull firmly, but not too tightly. Sometimes you end up with a little extra fabric while attaching the bottom. One method of taking up the slack is to “ease” the fabric as you are stapling. You can also add a little bit more batting to the bottom and the best way is to stitch the side band just a hair tighter than it measures. You have to practice to get this perfect. Measure where you want the legs to screw in to the wood base and drill holes. Add a cover to the bottom the same size as the bottom plus 1″. Upholsterers use black cambric, but you can use anything to give it a finished look. Add legs and you have a fantastic ottoman to use as a little table with a tray, a footstool or a seat! Enjoy!
P.S. This ottoman is being donated to a Doctors Without Borders Kenya fundraiser to be held in Indianapolis this weekend.