Upcycled Life: Burlap pouf

Get ready for patio weather by making a burlap pouf out of old coffee sacks and plastic bags.

Coffee sacks can be found at Art Salvage or a local coffee roaster, and using plastic bags for stuffing keeps them out of the waste stream – and makes the pouf suitable for outside use.

Even these rustic and durable materials make a cozy spot for reading and resting on the porch when the sun comes out.

Directions

Start by cutting off the top and bottom of a burlap coffee bag so that you have a 20-inch tall tube. Mine was about 24-inch wide.

Using a second burlap bag, cut two circles with an 8-inch radius. A simple way to do this is to tie a string to a pen and hold the other end down while drawing a circle as you rotate the pen around the center point. Make sure the string stretches to the length of the radius between the center point and the pen.

Hint: Get out the calculator or use a free online circle calculator to recalculate the radius if your bag was a different width. Add 1-inch to the radius for seam allowance.

With right sides (the sides you want on the outside of the finished pouf) together, sew the top and bottom circles to the tube with a zigzag stitch, leaving a 6-inch opening on one end.

For added strength and a more finished look, turn the pouf right side out through the opening and top stitch everything except the opening.

Stuff the plastic bags one at a time into the pouf through the opening. More stuffing is better in this case for a good firm shape. Tuck in the unfinished edges of the opening and sew it shut.