Make the ultimate bean bag chair with basic sewing skills and in under an hour. If you have a kid or two a bean bag chair is the perfect play or lounge area accessory. My 12-year-old son has perfected the art of lounging. He enjoys reading and gaming and can use this comfortable bean-bag chair for both. The sumo style bean bag chair can be used in multiple ways. The kids have made up names for the way the Fatboy style chairs are sat in. The bags are actually filled with polystyrene pellets, making the chair light-weight and moldable. You can adjust the size to make either a child-size or adult-size bean bag chair. Mine is a tween size. Not quite as big as the regular Fatboy and not as small as the Fatboy Junior. My kids are in love with cuddle fabric and if you don’t know what it is you are missing out! The first time Shannon fabrics sent me some to work with my kids begged me to make things for their use. It is so soft and silky. Materials for Fatboy Inspired bean bag chair:
(size 60 x 45 x 10) Cuddle fabric 60” 2.5 yards Dark Lime (use length of selvage edge for seam allowance) Fairfield Processing – Poly-Fil Bean bag filler 4-5 bags Extrawide double folded bias tape Tools for Fatboy Inspired bean bag chair: Scissors, sewing machine, straight pins, thread in a coordinating color, plastic cup and duck tape Instructions for Fatboy Inspired bean bag chair: Sew bias tape along the longest shortest edges to help keep its shape since cuddle fabric is stretchy and has lots of give. Fold right sides together and sew the two edges with bias tape together to form a tube. Sew bottom selvage edge closed and sew top selvage edge closed leaving an opening for funnel. Cut bottom of a plastic cup to use as funnel. Cut a corner of plastic bag. Use duck tape to hold cup in place. Pour Poly-fil beans into opening. Repeat until bag is desired fullness. 5 bags were used for this size. I found the best way to fill add the Poly-Fil bean bag was to create a funnel.
(I double stitched it just to be sure.)A suggestion, install a zipper in the muslin. Then put it inside the outer fleece layer (or whatever fabric you like, fleece is relatively cheap and comfy) sew on a Velcro opening so you can fill the muslin bag, zip it up then close it up. (Or another zipper if you'd like. Make sure its on the bottom of the bag.)Fill it up once you have the muslin inside the outer layer and try to match it up the best you can. It'll equal itself out over time. Also this way you can wash it without too much hassle.The beans you can get at fred meyer, I suggest two bags.The head is made from a elongated sphere shape. If you know how to make a sphere, make the four pieces slightly longer. Cut out the part where you want the face and replace it with a different color piece. This might take some guess work but I'm sure you can handle it, right?The ears are triangular pyramids and the arms and legs are simple two piece shapes.A suggestion, have plenty of newspaper ready to cut out patterns and experiment with the size you want.
The circle on the bottom of the foot is applied the same way the face is.The details on the face (eyes, mouth, teeth) are ironed on with fabric adhesive. You can buy a couple sheets of it at Joann's as well. The fabric I used for the details are black and white suede cloth but you can stitch on some felt if you'd like. The iron on suede is less likely to pill up.This is all I will provide, please don't ask me to make an in depth tutorial. I had to figure this out myself and buy the bean bag pattern, it's not a arduous task if you put a little effort into it.EDIT: A nice commenter went through the trouble of making a pattern for the additional pieces. The main beanbag is from a typical pattern which can be found at most fabric stores. Perfect for dolls who long to be on American Ninja Warrior. Find the tutorial here. Help your America Girl find her inner Cyndi Lauper with this DIY. Your doll can’t go to school without a book bag. Find the DIY here. She’s going to need her own locker, too.
Learn how to make one here. PVC pipe and a few other items from your local hardware store are all you need to get your doll practicing her Olympic routine. Finally make use of all those empty bubbles containers. Perfect for American Girl doll sleepovers. Find the how-to here. You can also make a great bed out of an old end table. Even dolls need to unwind after a long day. Your doll is going to need a place to hold all of this furniture. If you make your kid enough cool stuff like this they might stop asking for a real pony. This DIY is an easy one based around brown butcher paper. You can also learn how to make cupcakes, donuts, and Oreos here. Perfect for washing down all those sweets. This DIY is an easy one for novices with limited sewing skills. These boots totally look like something a trendy celeb would make for her American Girl doll. Learn how to make them here. For the slightly more eccentric American Girl. This is another great option for storing clothes.
Elsa’s Ice Queen Gown From FrozenDownload the sewing pattern here for $10.95. Anna’s Cape And Gown From Frozen Download the sewing pattern here for $8.95. Here’s another fun DIY tutorial for eternal winter, or, you know, regular winter. This one makes a perfect pick me up for kids who recently broke (or injured) their arm. Tthis tutorial requires only dollar store items including a planter. For tech savvy dolls. This one can be made quickly and for just a few dollars. You can make this DIY out of craft sticks. Use your sewing machine to turn an old handkerchief into a chic skirt. According to the tutorial, the skill level for this is “patient beginner.” Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, And Dessert Learn how to make all of these and more here. Your doll will surely need to do the dishes after all that food. You can find this tutorial here, and links to tutorials for other beach items (like a bikini, beach chair, and snorkel) here.