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You are here: Home / DIY Upcycling / How To Make A Stylish DIY Floor Pouf

How To Make A Stylish DIY Floor Pouf

14th March 2018 by Claire Armstrong 36 Comments

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Make A Velvet DIY Floor Pouf From A Cable Stool

I knew when I rescued a small cable spool out of the skip (dumpster) I would be able to transfer it into something special one day. It may have taken me 18months to get round to it but I used it to make a stylish DIY floor pouf for my home.

Recently, I had new velvet curtains made for my lounge. And it was the fabric remnants that gave me the idea to use them to make a floor pouf. The velvet fabric was so gorgeous and luxurious I just had to use it. It is an ombre velvet in Papaya/Raspberry/Loganberry by Harlequin called Amazilia.

I’m also a fan of the current trend of metallic touches in home interiors. To enhance to the luxuriousness of the velvet I added a metallic gold band to my DIY floor pouf.

The floor pouf was relatively easy to make, very affordable and looks great in my home. The kids love it too as it’s on casters so they can whizz around on the wooden floors with it. Luckily the cover is removable so easy to wash if they cause any damage.

Velvet DIY floor pouf

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What You Need To Make A DIY Floor Pouf

  • Small wooden cable spool – I found mine in a skip (dumpster). But I’m sure if you ask your local friendly builder they will happily pass one on to you as like pallets they tend to just end up in the skip.
  • Dense upholstery foam at least 2 inches in thickness
  • Quilt wadding/batting
  • Duck tape
  • Velvet fabric – I used Harlequin Amazilla
  • Iron on mettalic gold vinyl
  • Iron on hem
  • 4 Swivel plate casters

what you need to make a DIY pouf

How to make a DIY floor pouf from a cable spool

    1. The first thing to do is to screw the casters to the bottom of the cable spool. Even though I had four casters I only used three in the end as this seemed more than enough.

      Screwing on casters to pouf

    1. So that your ottoman/pouf is nice a soft, the next thing to do is cover it upholstery foam. Cut a dense piece of foam to fit the top and glue it down. Next secure foam around the edge of the cable spool. I used a mixture of glue and duck tape to hold it in place. Finish off the padding by covering the whole thing in some quilt batting.

      Covering cable spool with upholstery foam.

    1. Now all you need to do is make the velvet slipcover. Measure the radius of the top of the ottoman. Then using a pen and a piece of string the length of the radius plus 1cm for a hem allowance, draw a circle onto the back of the velvet fabric. Then cut the fabric around this line.

      (As I was using velvet remnants I didn’t have one piece big enough for the top so had to sew 2 pieces together first.)

    1. Next measure the height of the floor pouf and the circumference. Cut a piece of velvet to these dimensions allowing for a seam allowance for both the top and for a hem at bottom of the fabric.
    1. Pin the side piece to the round top right sides together and stitch together. Then pin the open sides and stitch them closed. You should now have a velvet slipcover for the ottoman. Before going any further turn the cover right sides out and test that it fits. Don’t worry if its a bit long as the next thing to do is to hem it.

velvet slipcover

    1. I cheated and used a fusible webbing and an iron to hem the velvet slipcover to the right length. You can sew the hem if you prefer but I feel the ironed hem is neater.

      ironing hem

    1. Finally to finish off the DIY floor pouf and to give it a bit of stylish glamour add some gold vinyl. Firstly, cut the ironable gold vinyl with a rotary cutter into a stip about 2 inches wide and as long the circumference.

      The sheet of vinyl will probably not be long enough to go fully around the ottoman you will probably need 2 strips to make the full length.

Cutting iron on vinyl

  1. Iron the gold vinyl strip to the bottom of the velvet slipcover, according to the instructions that came with the vinyl.

Velvet DIY floor pouf

Even with the gold vinyl strip the velvet slip cover for the DIY floor pouf is washable at a cool temperature. The foam I used on the top of the ottoman was so dense it’s firm enough to also act as a side table. Like most poufs this is a really versitle extra piece of furniture, it can be used as extra seating, a foot stool and table.

Velvet DIY floor pouf

DIY floor pouf from a cable spool.

This isn’t the first ottoman/pouf I made, last year I made a rustic nifty denim DIY ottoman, which was an IKEA hack.   I have a tutorial on how to reupholster a footstool with a tea towel.

Also there are more ideas for ottomans/poufs on DIYideacenter.com.

Velvet DIY floor pouf


Filed Under: DIY Upcycling Tagged With: cable spool, floor pouf, gold vinyl, ottoman, pouf, slip cover, velvet

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosie (@greenrosielife)

    6th May 2018 at 4:22 pm

    I love your creative ideas and I bet whoever used the wire wrapped around that cable spool had NO IDEA what it would end up becoming! Thank you for adding this post to #GoingGreen and apologies for my tardiness in visiting. The next linky opens tomorrow (May 7th) so hope to see you there again 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th May 2018 at 5:34 am

      Thank you, Rosie. I’ll be sure to visit.

      Reply
  2. Ivory

    14th April 2018 at 3:40 am

    I love your pouffe. You did a fabulous job transferring a cable spool. I love, love, love it.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th April 2018 at 6:06 am

      Ahh, thank you so much Ivory ?

      Reply
  3. Kids of the Wild

    6th April 2018 at 8:15 pm

    Innovative use of an old cable spool, love it #GoingGreen

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      6th April 2018 at 9:04 pm

      Thank you so much ?

      Reply
  4. karen reekie

    4th April 2018 at 4:15 pm

    This looks really fab. Love the colour of the material too. Well done. Very clever!

    #goinggreen

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      4th April 2018 at 6:30 pm

      Thank you so much, I do like the fabric.

      Reply
  5. Mary Middleton | hellopeagreen

    26th March 2018 at 11:38 am

    I’m so didn’t expect a cable spool to be the heart of that pouffe. Well done Claire.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      26th March 2018 at 1:22 pm

      Thank you so much, Mary.

      Reply
  6. Nicola Capper

    25th March 2018 at 7:53 am

    Wow, what a transformation and the fabric is gorgeous!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      25th March 2018 at 5:26 pm

      Thank you so much, Nicola.

      Reply
  7. Stacey Sheppard

    24th March 2018 at 10:45 pm

    When I first saw the photo I would never have imagined it was made from a cable spool. How inventive.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      24th March 2018 at 10:55 pm

      Thank you, Stacey. Cable spools are the perfect shape.

      Reply
  8. Pati

    24th March 2018 at 8:23 pm

    Oh wow hun you are so talented your pouffe looks like a milion dollars

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      24th March 2018 at 10:11 pm

      Ahh, thank you that’s very kind of you.

      Reply
  9. Tamsin Allen

    24th March 2018 at 4:25 pm

    Amazing to turn something so ordinary into something so glam!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      24th March 2018 at 4:32 pm

      Ahh, thank you so much.

      Reply
  10. Brenda Young @ Unique Junktique

    21st March 2018 at 2:53 pm

    Oh my that fabric, I just love it. What a creative use for that spool, and I just tore mine up to make a simple clock…. thanks for sharing your project at #fridaysfurniturefix!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      21st March 2018 at 4:50 pm

      Thank you, Brenda. I do love the fabric it is lovely and soft too

      Reply
  11. Julie

    20th March 2018 at 11:18 pm

    This is beautiful, what lovely fabric. A foot stall/seat/table is such a useful bit of furniture isn’t it.
    I have visions of the kids lying on this on their bellies and sliding across the floor (I know that’s what mine would have done given half a chance!)

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      21st March 2018 at 6:54 am

      Thank you, Julie. Yes on their tums down the long hallway, scrapping the walls as they go. The thing is they are not little kids anymore but big gangly giants.

      Reply
  12. Carolann

    20th March 2018 at 12:28 pm

    I love the color and fabric. What a wonderful and creative project!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      20th March 2018 at 1:38 pm

      Thank you, the fabric is gorgeous!

      Reply
  13. Seren

    19th March 2018 at 2:17 pm

    This floor pout looks so comfy and adorable. Luckily I have all the essentials required for making it. I will give it a try.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      19th March 2018 at 4:35 pm

      Thank you, Seren and good luck with it.

      Reply
  14. Jackie

    18th March 2018 at 2:45 pm

    Toby doesn’t look very amused!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      18th March 2018 at 3:13 pm

      Toby never looks amused, that is actually his happy face.

      Reply
  15. Michelle Leslie

    18th March 2018 at 5:54 am

    That fabric is gorgeous Claire. It makes the pouf look so dramatic, like something you’d see in a sheikh’s palace. I’m thinking the Queen’s bedroom perhaps. Love the idea of using a cable spool to make the frame for the pouf too.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      18th March 2018 at 7:07 am

      Thank you, Michelle. The cable spool did make it easy and the fabric has a lovely feel to it as well.

      Reply
  16. Marissa | Squirrels of a Feather

    15th March 2018 at 1:42 am

    Wow, so resourceful! I feel like you can never have enough poufs, right? Love the color.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      15th March 2018 at 7:08 am

      Thank you, Marissa. I agree with the poufs, I currently have 3 and that all get used. I’m working on one pouf per mamber of family, 2 more to go !

      Reply
  17. Karen

    14th March 2018 at 8:50 pm

    Can’t believe you found it in a skip! So brilliant that you’ve been able to make it into something 🙂 Great job.

    #HomeEtc

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      15th March 2018 at 7:04 am

      Thank you, Karen. It’s amazing what you can find in skips.

      Reply
  18. Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled

    14th March 2018 at 12:42 pm

    Great idea! I love floor poufs and have wanted to make some for a while but I’m slightly intimidated. Yours is a great hack. Love the gold trim.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th March 2018 at 1:39 pm

      Thank you, Victoria. It was relatively easy to make, the cable spool provides a great base.

      Reply

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