We have the perfect weekend project for your little DIYer’s playroom — woven floor poufs! Remember when we brought you a month of DIY and introduced you to weaving? Well, we’re taking it to the next level and weaving a whole floor pouf using… you’ll never guess… a winter sled! This project will definitely take some time to make, but your little one can step in for some time if your fingers get tired. Just make sure to follow the over/under pattern and don’t pull the strings too tight! (Keep reading to find out below what will happen…)
– fiber fill
– string
Tools:
– saucer sled
– scissors
– duct tape
Instructions:
1. Tape the string to the back of the saucer sled. Wrap around and tape the string down again. Pivot the saucer ever so slightly and wrap and tape again. You will wrap 32 times to create your loom. On your last wrap, only go half way to the center of the sled and tie it off. This will give you a loom with 33 strings.
2. Cut a bunch of one-inch pieces of your jersey material. Stretch them out to become string.
3. Tie the first jersey string to the center of the loom and start to weave. Over, under, over, under. Make sure to let the string have a normal tension — if you pull too tight, your pouf will pucker.
4. When you’re finished with your first color, tie on your next color and keep weaving.
5. Once you’ve reached the edge of the loom, tie your jersey thread to the loom strings. Then cut the loom strings and tie into pairs.
6. Now repeat steps 1-5 to create the other half of your floor pouf!
7. Grab your two halves and make sure the knotty side is facing inward. Tie the white loom strings from one side to the white loom strings of the other side. This will bring your pouf together. Leave about three loom strings untied so you have room to stuff.
8. Stuff with fiber fill. Stuff as much as you can to get your pouf shape. Then tie the last strings together.
9. Grab three of your leftover jersey strings and weave them into the joining section of the pouf. Create a braid to bind the two halves together.
Yes, that is a sled.
We used about 3.5 combined yards of jersey fabric. Cut your favorite colors into one-inch strips. Pull at the fabric to create string.
A couple people in the office stopped to ask me what a saucer sled was; shame on them. Tape the string to the back of the sled and wrap around to create a loom. Wrap it around 32 times then tie it to the back. A circle loom won’t work unless it has an odd number of strings, so you’ll need to tie another piece to the front where all the strings meet, then tie to the back and tape down.
Use the duct tape to secure the loom in place.
Time to start weaving! I hope you remember how from the #31daysofDIY. Over, under, over, under, etc. Make sure to not pull the strings too tight. You will want the fabric to be woven at its own tension.
Tie the next color to the end of the string. Continue weaving like nothing ever happened.
Just keep weaving.
Weave until you’ve reached the outer edge of the sled.
Tie your last piece to the string on the loom. You are now almost done with one side of the pouf, and you’ll need to repeat the steps above to make the other half.
Cut the loom strings and double knot into pairs.
Tada! Two halves to your floor poof.
Tie the loom strings to each other to start forming your spherical shape. Make sure the knotted side of the weaving is facing inward.
Stuff with as much fiber fill as you can. You will want your pouf to be nice and dense.
Finish tying the loom strings together and then cut all unnecessary pieces.
Your pouf will be attached together, but the middle seam is very fragile. We added a fishtail braid to really secure the pouf together. Slide three jersey strips into the pouf and start to braid. Weave the braid into the woven section every so often to make sure it’s attached.
Your very own woven floor pouf! TBH – this floor pouf went through a lot. When weaving, I pulled the strings too tight so it made the pouf more pointy and it looked like a large easter egg! We left the pouf under a piece of wood with weights on the top and it flattened out into a solid sphere shape. Learn from my mistakes, but if you don’t it can be fixed ;)
Floor poufs are the perfect seat for a day of coloring.
They are also the perfect toy for playing with when you are finished with coloring.
When you’re four, it’s perfectly okay for a floor pouf to be your dance partner.
A special thanks to Henley for her amazing morning of floor-pouf modeling.
