Make a Groovy Beanbag Chair! (That’s super easy, super cheap, environmentally friendly, and would make a great gift!)

If you are like me, you’ve been making a lot of online purchases lately. If you are even more like me, a lot of those purchases have arrived in boxes with a return address from Middleton, Wisconsin. 🙂

As much as I love getting mail, I cringe when I open the box and it looks like this:

As excited as I am about my purchase, how many sea turtles am I going to kill because of these packing peanuts? I decided to come up with a little project that will recycle these packing peanuts! I made some beanbag chairs for Julie and Ivy, the perfect piece of 70s furniture. They even tap into Julie’s interest in environmentalism by using these recycled materials. They also cost almost nothing, so if you need a budget-friendly gift for a fellow doll lover, this is a great project for you!

Please enjoy the pattern and directions below, and let me know if this works for you!

1. Download and print pattern piece here: beanbag-chair-pattern. (Note: I am happy with how mine turned out, but they are kind of small. If you would like a bigger chair, consider cutting your fabric 1/2 an inch bigger on all sides–including the length–than the piece I provided)
2. Cut 5. A fat quarter will give you just enough fabric if you lay it out just right!
3. Right sides together, sew two of the pieces using a 1/4 inch seam:

4. It will look like this:

5. Continue doing this with each piece, making a sphere, trying to align the top and bottom into neat points as much as possible:

6. When all 5 pieces are sewn together it should look like this when turned right side out (kind of like a beachball):

7. Still with right sides together, sew the last seam completing the sphere, but this time leave a small opening:

8. Turn right side out through the opening.

9. I chose to cut my packing peanuts into smaller pieces. That might depend on what kind of peanuts you are using. The ones pictured are the ones that American Girl uses. (Edit: turns out American Girl uses biodegradable peanuts. They might not be the best choice for this project. There are plenty of other types out there, though, that would be ideal. Check to see if they are biodegradable by running them under water. Thanks for the tip, Flo!)

10. Fill to the desired amount of fullness and hand sew the opening shut. You are done!

 

Julie and Ivy are thrilled to have a comfy spot to sit and drink hot cider!