How to make a bag-chair with your own hands, a detailed master class
In recent decades, frameless furniture has gained popularity due to its light weight, ability to maintain body heat, ergonomics and benefits for the spine. Another feature of this solution for the interior was the simplicity of its manufacture. Even inexperienced in tailoring can do this. If you choose the right materials and filler, you can make a chair bag with your own hands in one day. Such an experiment will reward the owner with several bonuses at once: a new design object will appear in the house, the problem with a comfortable sitting position will be solved, the owner will gain experience and a feeling of satisfaction from the useful thing created by himself.
Content
Design and shape choices
Creative people who value comfort and individuality have come up with many design options for making a do-it-yourself bean bag chair. For example, there is an original solution when a soft chair is sewn in the form of an open glove, where the seat is the palm, and the role of the backrest is performed by 5 fingers. But the leaders of the frameless seats are four forms:
- Pear - maximally reproduces the classic configuration options for upholstered furniture. The pear chair consists of 6 side elements resembling this fruit in shape, and two more details - for the base and the upper part with a hexagon outline. This model allows you to comfortably lean back in the chair, having good support for the head.
- The ball is the most sought after by young men, sports fans. A child’s bag-chair for a boy can have the same shape, which is easy to do with your own hands from black and white pentagons sewn together. If you choose leather substitute as an external cover, then a soft ottoman will look like a great football attribute. Basketball enthusiasts build a seat out of two semicircular orange spheres with a dark stripe. Moreover, fans can decorate their accessory with stickers or embroidery with the name of the team.
- A drop is an option similar to a pear chair, but it looks more futuristic. The side walls can be made of four or six parts resembling a drop, but with a flat base. The bottom, respectively, is made in the form of a square or hexagon. Due to the absence of the upper part (cover), the back of the soft chair looks like a cone, which is easy to hold on to and move the seat to another place.
- Oval is the last of the classic fashionable solutions that factory designers offer. This chair is a bit like a bed, as it can be positioned in any position, even lying on your back. The shape corresponds to the name and consists of two large oval parts.A wide ribbon is sewn between them, which adjusts the selected height for the pouffe chair.
The configuration of a frameless chair can be fancy (in the form of an open flower, crown or a funny animal - a penguin or a kangaroo), but the most important criterion will be the convenience of the use process. On a soft seat there should not be hard folds, buttons or decorative elements that will create discomfort.
Materials and Tools
To sew a chair bag yourself, you need to decide on the choice of materials and filler. In addition, you will have to pick up durable threads, as well as decide which fastener is suitable for easy removal of the cover.
Material for external cladding | Material for inner case | Filler | Clasp |
natural, synthetic, fur, leatherette. | cotton, synthetics. | polystyrene foam, foam rubber or synthetic winterizer, legumes or buckwheat, old things. | zipper, buttons, rivets, Velcro. |
An external cover for a chair bag with your own hands is better to sew from a practical material. After all, he will be subjected to regular pressure of body weight and often come in contact with clothing. For this, it is necessary to make two covers. The top must be wear-resistant so that it can be washed and cleaned without compromising internal filling. In addition, the material should not fade, stretch, shed, or sit when washing. You can determine how much fabric you need according to the drawing after choosing a configuration. The inner cover is usually sewn from cotton or cheaper, but more durable synthetics, since its function is to hold its shape securely. An ideal option would be water-repellent polyester.
The most common filler is polystyrene foam (polystyrene balls), which has extraordinary lightness, which allows stitching a ottoman with a small mass for a small child. The kid will be able to rearrange such furniture independently. A more budgetary option would be foam rubber or old things that can be cut into flaps. The cleanest option, from an environmental point of view, is filling with legumes (peas, beans) or buckwheat. Small round seeds perfectly adapt to the shape of the body, but such furniture will be much heavier and tougher.
Filling a chair with polystyrene foam balls, it should be borne in mind that over time this filler is crushed, so it will need to be added periodically. The service life of expanded polystyrene depends on its density.
Work sequence
For the successful completion of the project to create a ottoman bag with your own hands, a sequence of actions is important, which is almost the same for any form. Pattern on a chair-ball or a drop differs only in the size and configuration of parts. For an example, a step-by-step instruction of a chair with their own hands will be described, which will reveal the process of manufacturing a pear-shaped variant.
Preparation of materials and tools:
- selection of the pattern of the chair-pear of the optimal size (maximum XL);
- sewing machine, scissors, threads, matching the color of the fabric of the upper cover;
- work surface for cutting (large table or part of the floor without carpet);
- ruler, pencil, graph paper, compasses, to get a pattern with dimensions;
- two types of fabric with a width of at least 150 cm, the density of matter should be average so that the machine can sew 2-3 layers at the same time;
- zipper in color of fabric with a length of at least 0.5 m;
- filler.
The list and number of tools and materials may vary depending on the selected product model.
Cutting out the details
For experienced craftsmen who often sew, the pattern for the bean bag chair can be done immediately on the material. The most economical option is the use of fabrics 1.5 m wide and 3 m long.On this area 6 wedges freely fit, which will be the sides of the furniture and two hexagons (bottom and top).
The dimensions of the parts will be as follows:
- the small upper hexagon has the same sides of all the ribs - 20 cm each;
- large lower - equal sides of 40 cm;
- each side wedge has a height of 130 cm, the upper and lower platforms - respectively 20 and 40 cm (coincide with the faces of the hexagons), in the widest place the width should be 50 cm.
Beginners will need step-by-step instructions and a pattern for a bean bag on graph paper.
The layout of parts on the canvases, where the fabric height is 1.5 m and the width is 3 m, is as follows:
- starting from the upper right corner, 2 wedges are laid out successively on the fabric (bottom right, top left), the first block is completed by a small hexagon;
- the next strip also consists of two wedges, but they are upside down (top right, bottom left), the second block is completed by half of the large hexagon, which is divided into equal parts with an acute angle at the top;
- in the last row, the side parts are laid out similarly to the first, at the end the second half of the hexagon is placed.
When drawing the constituent elements on the material, a 1.5 cm allowance at the seams around each part is mandatory. If the fabric is dark, then the drawing is convenient to draw with a thin bar of soap. When using pencils or markers, it is important to remember that a bright color can be seen on the outer cover of light fabric.
Tailoring
A sewing machine will allow you to sew the chair bag according to the pattern as accurately as possible. Manual seam is very laborious and can look good only with real craftsmen. In order to make working with covers convenient, it is important to follow the sequence of connecting parts. In this case, a detailed pattern with the correct dimensions will be indispensable.
The work consists of the following steps:
- First, two parts of the large hexagon are connected. It is important to sew the halves so that the total length is 40 cm, as well as equal to the other sides.
- 6 lateral faces are sequentially stitched without connecting the extreme sides.
- Top and bottom are attached large and small hexagons.
- Zipper is sewn into the open side wedges, which will allow you to remove the top cover or open the inner one to fill the pouf. The insertion of the lock requires a lot of attention, since its ends should be hidden inside the cover.
It is best for beginner needlewomen to start working with the lower shell in order to take into account possible errors and not to repeat them on the outside.
Stuffing
If the pear chair, hand-sewn, is ready for filling, then the stuffing process will depend on the material selected. In the case of choosing lightweight polystyrene foam, soft chair bags will require at least 450 liters of raw materials, as they are designed for a maximum size of XL. When filling the puff-bag with foam granules, you will have to be very careful, since weightless balls often scatter.
To avoid unnecessary debris, it is better to connect the neck of the bag with bulk contents and the hole in the inner case, which should fit snugly on the package. It is also recommended that the fabric be sprayed with water to reduce the electrostatics of the foam. The best solution would be to stuff the four-hand filler.
The same method of connecting containers is suitable for bulk biological bases (legumes and buckwheat). When using old things, they are not just cut into small flaps, but they also use the method of laying in layers so that the lumps do not puff up on the sides and do not protrude under the cover by irregularities. The most comfortable simple filler is a synthetic winterizer, as it has a light weight and stacks in even layers.
Dressing
If you managed to sew a chair bag, then it is important to pay attention not only to convenience, but also to the aesthetic part of the new interior item. A do-it-yourself bag at home can be made a real designer art object. For example, if old jeans are chosen as an external protection, then in addition to native pockets, you can sew a few extra ones from bright fabrics.
A simple way to sew a pouf-pear and make it an individual personal gift is to put a “photo print” of a family member on the back of a plain chair and make each tenant their own ottoman-bag with their own hands.
For bourgeois oval large empire style pillows made of plush or velvet, adding luxurious fringe is appropriate. Colorful pastel armchairs with a link to Provence are perfect for bows and ruffles. For a children's frameless product, you can sew a “cognitive” case with multi-colored letters of the alphabet and numbers. The preschooler will visually memorize characters, which will facilitate the learning process.
Operation tips
Care for frameless furniture is simple. A cushion chair filled with polystyrene foam may decrease in volume over time, as the foam filling will gradually lose air due to the load. The problem is solved by simple padding. Frameless furniture filled with bulk materials is best placed away from heating appliances, and also should not be kept in the sun for a long time, as due to the gradual evaporation of moisture, the filling will decrease in volume and the contours will deform.
If it is decided to sew a chair bag for children as a comfortable high chair, it is important to wash the outer cover correctly, especially if it is multi-colored. For regular cleaning of the surface, you can use special wet wipes. As a means of washing, gentle substances without chlorine are used, preferably a liquid consistency.
A variety of options and shapes of the chair-bag will be able to make comfort and mood in everyday life. Fans of new experiences just need to sew several external covers on one pouf and change them to suit your mood. Frameless furniture is a great way to decorate an interior.
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