DIY MOROCCAN POUF

Ok guys this is long overdue but I am FINALLY getting the How To for the DIY Morroccan pouf up here. So sorry for the long wait to all of those asking for this! It is kind of long but I decided to err on the side of more information that too little.

So first let me say I have been wanting one of these for a while now. But the prices were  ABSURD.  I mean over $100?? Not happening. Then I set to scouring the internet for a good How-to for making one and COULD NOT find one. Seriously I searched. The only tutorials out there were for cheaper looking ones and simplified versions with only 8 panels. The whole point in making one for me was for it to look like the original (as much as possible) so I set about making one myself.

I went to my local Joann store and bought some fabric using 40% off (you can find coupons all of the time! I have the app on my phone). The total cost for this project was about $35.00 and it took about 8 hours total (over a couple of nights).

I decided on this gold fabric. It has a little more texture than the original but I liked that! They also had a really pretty faux leather that I almost bought but decided I would do gold first. I bought 2.5 yards to be safe and had some extra but not too much. I did have to re-cut a couple of things so this is what I would recommend.

Then I had to calculate measurements. I wanted mine similar to the original so 20" diameter and 14" height. Here are some PDFs of the cut guide for the ottoman. I created them so that they could be printed on normal printer sized paper so there are a couple of places you will need a bigger size.

**save image to your computer and then print**

The inner lines on the PDF are the actual size that your piece should be once it is sewn together. The outer lines will be the extra fabric  which just allows you the sewing room. I made them .5" but you could do less or more if you want. If you look at the second page of the PDF you will see that I wrote you need to add 3.5 inches to the bottom. It is being printed on 8.5x11" paper so it is not long enough. Your sides are 14" tall so add 3.5" and then the extra .5" for sewing- a total of 4" in length to your guide. For the bottom of the ottoman you will cut a 22" circle and then cut it in half. 

total cut pieces:

1 inner circle

16 top outer circle pieces

16 side pieces

1 large circle for bottom cut in half

There will be instructions on how to start cutting below.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

-2.5 yards of fabric. Any fabric will do. pleather, gold, silver, etc. I would just suggest NOT using a really flimsy and thin material.

-exacto knife (scissors will work it will just take longer).

-sewing machine

-18" zipper (it could be anywhere from 15-18 is my recommendation).

-optional: ribbon for the seams

-thread in the correct color. 

Disclaimer: I am not a professional seamstress! I really have just taught myself and probably don't do everything "correctly", but this worked for me. If anyone has any tips let me know and I can add to it.

STEP-by-STEP

1. Glue your cutting guide pieces to a sturdy material. I used cardboard. This is so that you can cut around it without ruining it. 

2. First you will cut out the top of the ottoman. Cut the 6" circle and then the surrounding pieces. I did this using an exacto knife and alternating the shape of the outer piece to save space on the material and have less waste. The material is upside down here because with my gold material it could get beat up if the exacto knife snagged it wrong so this was easier. Cut out 16 Pieces total.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos. I only had my iPhone and also took the photos at night.

Now do the same for the side pieces cutting 16 pieces. Then the bottom.

3. next you will start sewing the outer top pieces together. Place two pieces with the outside of the fabric facing each other. sew along one of the long sides .5" from the edge. Once that is complete unfold and grab another piece. Face that to one of the pieces and sew along the one long edge. Keep repeating until you have completed the circle. 

This is what it should look like when finished. 

4. The next step is sewing the 6" circle into the center. First take your outer circle and place face down. Now take your inner circle and pin to the outer with .5" give.  I had a little more than .5" extra for my circle because I think I must have sewed it or cut a little wrong somewhere and lost some inches. If that happens to you don't worry! nobody is going to measure it and it will still look great. Just make sure it is tight and so is the outer part because you don't want to be sewing and end up with a big bulge of extra fabric. Sew the circles together now. It is a little tricky just because of the awkward circle but it is possible! 

5. Now for the fun part... which for me was the trickiest. Begin sewing your side pieces to your top part. 

On your side pieces the top is a triangle point. I cut off the top of the triangle after a couple because it made it easier for me to sew (so i cut off the extra .5" from the cutting guide). You do not have to do this I just preferred it. 

First place your top part face up and take one of your side pieces and place face down. Sew along the short side (1.). Once you have sewn side one you will sew sides 2 together. 

It is very IMPORTANT to be careful and line up your seams. You want the seam between 1 and 2 to match with the seam on the top part. if you sew to far over the top seam or not far enough the tip of your triangle will not be in line with it and it will look wonky.

Here is what it should look like after your have completed one.

Repeat this step until all 16 side pieces are attached. Remember your pieces will overlap 1/2" because they still need to be sewn together.

It will not lay flat at this point.

6. Sew the sides together. This step is pretty simple. the only thing to watch out for is making sure that your seams match with the point of the top triangles. Again it will look wonky if they are not in line.

It should be looking similar to this at this point.

7. Now for sewing the bottom. I will admit I am NO expert at sewing zippers. Amateur hour over here for sure. So i simply googled it. Here is the tutorial I used, but there are a ton out there and I am sure any would work! For my first zipper EVER I think mine looks okay. So enough rambling. At this point simply use your two half circles and create a zipper! Once you have installed your zipper and you have one large circle you can attach it to your pouf. Pin the bottom of the pouf to the sides. At this point you want to really be careful about your pinning. You want to create a circle just the right size that you will not have fabric bunching because of extra side fabric or extra bottom fabric. The way to make sure this doesn't happen is to make sure both circumferences are the same. That is the reason you have that extra fabric so you can work with it and add or take away. I had to make my bottom circle smaller (as your can see there is a lot of extra fabric outside of my sewing line. More fabric in some places than others) so that it would be a smooth circle. Once it is pinned you can sew the circles together. Make sure your zipper is open enough that after you sew you can open it and turn it right side out. 

8. You are almost done! Turn it right side out and inspect it. At this point you can start stuffing your pouf. I had SO MUCH stuffing for my pouf. This isn't even near all of it... and let me tell you it was not enough! I think my pouf is really the never-ending pit. I would think it was full and then after a couple hours or days it would need more because it settled. It is still not as full as I want it, but i will get it there eventually. I used cut up batting, old materials, old towels, sheets, clothing, etc. You don't need to go buy stuffing- although you can- for this to work. 

 Once you have it stuffed you can zip it up and you are done!

** At this point if you would like you can add the decorative ribbon to the seams as in the original. I almost did but I decided I liked it as it was**

I LOVE it in my office. It adds so much to the space and it was not that expensive. You can see that it is not quite as taught as I would like it, but I will definitely be putting more stuffing in it.

I hope that made sense to everyone. If you have any questions feel free to message me or comment below!

Also our shop is featured on PS I ADORE YOU this week. Go check it out! Or check out our ETSY shop to see some of our fun new prints:)