Pool Noodle Ottoman

8 Materials
$55
2 Hours
Medium

Make this cute pouf out of dollar store pool noodles!

I loved making this ottoman. It's quite large, 15-inches tall x 20-inches wide, and quite sturdy. Of course, you can make a smaller one to fit your needs and space.


I bought one yard of this beautiful faux fur, just because I liked it, and stored it away for a year before I decided to put it to good use as a fancy cover for this ottoman!


If you have some awesome faux fur, cozy fabric, or even an old fleece throw, and you're looking for a great way to use it, check out my how-tos below.

How To Make A Pool Noodle Ottoman


To get started you'll need about 15-20 pool noodles depending on how big you want to make your ottoman and how tall. This is also a great way to use pool noodles that you have leftover at the end of summer!


I used scissors and cut each noodle into 15-inches pieces. I was able to get three 15-inch pieces from one Dollar Tree pool noodle.


Note: If you're making a pouf for a small child's reading nook or a toddler's bedroom, you might want to cut your pool noodles much shorter. This will also cut down on the number needed!

Next use string or something to tie a grouping of six or seven together. This will be the start of your base.


Use clear packing tape to tape the sides at the top, middle and bottom as shown above. Then you can remove the string.

Next, repeat the process and tape two or three noodles onto the base at a time to build up your ottoman to a nice round shape.


This is how mine looked nearly finished.


I used a lot of packing tape which does make a scrunchy sound. We use this as an extra seat and footrest all the time, and no one in our house seems to mind.

Once you have the structure complete, hot glue batting around the pouf and on the top. Use a low setting on your hot glue gun if possible since you are gluing foam that melts.


There's no right or wrong way to do this. I folded the upholstery batting in half first. I hot glued both layers together and then I glued that to the sides of my pouf.


I also added two layers to the top. I ran out of batting but if you have extra, add more to the top. You can't have too much cushion there!

Tips for Sewing A Faux Fur Cover


  1. Cut your fur fabric using the shape of your pouf as a guide. Leave at least an inch or two-seam allowance and 3 or more inches extra in length so the fur can tuck underneath the bottom. See the picture below for more on this.
  2. Make sure the grain of the fur on the sides goes downward, toward the floor.
  3. Work with your fabric wrong sides together when sewing. Because I only had one yard of fur fabric I had to cut two pieces for the side (which meant two side seams). I sewed the side pieces together first then I sewed on the top.
  4. I didn't use a special presser foot. I used my sewing machine's standard presser foot and just set it to a wide stitch.
  5. You can use pins and clips to hold pieces together but I found it easier just to sew slowly making sure I was sewing through both fabric layers as I went.
  6. Last, Faux fur is messy! To minimize the mess I recommend shaking each piece outside and even cutting outside if you can.

Above is a photo of the bottom of my Pool Noodle Ottoman. I had planned to use canvas fabric to cover the bottom but found that I really didn't need to. My fabric was stretchy and fit much like a tight slipcover that naturally tucked under the bottom.

For more on this project and other DIY ideas, visit  Craftidly.com

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  • Lil Haus Lil Haus on Jun 12, 2022

    OMgee!! SO simple and genius! I bought an EXPENSIVE leather ottoman poof cover from Amazon and spent another small fortune trying to stuff it with enough stuffing to make it firm!! 🙄

  • Priscilla Yamin Priscilla Yamin on Jun 23, 2022

    This is a great idea, items I have used before in poufs flattened over time.

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