PB Knock Off Bean Bags

 I know - that picture above does not look like a bean bag!  Currently, I'm surrounded by tissue paper as I make a bazillion pom poms.    So, while I'm doing that, I thought I'd share an oldie but definitely a goodie.

 Three Christmases ago, I made the kiddos bean bags.  M. was just a little little baby, but I didn't want her to feel left out when she got older, so I made her one.  It used to dwarf her, sigh.  We have used the bean bags SO much.  They get kicked all around the home.  Sometimes they are in the kids' bedrooms, sometimes they are in front of the TV, most of the time they are in the play room. . . . .

 I used a pattern - that part was easy.  I needed a lot of fabric and wanted a bean bag that would look good in any room of my home and not scream "kids live here."  I found cheap tan corduroy and bought it up.  Piping can get expensive, but I purchased this black and white trim on ebay - I still have about 30 yards, I think.  It was WAY cheap buying it this way.

The monogram was as simple as ironing on their letter and stitching around the edges.  The toughest part was the filling.  We used shredded foam and had that shipped.  The trouble was that they ship it by the pound and I had no clue how I was going to estimate how many pounds I was going to need.  I started ordering 15 pounds - and used that all in the first bean bag.  Also, foam has a lot of static electricity!  It was a mess filling these up.  Eventually, my husband got out our leaf blower and reversed it and filled up the bags that way.  He put on his boots and rubber gloves and even then, there were sparks a-flying.  It was kind of dangerous, but it did go much faster!

Usually we stack them up - and that is just as much fun as plopping on them!  If I had to do it again, I would have double stitched each seam.  I've mended many holes - I've also caught my kiddos jumping from their bed and landing on these; trying to slide them down the stairs; "steam roller-ing" each other with them; doing belly flops on them - you get the idea. 

I know bean bags are typically ugly, but I'm really pleased with how these look and how much we use them!  Do you have bean bags around?