finished: rollie pollie bean bag chair

rollie pollie bean bag chair

The Rollie Pollie bean bag chair that I started sewing at the craft retreat is finished! Here are all of the nitty gritty details:

I used the tutorial from Dana posted on the So You Think You’re Crafty site. Dana has a pattern available for sale on her website. You don’t need the pattern, but I saw a copy at the retreat and it’s very comprehensive.

I only enlarged and printed a quarter of the pattern to save paper and ink. I folded my lining fabric in quarters, traced and cut. Then I used the lining pieces as my pattern for the cover fabric.

rollie pollie bean bag chair

Dana recommends sewing the seam and then going back and adding a serged seam for durability. I couldn’t think of a reason to finish the raw edges, so I just sewed a double seam: one at 1/2 inch and one at 1/4 inch from the edge.

I was planning on adding the handle, but as I was sewing up the cover, my daughter lifted the bag up over her head and carried it to her bedroom, so I skipped it.

The fabric and zipper were thrifted. The outside is upholstery fabric and the lining is cotton muslin.

The stuffing is new. I had been looking for a thrifted bean bag on craigslist and they were all pretty grungy. Then I read that even Goodwill doesn’t accept beanbags, so I decided repurposed stuffing wasn’t going to happen. I wound up buying two bags of bean bag pellets from here. Shipping is almost as expensive as the pellets, but I bought a few other things on my gift list and got free shipping. (The have a nice selection of Melissa and Doug items.)

When I started this project, I didn’t realize it would be so expensive. I also had no idea that bean bags were so pricey! I’m glad I made the large size so my daughter can get lots of use out of it. It currently resides in her “reading corner” next to her basket of library books. It was a fun project and has brought my daughter a lot of joy. I definitely give it two thumbs up!

7 Replies to “finished: rollie pollie bean bag chair”

  1. What a great looking chair. My daughter made one for her brother several years ago and she found the same thing – not cheap but they still have the chair so it was worth it. I’m sure your daughter will enjoy it for many years to come.

  2. Hi Jul,

    Your beanbag is great. Just purchased two
    from Pottery Barn and yours look the same
    except we had the names put on. Can you
    do that too? You should advertise. We paid
    $100 plus $25 shipping for each.
    Have a great Christmas. Kathy

  3. I started with a 10″ circle for the top, but am second-guessing myself. Might I inquire, how much did you enlarge the pattern?

  4. *grin* Not to answer myself, but I decided after figuring the circumference to bump up my pattern pieces — I went with a 15″ and 20″ top circle and adjusted my pattern pieces accordingly. Thanks for the tip on folding the fabric and using a quarter pattern! I work with Corel Draw and it was fairly simple to draft the pattern. I’m making up a trial rollie pollie this week to see if my figuring will work! Love your 2-tone bag!

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