Inspiration: Modern Tuffet

We’ve been smitten by the tuffets everyone is whipping out these days, and so we decided to make a couple for ourselves.  We used the pattern and all of the finishing supplies from the Tuffet Source, because we thought we may actually finish this project if we did.  Then we gathered up some of our favorite fabrics and got to work.  Looking online, there are many examples of these little beauties, and it is helpful in planning for the desired look.  We wanted something that looked a little less planned and more randomly placed than many of the ones we saw– it’s kind of the same idea as tossing your spring bulbs and then planting them where they fall.  You know, like it kind of just happened that way?  

The first thing is to cut out strips of all the contenders.  Then they are sewn to a muslin foundation along printed lines, trimmed, and pressed.  It’s a lot like paper piecing and was really pretty fun to see it take form.

Here are all of the sections ready to be sewn together. Even thought they were pressed to death, they seemed a little puckery at this stage–probably because you are basically sewing a straight piece along a curved line.

And this is the inside-out view.  The first few sections were pretty easy to assemble, but they get rather bulky toward the end. 

The sewing is all done and now it’s time to look for a really strong pair of hands to help finish this project.

That center crater point is where the button will eventually go for a strong finish.

When the fabric part is pulled over the rounded foam base, all the puckers and bunches smooth out for a great look.  The pulling part, stapling, and sewing the button in place took a lot of hand strength.  This is where we had to say, “Honey, a little help?”

We do love how it turned out.  It’s the perfect size for little ones to sit and feel special.  It’s a nice pop of color and a great conversation piece.  “Oh, that little thing?  Of course I made it!”  This tuffet belongs in Diane’s house.  Audrey is currently working on hers, which is similar, but in a different color scheme.  We’ll show you that one once it’s finished!