Pattern 14: The Apple Pie Ottoman from "Sew What You Love"

I first decided I wanted to learn how to sew about 6 years ago, motivated only by a strong desire to know how to make curtains and pillows for my house.  I am very passionate about decorating, and I was tired of paying lots of money for curtains at Pottery Barn that weren't very original.  I wanted to use the gorgeous fabrics I loved at "GDC Home", "Not Just Fabrics", and

"Aubergine Home Collection" (my go-to stores for home dec weight fabric) to make my own custom creations.  I really love decorative pillows on my couch and bed, and I love to change them out with the seasons.  The only way I could afford to do this was to learn to sew my own.  Needless to say, I became obsessed with sewing, and I love sewing clothes as much as I love to sew for my home.
I chose the "Apple Pie Ottoman" project from the book "Sew What You Love" to give me the opportunity to get to sew something for my house, something I haven't been able to do the entire summer.  I had tons of extra fabric from all the pillows and curtains I made a few months ago when decorating my living room.

I was hoping the "Apple Pie Ottoman" would be a cute way to use my scrap fabrics.  I always save my extra fabric thinking I will use them for making bags, zipper pouches, or maybe even a quilt if I ever decide to tackle such a project but most of my scraps just pile up unused. 

The "Apple Pie Ottoman" requires you to assemble an inner ottoman made out of muslin that you stuff.  Then, you make the exterior outer ottoman cover which acts as a slipcover that is placed over the inner stuffed ottoman.  Here is how it turned out.

Just like the other two projects in this book, this was very easy to make, and I love how it turned out.  The directions were very clear to follow and cutting out the fabric was easy.  I really love how the inner stuffed ottoman can be used over and over again, and I can change out the exterior slipcover any time my mood changes when I want to use different fabric! 

 The only difficulty I had with this project was trying to place the exterior ottoman slipcover over the stuffed ottoman.  I stuffed the ottoman with polyfil as instructed, but I really wanted mine to be full so I think I overstuffed which made it more difficult to place the slipcover over it.  Besides that, this project was fun and simple! 

I wasn't really sure what I would do with the ottoman but after perusing some of my decorating magazines, I came up with lots of options.  Many family rooms have these stuffed ottomans for children to sit and play on when watching television.  The ottoman would be perfect for a kid's room and would make a great birthday gift.  You can also use it as a foot rest (obviously) but I loved how people use them to place books on (like a little comfy coffee table).  I decided to do that in a small corner of my living room I call the reading nook. 

This project is perfect for beginners, and I am sure you could easily alter the pattern to make a larger ottoman if you prefer. 

For Pattern 15, I am going to sew one of the bag projects in this book, and then I promise I'll move on and start using other books and patterns.  I'm having so much fun with these projects, and this book has truly made me Sew Happy!