Cable spool to upholstered stool

 Welcome to day 3 of Six Days of Spring! I'm sharing projects all week that take old things and bring them back to life, like today's tutorial on how to make an upholstered stool from a cable spool. Fabric is always a great way to bring a pop of color into a room, and an upholstered stool can be a great option. They're so flexible - you can use them as a foot stool or an extra seat in a pinch. So let's make one!

First you're going to need a spool. Since Mr. SCC is a Dish dude, I have easy access to more than I could ever use. If you can't get one, you can use two rounds, just give it more support in the center to make up for the center of the spool. Mine has a plastic core and wooden ends.

 First, we need to give it a little more strength. We added in several pieces of 1x2 by screwing through the top and bottom of the spool to sandwich the supports. He put them about every 8 inches.

Next, we took pieces of cardboard and covered up the sides, by attaching it with staples. See, we're recycling!

 Now for the squishy bits. I used chair pad foam, cutting it with an electric knife to fit the top.  Once cut, sit it aside.

I added a layer of quilt batting, first by wrapping it around the sides. I stapled it onto the top and bottom to keep it nice and secure.

 Next, I put the foam back in place, and put layers of batting over it. I stapled around the edge, then trimmed off the excess.

 Next, I made a muslin cover. I started by measuring the circumference of the stool, and about 10 inches to the height. First I pinned the side together and sewed it into a sleeve, making sure it fit nice and snug on the ottoman. It was a straight line stitch, simple and sweet.

Using the ottoman as a template, I cut a round for the top.

 Next, I stitched the the tube that I created to cover the sides to the top - think like a top hat.

 After it was all stitched up, I slipped it on the ottoman right side out.

 I took all the excess and stapled it to the bottom of the ottoman, making sure that the fabric was nice and tight all the way around.

Now let's start with the pretty fabric! I used a beautiful turquoise fabric from Fabric.com. I traced the top of the ottoman giving myself about a 1 inch seam allowance.

 Next, I measured the height and added about 4 inches, to make sure it would go under the bottom once finished. {We'll get to that in a minute.}

 Just like with the muslin, I measured around the width, pinned it together and stitched it into a tube.

 I pinned it together, using the stool as my guide, inserting cording as I pinned.

 Once it was all pinned together, I slipped it off and stitched it together.

 We're almost done!

I ironed a hem on the open end, turning it in 1/2 inch, then another 1/2 inch to create a small tube. I stitched a line really close to the top, leaving a 3 inch opening to feed the elastic through.

 I used elastic cording to hold it on when it was finished. First, pull the elastic tight around the stool to measure, then add 2 inches so you can finish it. Tie the cording to two safety pins, one to each end of the elastic. Pin one end to the hem in the fabric to keep it from slipping away, while you feed the second end through the hem. Once you have it through, tie it up with a secure knot. {Remember the old scout saying "Right over left, left over right, makes a knot that's nice and tight."}

 Then stitch up the opening you left for the elastic, and slip it onto the ottoman.

Now kick your feet up - you totally deserve it after all that work! It may look complicated, but I made the entire stool in under an hour. I'd say that's an hour very well spent!

 

*Fabric.com supplied the fabric for this project. This post contains affiliate links*

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