You guys it was love at first site! I was killing some time in Pier 1 not too long ago while my daughter was across the road at a birthday party and I saw the most beautiful emerald stool in all the world! I mean I kinda let out an actual gasp!! That's how I respond to pretty home decor, not shiny shoes or jewelry, but a STOOL!!
So I didn't do much but drool over it for a few seconds, being nervous to flip the price tag over, already knowing it was going to be a bit too pricey for my budget, and sure enough...$169.95. Yikes and sadness all at once...I took a picture of it and shared it in my Instagram stories and thought nothing more of it. Then I started getting all these messages from you guys saying "you are gonna make that aren't you?"...so I thought to myself..."could I?"..."could I actually recreate this beauty on a budget?", so then you all got my head a spinning and here we are today with my DIY version! Today I'm sharing it for you guys to recreate it on your very own with a step by step guide. Hope you enjoy!
*You can also click here to see the full video tutorial on Instagram
What you will need:
Tube yarn, you can also buy at Michael's, buying it already made is the easy way to go, but if you want to make your own you can, see details below on the how to.
Stool legs, I ordered these ones on Amazon
Angled leg mounting plates
Piece of plywood measured and cut to the size you need
1" thick foam, you can buy at Walmart or Michael's
Batting
Wood Stain
Stain brush or paper towel
Screw driver
DIY tube yarn:
Fabric
Poly-Fil
Sewing machine
How to make your own tube yarn.
Step 1:
First thing you will do is lay your fabric down flat on the floor, you could use a large table as well (I used a chenille throw blanket I found at the thrift store for $3) Decide how long you will need your pieces to be. I realized after doing mine that I needed them longer than the simple measurement of my plywood! I didn't account for the ups and downs of the basket weaving part after they are stuffed which takes a lot of the length away. I added a long row of Poly-fil from one top of the fabric all the way down to the other end, being sure the poly is along the edge. I would add more than you think you will need. I found out afterwards that some of my tubes were not filled enough and seemed a bit lumpy in spots, so try to make it as even as possible.
Step 2:
I rolled over the fabric and then used little fabric pins to hold the material down in place. I then cut about 1" away from the Poly-fil all the way down.
Step 3:
I then took my tube and sewed along where I have my push pins in place. I am no expert sewer as it shows here. A real sewer would pre-make all the tubes inside out and then flip them over with a clean finished seam and then stuff them all with the Poly-fil, but I wanted an easy DIY way that most people could figure out. To me it doesn't matter that the seam is unfinished looking because this will be facing down onto the plywood, and I felt way too lazy to stuff any skinny tubes time after time, so to me having to sew the tubes with the Poly already in them was the easiest thing. If you don't have a sewing machine, you could also you fabric glue.
And after your sew your ends shut, there you will have your own DIY tube yarn!
How to Make your own Stool:
Step 1:
Measure and cut your plywood to your desired size. We used our jigsaw to make our cuts. You could also ask the handy fellow at Home Depot or wherever you purchase your plywood to cut your wood for you.
Step 2:
Lay a 1 inch thick piece of foam cut to fit 2" within the edges of the plywood. You want to leave a bit of room from the edge for a rounded soft edge for your tube yarn to wrap around. I applied a bit of hot glue to the underside of the foam before I laid it down just to hold it in place. Now take some batting and wrap that around your foam and to the underside of your plywood, making sure to fully wrap your board. Staple down your batting to the back of the plywood about 1-2" from the edge and trim off excess batting.
Step 3:
This was a step I didn't do, but I should have! Cut a piece of fabric that's similar to the colour of your tubing, or better yet the exact material and lay it across your batting and then staple it underneath. This is something that will prevent your white batting showing through all of your weaving gaps.
Step 4:
Now you are going to start to lay out your tubes and attach them to the back. If you made your own tubing like I did, then just be sure that your unfinished sewing edge is the side that's facing down. I started with the longer pieces first and stapled them all close together along the back. In total I attached 6 to the 13" shorter side of the plywood with my staple gun. I then attached 9 to the longer side of the plywood. Now you can start to weave your pieces together, over and under, and over and under again with each piece, adding in an extra tube each time.
If you find you have extra tubing by the time you are done weaving, just snip that extra material off and staple it down securely to the back of the plywood. Fluff your tubes to how you want them to look after your are all done.
Step 5:
You may want to leave your legs as is in their natural wood colour, or you could paint or stain them. I stained mine in Special Walnut by Minwax which is one of my new favorite warm wood tones. Once your stain is dried you could top coat them if you like for extra protection.
Step 6:
Now you can attach your legs. First thing you need to do is screw down your mounting plates on the correct angle so that the legs face angle out the right way. Attach all 4 plates to each corner. Then all you do is twist in your tapered legs into each bracket.
And voila your stool is all done! Before we take a closer look at my knock off version lets take a look at the inspiration stool from Pier 1...
and now for my version....
Well there it is guys! My step by step tutorial on this Pier 1 knock off stool. What do you think of this new little addition to our living room? It usually sits under my corner wing back chair in my living room, which is slowly becoming my "office" he he! I can't get over how comfy this stool is to rest my feet up on to, and it's the perfect height for me and everyone else in our family.
Does this seem like something you would like to make? Remember there's an easier way to make it if you go with the pre-made tubing, you don't have to go full on crazy DIY version like I did, lol! I think this would also be pretty with some curvy legs too with maybe a softer lighter material, there are so many possibilities of how you could make your own version of this. I am already brainstorming making a bench to go at the end of a bed with this idea....and so the madness continues, muahahahaha!!
Have a wonderful day!
Dale
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