Imitation Is the Best Form Of Flattery: Land Of Nod Pouf
Psssst… this post *might* contain affiliate links: see my disclosure here.
Earlier this summer I was invited to participate in the Jo-Ann and Waverly 90th Anniversary Waverize It! contest… I mean, it’s not quite American Ninja Warrior or the Westminster Dog Show, but it’s competitive, people. We’re talking blood, sweat tears. Cardio. Hydration. SEWING! I know… you’d be carbo loading too, right?! The super specific and detailed rules were to create a sewing project with fabric we were provided with. Again I say: cut throat. Well, I own a sewing machine, and I know how to sew… but I’m no seamstress. But copycat? THAT I can do. In our daily pile of mail, there was a coupon flier for Land Of Nod. And…. lookie here. How cool is that numbered pouf? Â A perfect little craft for the new baby’s room!
I LOVED the fabric that was sent to me, but I wanted to tie in the graphic numbers from the inspiration piece. I reached for my stash of painters drop cloth. You read that right… painters drop cloth. I adore the neutral color and the drop cloth is often softer than duck cloth and, ahem, way cheaper. I soaked the drop cloth in bleach for a bit to tone it down and bring it closer to the ivory white on my fabric. Now that I had the two fabrics ready, time for math.
Shout out to my middle school math teacher for instilling in me a firm grasp of geometry. The Land Of Nod pouf is 24″ wide and 24″ tall. Find your trapper keeper and a big ol’ scrunchy and remember 2Ď€R or diameter*3.14. Which means that the circumference of this pouf is approx. 75″ [24″*3.14]. Are you with me? Once I knew the circumference of my pouf, I could begin to figure out how many panels were needed to create the sides. Because the height was going to be 24″ like the inspiration piece, I didn’t want each panel to be too narrow… Ultimately I felt that panels between 8 and 9″ wide were about right.
To make the top and bottom circle, I started with a square the same size as the radius (14 x 14) and then folded it up. With my ruler, I marked 14″ from the center point… then I cut along this dotted line. Once I cut the panels, I reached for my iron on transfer paper (Avery T-shirt Transfers for Inkjet Printers, 8.5 x 11 Inches, Clear, 6 Sheets (03271)Â affiliate). A few minutes playing around with fonts and these numbers were ready for some heat. (Iron-on 101: Print your images in reverse… most printers have a “mirror image” setting. Cut out your image, apply heat and remove backing paper.)
Shop my favorites!
In a late night sewing frenzy (partly due to a Four Weddings binge on TLC) I finished much of this piece… which also means no pictures. But here’s a step by step graphic for you to get a sense of the construction. (I always defer to this post by Sew Mama Sew to make the necessary bias strips for the piping.)
Along the bottom edge, I sewed two velcro strips so that whatever was used for stuffing could be accessible.
For the stuffing, I had a pile of extra pillows from Ikea as well as some old down comforters leftover from our smaller bed in the city. Â It all came together super easily so my home ec sewing skills were never really challenged. (Phew.) I can’t wait to pop this in our new guest room/ nursery. I’m hoping the teal color will complement the blue in the bedspreads, but it might be a stretch…
The dimensions are almost the same as the Land of Nod inspiration so it’s not small. But I’m hoping the big kids can use it for a cozy reading spot, or I can use it during some late night feedings as a foot rest. Regardless, I adore the Waverly fabric twist to the plain numbers of Land of Nod’s and am pretty psyched to have this in any room!
In case I wasn’t clear… this is a VERY low sewing degree of difficulty. You can TOTALLY make this!
Cute!
I really like this project.
Ooooooh….so ridiculously adorable! Poof AND kid! So is there contest voting and what not?! If so I’m gonna vote the snot out of your project!
Ha! I don’t think so but I’ll let you know if I need some aggressive voting. 🙂 thanks!!
Love it!!
This is totally darling. I want one of my own!
Thanks, Michelle! I’m a little obsessed myself!
Just saw this on Craft Gawker! Super cute and great tutorial. The the fabric combo your chose
Thanks Marni! I LOVE the fabric too… My favorite color!
WOW~love it!!! I’m crazy busy getting ready for my daughter’s baby shower and sewing bibs and burb rags, etc for my first grandchild, but….when I have time, I’m definitely gonna try one of these! And I love the fabric too!
Sounds like SUCH fun!! I made this too big, but it was otherwise SO simple and fun! Congrats to you and your daughter! xx