DIY Futon Bolster

When adding seating space to a living room, futons offer those on a tight budget an affordable alternative to a couch. The trade-off for that money saved is a slightly less cushy piece of furniture, but with a little sewing, you can add extra cushion to any futon. Create your own bolsters to put at each end of your futon, allowing them to function the way arms would on a nicely padded sofa. The bolsters provide a softer place to rest your head or arm than the metal or wood arms of the futon.

Things You'll Need

• 1 yard, cotton fabric
• Iron
• Compass
• Paper
• Scissors
• Tailor's chalk
• Ruler
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• 8-inch-diameter, 36-inch-long bolster pillow form
• Needle
• Thread

Instructions

1. Machine wash and dry your fabric. Iron it right out of the dryer.

2. Draw a 9-inch circle on a piece of paper using a compass. Cut the circle out with scissors. Trace the circle twice on the wrong side of your fabric with tailor's chalk. Cut the circles out.

3. Cut a 26 1/8-by-27-inch rectangle of fabric. Fold the rectangle in half, bringing the 27-inch edges together with the right sides of the fabric, on the inside of the fold. Sew the 27-inch edges together with a half-inch seam allowance leaving a 12-inch opening in the center. This creates a tube of fabric.

4. Place one of the fabric circles over one end of the tube, with the right side of the fabric facing the inside of the tube. Line up the edges of the tube and circle, and pin them together. Repeat with the other circle at the other end of the tube.

5. Sew around each end of the tube with a half-inch seam allowance to attach the circles. Remove the pins as you sew. Otherwise, you may break your machine's needle or bend one of your pins.

6. Turn the case right side out through the opening you left in the center of the first seam you sewed. Stuff the bolster pillow form in the case through this opening.

7. Turn the edges of the fabric in a half-inch along the opening. Slip stitch the opening closed with needle and thread.

Resources

• Keyka Lou: How to Slip Stitch a Seam Closed