14 ways to make a cute ottoman with your own hands

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Comfortable and beautiful furniture made of plastic bottles, car tires and other materials at hand.

How to choose materials for an ottoman

What to sew a cover for an ottoman

As a rule, an ottoman consists of a frame, filler and cover. The latter is best sewn from a dense, durable fabric. These options work well:

• tapestry cloths;
• velours;
• jacquard;
• velvet;
• natural and artificial leather.

You can also make a cover from scrap materials: unnecessary curtains, an old coat or a leather jacket.

How to fill the ottoman

The choice of filler depends on the shape of the ottoman and the method of its manufacture, as well as on whether there are allergy sufferers in the house. The most common options are:

• foam rubber;
• synthetic winterizer;
• sawdust and shavings;
• down and feather;
• buckwheat husk;
• expanded polystyrene granules;
• holofiber;
• the cloth.

How to make an ottoman out of a plastic bucket

What is needed

• Plastic bucket with a flat lid;
• fabric for the cover;
• fleece;
• synthetic winterizer;
• a piece of tourist foam or polyethylene foam;
• glue gun;
• construction stapler;
• scissors;
• ruler;
• needle;
• threads;
• pencil;
• chalk.

How to do

If the bucket has a handle, remove it, you won't need it.

Use scissors to split the fleece into wide strips lengthwise. You also need to cut out two circles from it, repeating the size of the bottom and lid of the bucket.

Apply glue to the bucket and wrap fleece strips around it until it is correctly cylindrical with no protrusions. If the container is initially even, then just a few turns of fabric will be enough, just to make the ottoman soft.

Glue a layer of padding polyester on top of the fleece.

Attach the edges of the padding polyester to the bottom of the bucket.

Glue the fleece circle cut to the size of the bottom over the wrapped edges of the padding polyester so that the bottom of the ottoman looks neat.

Place the lid of the bucket (or any other suitable size disc) on the foam and trace with a pencil.

Cut a circle along the resulting contour.

Glue the foam to the lid.

Wrap the lid with padding polyester and fix it on the back with a stapler.

Measure the height and circumference of the ottoman bucket. Place a strip on the fabric of the cover, adding 5–6 cm to the width, and cut it out.

If the edges of the fabric are fraying, overcast or secure with glue. Cut off the excess.

Wrap the ottoman with the fabric of the cover so that the margin in width falls on the top of the product, and firmly sew the edges of the panel with threads.

Gently glue the edges of the cover to the fleece bottom of the ottoman.

Wrap the excess fabric inside the bucket and attach to the sides of the bucket.

Glue a strip of fleece over the folded edge.

Place a bucket lid on the fabric from the cover and draw a circle with a radius of 10 cm larger than it. Cut it out.

Wrap the lid in the resulting circle and fold the edges of the fabric over it.

Secure in the middle with three to four staple staples. This is necessary to temporarily fix the fabric, later they will need to be removed.

Gently fix the canvas with a stapler around the entire circumference of the lid, stepping back about 3 cm from the edge. Then remove the temporary braces in the center.

Peel off excess fabric.

Glue a fleece disc over the top of the lid to mask the staples and cut edges.

You can watch the full instructions in this video:

What other options are there

You can decorate an ottoman made from a bucket with a carriage tie:

Or give it such an original shape in two parts:

How to make an ottoman without a solid fabric frame

What is needed

• Glue gun;
• scissors;
• 3 woven rugs measuring 50 × 80 cm or cloth for a cover of the same size;
• 6 unnecessary pillows or special filling;
• 2 old towels.

How to do

Fold two rugs together and glue the short sides together.

Turn this blank inside out. Make a transverse fold inward in the middle of one of the rugs and glue it to create a fake seam. Repeat with the other rug. This maneuver is needed so that the finished ottoman has four corners. If you have questions about how to do this, then watch the video below.

Turn the cover out with the seams and stuff it with pillows.

Cut out the bottom and top of the ottoman from the third rug.

Glue the bottom on all four sides.

Turn the ottoman over, check if it is stuffed tightly enough.

Glue the top on three sides.

Pull the cushions out through the only non-glued side.

Turn the cover with the seams inward.

Stuff the ottoman with pillows, put towels in the middle to make it even tighter.

Fold in the edge of the remaining hole and glue.

Here is a detailed video tutorial on how to make this ottoman:

What other options are there

Another quick and budget way to make an ottoman without a rigid frame:

And if you have a sewing machine, then you can make the following version:

How to make an ottoman out of plastic bottles

What is needed

• Plastic bottles with a volume of 0.5 liters (34–36 pieces);
• thick cardboard;
• reinforced tape;
• glue gun;
• round shape with a diameter of 27-30 cm (for example, a lid), you can also use a compass;
• pencil;
• scissors;
• foam rubber;
• upholstery fabric;
• decorative braid 3–3.5 cm wide.

How to do

Place the round shape on the cardboard and circle around.

Cut out the resulting shape. Four of these will be needed for the base of the ottoman and 5-10 - depending on the thickness of the cardboard - for the lintel.

Glue bottles with caps to the cardboard circle, placing them snugly against each other. On average, one such platform holds 17 bottles.

Wrap the bottles with tape, tightening them tightly.

Glue another cardboard circle on top.

Repeat all the same steps to create the second blank for the ottoman.

Glue each blank with foam rubber, tighten the ends tightly and fix them with tape.

Cut off the excess from the bottom, and on top leave a stock of foam rubber 1, 5-2 cm wide.

Gently glue each piece with an upholstery cloth. Work slowly, applying glue to only the area that is in use right now. The fabric should fit snugly and without wrinkles.

Fold the edge of the upholstery to the bottom, attach with a gun. Fold the other edge of the upholstery onto the top of the blank, place it in the groove between the foam rubber and cardboard, and glue it.

Place a few cardboard circles held together on top of the groove. Their total thickness should be approximately 5 cm. Glue.

Apply glue over the cardboard circles and place the second ottoman blank on top of them. You should get two cylinders connected by a jumper. Please note: both cylinders are on top of each other with their indentation upwards!

Measure the circumference of the lintel and prepare a tape of the appropriate length.

Apply glue to the cardboard element.

Attach the tape to the lintel by pulling it tightly and masking the cardboard discs. If the tape is too thin, you can first glue a base made of paper or thin plastic under it.

Take the last of the cardboard parts and cut a circle of padding polyester to fit its size. Fasten the padding polyester and cardboard elements with a gun.

Cover the circle with upholstery and glue it into the upper recess of the ottoman.

This video tutorial will help you do everything right:

What other options are there

The following ottoman can be made from large plastic bottles:

How to make an ottoman out of boards or chipboard

What is needed

• Boards or chipboard at least 50 cm wide and 1 cm thick;
• timber with a thickness of 2–2, 5 cm;
• saw or jigsaw;
• ruler;
• roulette;
• pencil;
• nails with a length of 3 cm;
• hammer;
• screwdriver or screwdriver;
• glue;
• construction stapler;
• synthetic winterizer;
• foam rubber measuring 50 × 50 cm;
• upholstery fabric measuring 70 × 215 cm;
• lining fabric;
• sewing machine;
• needle and thread;
• scissors;
• 4 short furniture legs;
• self-tapping screws for fixing furniture legs;
• drill;
• nozzle for drilling holes with a diameter of 3 cm;
• 5 large buttons.

How to do

Mark out the wooden elements and cut out the blanks. You will need six planks measuring 50x50 cm, two planks measuring 46x46 cm and two pieces of timber. Calculate the length of each of the latter using the formula L = 50 - 2T, where L is the desired length of the timber, and T is the thickness of the boards from which you make the ottoman. For example, if the boards are 1 cm thick, then the length of the timber will be as follows: 50 - 2 × 1 = 48 cm.

Prepare four boards measuring 50 × 50 cm. In one of them, stepping back from the edge of the canvas 0.5 cm, drive three nails shallowly at an equal distance from each other.

Lubricate the end of the second board with glue, put the first on it and hammer in the intended nails to the end. So the connections will be as strong as possible.

So hammer together the four details of the future ottoman into a shape resembling a cube. Please note that each next board is laid flat on the end of the previous one.

Lubricate the ends of the timber with glue. Insert it as a spacer between the planks of the cube and nail on three sides. Parallel to this part, as shown in the picture, secure the second beam. The bottom of the ottoman will lie on them.

Fix the edge of the padding polyester in the corner of the cube with a construction stapler.

Glue each side of the cube with glue and wrap with padding polyester.

For reliability, secure the edge of the padding polyester with a stapler.

Remove excess with scissors, leaving a 2 cm allowance on both sides.

Cut the corners of the allowance so that wrinkles do not form when you bend the synthetic winterizer inward.

Sew the short edges of the upholstery fabric together from the inside.

Turn to the front and pull over the cube.

Fold in the rest of the fabric and secure with a stapler.

Use a stapler to attach the lining fabric along the inner edge of the upholstery, bending it inward around the perimeter.

You should get such an ottoman with a lining inside.

Cut a square out of the lining fabric, fold its edges inward and pull it over the side of the ottoman where the beams are nailed. Secure with a stapler.

Screw the furniture legs into the corners of the workpiece with self-tapping screws.

Tape a 46 × 46 cm board with a backing material, fix the fabric with a stapler from the wrong side. Repeat for a second board of this size.

Place one of the resulting elements in the ottoman with the fabric up - this will be the bottom.

On a 50 × 50 cm board, draw diagonals with a pencil, set aside 35 cm from the center on each and mark with dots.

Drill holes in the center and at the points provided. There should be five of them in total.

Glue a square of foam rubber of the same size on top of this board.

On the wooden side, pierce the foam rubber in five places with a screwdriver through the prepared holes - so that it is clear where to drill next.

Use the hole-drilling attachment to make five circles in the foam.

Lubricate the foam with glue.

Glue a synthetic winterizer to the foam rubber, bend its edges to the back of the board and cut off the excess.

Lay the upholstery on the synthetic winterizer, pull and fix with a stapler on a wooden surface.

Trim off excess, smooth out, check to make sure all folds are neat.

Sew on the buttons by passing the needle and thread through the holes you drilled earlier. Pull the threads so that the buttons sink slightly into the fabric, and secure them on the back of the board with a stapler. The lid is almost ready.

Take the remaining board covered with linen, place it with the fabric facing up, exactly in the center of the lid from the wrong side, and nail in the corners.

Place the lid on the ottoman.

This video shows in detail the entire process of work:

What other options are there

Here the cover of the ottoman becomes part-time a stand:

And here is an ottoman with high legs:

How to make an ottoman out of a tire

What is needed

• Car tire;
• 2 plywood discs with a diameter slightly larger than the inner diameter of the tire;
• knife;
• drill;
• rope;
• glue;
• furniture legs;
• self-tapping screws;
• gloves.

How to do

Place a plywood disc on the bus in the center and screw it in with self-tapping screws.

Turn the workpiece over and screw on the other side of the second plywood circle.

Wear gloves to avoid getting your hands dirty. Apply glue to the center of the plywood disc and place the snail-rolled end of the rope over it. Let the fixing compound take hold: the rope should hold well.

Lubricate the surfaces of plywood and tires with glue, lay the rope on them in a spiral, turn to turn. Wrap the entire ottoman with such tight rings, leave only the bottom surface empty.

On it, mark the places for the legs.

Screw on the legs.

Here's how this ottoman is made:

What other options are there

In the same technique, you can also make an ottoman with storage space:

Here's another way to use a car tire to make furniture: