It’s Earth Day! As sewists, we’re pretty eco friendly (after all, we sew our own clothing) but we still discard scraps. What can you do with literal decades of scraps (and keep filling it up?) Sew an ottoman! I used this square Sew News/Sew Daily ottoman pattern and modified the base to include a zipper so I could fill (and continue to fill) this fabric scrap ottoman. It took FIVE banker’s boxes full of scraps to fill and as you use it, they compact down, so you can come back again each year and fill it with more scraps! This was a zero waste, zero landfill, zero cost project for me!
Making your scrap storage ottoman
I wanted an ottoman for my front porch – both as extra seating and as a place to put one’s feet. I had been gifted this light blue sailboat outdoor fabric from a friend. Part went to create a crate cover for my dog for our bedroom, and the remainder became this ottoman. I modified the SewDaily square ottoman (they show it in faux fur in the issue of the magazine, which would be awesome for your living room!) and add a diagonal zipper to the bottom piece so I could stuff – and continue to stuff – an ottoman.
Believe it or not this took FIVE banker’s boxes of scraps, and it compacts as you use it, so every year, I add even more scraps! It’s like an endless scrap storage bin.
Yes, I have gone in here looking for a scrap of fabric 😉 Yes, I found it and used it.
This year, I’ve just only begun putting out my front porch decor – so I have more cushions and pillows to add but the ottoman moved from under my studio desk to the porch yesterday after being filled with 2024’s scraps!
Worth noting, I keep “big scraps” and use them for bags and small projects. I made the family each their own travel sized laundry bags for gifts this year. Next year, everyone’s getting shoe bags for travel (to place your footwear inside so it doesn’t get your clothing dirty.) So larger scraps are organized into one single plastic bin, and the remainder are in this ottoman. I don’t know how long it will continue to compress and be useable, but there’s quite a bit of room in here still. The nice thing is it’s sturdy and heavy for sitting on.
There is even a free ottoman pattern (round) that uses ACTUAL scraps (from Closet Core, on their website.) so you can sew it from scraps and stuff it full of scraps. Or even actual fabric yardage, if you use it indoors. I do recommend this be a covered porch outdoor item (even in outdoor fabric) so you do not get mildew on the inside.
I sewed this according to the pattern and instructions but first I modified the bottom pattern piece to include a diagonal zipper by drafting the diagonal slice, adding seam allowances, installing a zipper and THEN constructing the ottoman. This way I can get in the ottoman to add more or find fabric scraps – you’ll need to do this if you’re going to store yardage in your ottoman (indoors.)
In the winter, this ottoman lives under my studio/office desk. And I regularly use it 😉
