What a great idea! Thanks for sharing it with us. I love ideas like that where the finished item is totally unrelated to the original object. And cheap too!! Walmart already has Easter stuff out so gardening supplies can't be too far behind.

What a great idea!! I have knee problems,so that will work great for me.Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much.
Kathi

What a great idea! I've wanted an ottoman/footstool but just couldn't afford most that I have seen. Details please!
1) did you glue the foam on?
2) did you pull the upholstery fabric down the sides and glue to the bottom or what?
3) what shape did you cut the fabric? did you pleat it all around? what shape "cart" did you use?

Thanks!

So glad you gals liked the idea!
Here's what I did:
I bought the square one (thought it would be easier than covering an octagon;-)
The top is comprised of slats of wood, and is very firm, as it's supposed to hold large potted plants.
I cut the foam exactly to the size of the square, and didn't glue it down at all.
I measured across the top and both sides each way to get my measurments for the size of the batting (which I wanted on the ottoman as well as down each of the sides). Just placed it there and put a few staples on the side edges of the square wood at the bottom just to hold the batting in place.
Then I cut a piece of fabric the size of the batting, plus an extra 2-3" extra on all sides so that I can tuck it under the ottoman and staple it underneath. So if the batting measusred 12" square, I cut the fabric 17" square (I like a lot of wiggle room just in case).
I put the fabric (I used a good, firm upholstery fabric, like a heavy chenille) on it, and stapled it under the ottoman. This can get a little tricky, as the wheels are in the way, but they're easy enough to clip around.
The final step was to edge it with matching fringe, and voila! It's gorgeous! The fringe almost brushes the carpet, and makes me think of those Maltese dogs that have all that fluffy fur waving around as they walk! lol! Okay...I'm a dog person! ;-D
I folded the fabric on the corners so that it looks like a straight edge folded on one side (of each side). Just lift one side and tuck under the other, leaving a straight edge to cover up the works.
Hope you have fun with this! It was so easy to whip up and they'd make lovely and functional gifts!

Enjoy!!

Thanks so much, Glitter! I'm going to save your directions for sure. I have lots of heavy upholstery material on my hands - watch me go!!!

Oh, it feels good to know you like my idea!
WalMart will be wondering why there's such a demand for
their wooden plant movers! LOL!!!
Enjoy!

Great idea. I make tuffets and ottomans. What are the measurements of the footstool? Thanks

I've made ottomans b4,just never thought of using the plant stand for a base.This will work great as i do a lot of needlework,and sometimes in certain chairs around the house,my feet don't reach all the way to the floor,comfortably.So thank you so much for this great idea.
Kathi
PS,for those of you that are worried about the foam slipping while you work on it,you can get spray glue at the quilt/sewing store to help hold it in place.You can also spray it on your foam to hold your batting in place,kinda like having a 3rd hand.

Agnes, the plant stand thingy I bought was 14" square.....just a perfect size for tootsies! And the fact that it has wheels! Bonus! ;-D
Yes, using the spray glue as Kathi suggested would probably be a good idea! I imagine also, if you want a more 'finished' look without anything on the corners, you could sew 'darts' in the corners and slip the cover over the entire unit and then glue it under. That's easy enough to do with the fabric put on, wrong side up, then pinning the corners to form the corner seams. Sew, clip, and there ya have it! But it's also a good no-sew project!
ps...if you don't want wheels rolling around if you place your feet flat on it, replace 2 with locking wheels or with wooden fence-rail knobs before you do any covering.

Glad you like it!....Lindi

Lindi,

Just read this. I hope I have enough plaid material from the chairs to may an ottoman. Can you send a pic?

Cove

I made one yesterday,see my post in the sewing forum.
Kathi