Patchwork Pouf. Dresden Pattern + Tutorial

 Dresden Pattern Pouf. Step by step Tutorial. I love making things that I can use in my home. Poufs seem to be everywhere lately, so I thought I’d put a patchwork spin on it! This is a large pouf, it finishes at 20″ wide x 15″ high. Perfect for putting up your feet or to use as an extra seat when needed, and pretty to look at too!

You will need:

2-1/2 yards main pouf fabric (I used yarn dyed Essex linen in Black)
Twelve cuts of 1/8 yards or fat eighths for patchwork Dresden plate
3-1/2 yards lightweight woven fusible interfacing, such as Pellon SF101
Stuffing of your choice (I used 2-1/2 yards of 1″ thick upholstery foam, and 4 bags of polyfil).
Upholstery thread and needle

Find the templates here

Instructions:

Cutting

Print, cut out, and assemble pattern templates. Make sure to select the “Do Not Scale” option.

Join templates A1 and A2 together with tape before cutting the 24 pieces from both the main pouf fabric and the interfacing. Place the fusible side of the interfacing against the wrong side of the fabric, and press to fuse the pieces together.

Cut 24 Template B pieces from the Dresden fabrics and interfacing (If you’re using 12 Dresden fabrics, you will cut 2 from each). Place the fusible side of each interfacing piece against the wrong side of one of the fabric pieces, and press to fuse the pieces together.

Cut 1 Template C piece out of the main pouf fabric, and 3 pieces out of the interfacing

Making the Pouf

Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, join the main pouf pieces together along the long edge in sets of two. Press seams open and then join sets of two together. Continue to join the sets together until you have two halves of your pouf, each with 12 pieces joined together. Press all seams open.

Pin the two halves of the pouf together. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch the two halves of the pouf together, leaving a 14″ opening along the top of the pouf for turning and stuffing. Make sure to backstitch, preferably several times, at the beginning and end of the seam, so it doesn’t split open later. Press the seam open. Turn the pouf right side out through the opening.

Stuff the pouf as desired. This is the hardest part! If you’re using upholstery foam, cut the foam in half along the width of the foam, so that you have two long, skinny pieces. Roll up the first piece tightly and tape it together. Insert it into the pouf, being careful not to split the seam along the opening. Take the remaining piece and feed it into the pouf gradually, wrapping it around the previously inserted foam piece as you go. After the foam is inserted, stuff the fiberfill around all sides of the foam, packing the pouf tightly and smoothing any lumps as you come across them. It will take a lot of stuffing to get it looking full and smooth.

When you get to the top of the pouf, you’ll need to hand stitch the opening closed using the upholstery thread and needle. Your stitches don’t need to be perfect here since it will be covered by the dresden plate. Try to keep the stitches tight and flat though (any large puckering might show through the dresden). 

It helps to work in small sections here, closing up a section, tying a knot to hold your stitches in place, stuffing the top of the pouf a little more to make it full, then moving onto the next section.
Work from both sides, so the very top of the pouf is the last thing to close. If your pieces don’t line up perfectly enough to close the hole completely at the top, that’s okay. Just stitch the layers together as close as you can get them without puckering.

Place one Template C interfacing piece over the top of the pouf opening you just closed. Press to fuse the interfacing to the top of the pouf.

Making the Dresden Plate

Fold each Dresden blade in half along the width of the fabric and pin along the short edge as shown. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch along the short edge, backstitching at the beginning and end. Repeat with all of the Dresden blades. Clip the folded corner of each blade for turning.  Press a crease down the center of the folded edge.

Turn the Dresden blades right side out using a turning tool to get a good point on each blade.  Center the seam along the crease you created in the last step.  Press, being sure to press the seam inside open so the blades lay flat.

Lay out the Dresden blades the way you want them to be placed on the pouf. Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, join the Dresden blades together along the long edges in sets of two. Press seams open and then join sets of two together. Continue until you have two halves of the Dresden, each with 12 pieces. Join the two halves together and press all seams open.

Attaching the Dresden Plate & Finishing

Center the Dresden on the top of the pouf, matching the point of each blade to the seam joining two of the pouf pieces together. Pull the Dresden tight so it lays flat, and pin it to the pouf.

Hand stitch the Dresden plate to the pouf, stitching along the edges of the Dresden points.

Using the remaining Template C pieces, fuse one of the interfacing pieces to the wrong side of the main fabric circle. Pin the interfaced circle to the remaining interfacing piece, with the right side of the fabric facing the non-fusible side of the interfacing. Sew around the entire circle using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Clip the seam allowance around the circle.

Cut an opening in the interfacing piece, and turn the circle right side out through the opening. Make sure the seam is completely open, and press the circle to fuse interfacing to the main fabric piece.

Place the circle in the center of the Dresden plate, and hand stitch the circle to the pouf.

Relax and kick your feet up on your new pouf!