Step One

Gather your materials.  I chose Shannon Cuddle for the outside fabric because it’s so soft and comfortable as well as having a slight stretch and being very durable.  Fabrics shown in this project are Embossed Star Cuddle® in Lime, Solid Cuddle® 3 Saltwater, Embossed Houndstooth Cuddle® in Silver.

We need to make an inner bag for the bean bag, so that the outer bag is easily washable and there’s no chance of the bean bag filler getting loose.  This is a GREAT place to use up ugly fabric that you might not otherwise have a use for.  (In my case this was some ill-conceived bright orange flannel originally meant to contrast with some bacon flannel…I know what was I thinking?!!)  Normally I only use quilt shop quality cottons or Shannon Cuddle in my projects…but the inner bag is something you can get away with lower quality fabrics.

Step Two

The hardest part of this project is cutting out such large pieces.  Fortunately, they’re so large that if you’re a tad off, you’ll never notice in the end.  I always cut my fabrics out squaring the ruler with the center fold.  In this case, I folded the Cuddle back on itself once so that I could cut out both squares at one time and make sure they’re exactly the same size and the whole thing would fit on my cutting mat at one time.

Cut two squares of Shannon Cuddle 30″ x 30″.  You’ll basically be cutting a 30″ length and then cutting down the center fold line.

Step Three

First we’ll install our zipper.  It’s traditional to use pins to hold the zipper in place when sewing, but the Shannon Cuddle can be so slick that I’ve had good results with using double-sided scotch tape to hold the zipper in place.  I used a “parka” zipper because that’s the only kind that came in a long enough length.

Add double sided tape to the outside half of your zipper.  Just on one side to start with and on the same size as the zipper pull.

With zipper-pull side down, line it up so that the double sided tape that’s sticking out a bit is even with the side of your bean bag cover, like this.

Stitch about 1/8 inch from the zipper.  Remove the tape.  (You’ll have an easier time removing the tape if you sew close enough to the zipper that you haven’t stitched through the tape.)

Your project should look like this at this point.

Step Four

Add tape to the other side of the zipper and repeat for the second piece of your bean bag.

Step Five

Open the zipper wide enough that you hand can make it through.  With right sides together, stitch with a 1/2 inch seam allowance around the three sides of the bean bag cover.  If you have extra zipper left, stitch so that the extra will remain on the inside.

Clip corners and turn right side out.

Step Six

Now we’ll make our inner bag.  Cut two 31″ squares from your inner bag fabric.  (You always want your inner bag to be slightly larger so that it will completely fill your outer bag and look plump.  We’re not going to completely stuffing our bag anyway.)  Stitch around all 4 sides of your inner bag squares, leaving and opening big enough for your hand.

Double stitch the seam to re-enforce it.  We really don’t want that bean bag filler getting loose.  Clip corners.

Turn right side out.

Step Seven

Fill with bean bag filler.  I found that it took just under one 2 1/2 pound bag of bean bag filler to fill one 30″ bean bag.  The more full you fill it, the firmer your bean bag will be.  If you want a bag with more “squash” and give, then you’ll want to fill it a little less full.

Stitch closed.  You’ll definitely want to machine sew this bit to make sure it’s strong and will withstand kids jumping and sitting on it without bursting.

Step Eight

Back it inside your cover and pull out some books.  Time to enjoy!

These bean bags were donated to a new teacher’s classroom at my kids’ elementary school.