I’ve had a lot of fun making things for our American Girl Dolls this summer. Hope you have enjoyed seeing the sewing and other things I’ve done. Today, I’ve got a free pattern for you to make doll sized bean bag chairs(or perfect for Beanie Boos as well…which is what my girls are using them for even more than for their dolls). They are so cute and relatively easy to make as well. Yay!
Our school year was so different this year and it felt so much more busy than our homeschool schedule. It felt like my girls had less time to play together and less time to do things with their dolls. While my 13-year-old isn’t as thrilled as she once was to play with her dolls, it has been fun seeing she and her sister playing with them. They have both enjoyed the mattress and sheets I’ve made for their doll bunk beds. They also LOVE these bean bag chairs…though they seem to be used more for their Beanie Boos
(affiliate link) than the dolls. Oh well…they are having fun and playing with them, that is what matters.
The funny thing is that I never really had thought of making them bean bag chairs for their dolls nor had they requested them. Last month when Fairfield sponsored the post I did on how to make a mattress for a doll bed, they also asked if I would want to give their bean bag filler a try. I immediately thought of how fun it would be to have bean bag chairs for the dolls. I told Fairfield, “Sure thing!” They sent me the bean bag filler and sponsored this post as well. Thanks, Fairfield!
The bean bag chairs don’t require much fabric at all and a pretty quick and easy to sew together. Let me show you how.
Supplies:
- Fabric (a fat quarter should be enough)
- Sewing machine
- Pins
- Scissors
- Pattern (free download at the bottom of this post)
- Thread
- Poly-Fil® Bean Bag Filler
- Needle
Start by printing out your pattern. Cut out 6 pieces of fabric from the leaf-shaped pattern. Pin two pieces with right sides together. If you are using a Minky fabric, place extra pins to help hold it in place as it tends to shift, A LOT.
You will have three of these pinned.
Sew together with a 1/4″ seam (or just line up the edge to the presser foot, like I did) with the needle moved over to right position.
Once you have sewn all three, pin one of the groups of two to another group of two. If you are using alternating fabrics like I was, make sure you are pinning the correct fabrics together. Pin right sides together and sew using the same seam and needle position.
You will now have 4 panels of the bean bag chair sewn together. It will look a little like a football, but be totally open on the one side.
When you add the final panel of two, take care to line the ends up and pin them well. You will want to make sure you are sewing the ends totally closed so that none of the filler leaks out. It is the only somewhat tricky part because, especially if you have used Minky fabric, things may not line up perfectly.
Pin all the way around leaving an opening on one side, as you can see above. You will use this opening to turn the bean bag chair as well as to fill it.
Once you have sewn and turned the chair, you will need to fill it. If you have a wide-mouthed funnel, it would be perfect for this job. I didn’t. A piece of paper and a spoon work well to act a funnel and get the Poly-Fil® Bean Bag Filler (affiliate link) into the chair.
Fill as full or as lightly as you prefer. I filled ours as full as I could because the human-sized bean bag chairs we have all have gotten more flat over time and use. I thought it should start nice and full and let the kids flatten things out over time.
Hand stitch the opening closed.
The bean bag chairs turned out so cute! They are the perfect size for the dolls. They do have a slightly flat appearance to me. I think it may be the distortion from the fabric we selected. It doesn’t matter because my kids love them.
The dolls love them as well. The bean bag chairs prompted a doll slumber party. They got a little noisy and caused some problems for all of us to get some sleep… 😉 Just kidding!
Like I said earlier in this post, my girls have used the bean bag chairs for their dolls, but the Beanie Boos seem to like them even more. So, even if you don’t have a doll fan in your house, these bean bag chairs may be a fun little sewing project.
Just sign into the box below to get your free pattern. Enjoy!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook for even more fun and ideas!
These are totally adorable!
cute! I have some fleece and some leftover minky fabric . I could do this!
Thanks for,the pattern.
So glad you like it! Hope yours turned out fantastic!
Super cute! Thanks for the idea. Did you make the pj’s the dolls are wearing in this tutorial, too? If so do you have a tutorial for them as well? They are adorable.
Thank you! No, those PJ’s are both from American Girl Doll. Though, I think the bottoms on the doll on the right are from a set of PJ’s from Doll Diaries, another super fab Doll website.
My granddaughter wanted to make somethings for her American Doll and we found your website.Thank-you we love it!!!!!! Clare.
So glad you found me as well and that are enjoying some fun time with your granddaughter!
I love your website. I would love to make the bean bag chairs for the 18″ dolls. I have tried to copy your instructions, but I can’t get them to print. Is there some way I can get the instructions printed?
Thanks,
Jan
Thank you, Jan! I’m not sure I understand what you mean by copying my instructions? Unfortunately, I didn’t write up directions with this pattern. I wrote all of the directions into the post. Most likely your best bet will be to have the post open while you are working and refer to that as you go. I never even thought to write up actual directions until someone mentioned how handy they would be. Eventually I will get them written up, but my to-do list is long, so it isn’t going to be very soon. Sorry!
Aw, how cute! Thanks for the free pattern and for linking up at the Family Joy Linkup!
Thank you!
What a cute clever idea. I am sure the kids will have so much fun matching the dolls bean bags to thier rooms.
Thanks so much!
That is just so darling! I am going to have to find out what kind of dolls my grandbabies like best so I can make a few in the right sizes!
Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
Thank you! Have fun making some for your grandbabies!
Cute idea – thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty
Thanks!
simply easy
Thanks!
I would like the pattern for the bean bag chairs and I can’t get sent to me
You will need to log in to the box near the bottom of the post. It says, “This is a Real Coake Subscriber Bonus!” Once you log in, give it a minute and another graphic will appear in that same spot. That graphic says, “Click here for your free printable.” Click there and another window will open with the pattern. Just save it to your computer or print it out (or both) and you are good to go. Let me know if you have any other issues or need further help.
Thank you!
You’re welcome!