Ok, I have not been so excited to publish a craft post in... well, probably never. This project turned out beautifully and I am so pleased with it!
I am a lover of all things old and have been wanting to make this footrest for a while now. This weekend, I picked up my supplies and got to work this morning. This only took me about and hour and a half to complete and was so easy!
Here we go:
Supplies:
1 old hard-case suitcase
4 metal table legs (I purchased these from Ikea)
A yard or so of fabric to match the room the footrest will call home
1 regular sized bed pillow (depending on how big your suitcase is, you may have to get a smaller or larger one)
Decorative nailhead trim (I bought mine from Joann's, but here is an example)
Drill
Hammer
Stitch Witchery
Scissors
Iron
I am a lover of all things old and have been wanting to make this footrest for a while now. This weekend, I picked up my supplies and got to work this morning. This only took me about and hour and a half to complete and was so easy!
Here we go:
Supplies:
1 old hard-case suitcase
4 metal table legs (I purchased these from Ikea)
A yard or so of fabric to match the room the footrest will call home
1 regular sized bed pillow (depending on how big your suitcase is, you may have to get a smaller or larger one)
Decorative nailhead trim (I bought mine from Joann's, but here is an example)
Drill
Hammer
Stitch Witchery
Scissors
Iron
Step One:Place the pillow on top (on the lid half of the suitcase, so it opens up) of the suitcase. Stretch fabric across and measure off how much you will need, making sure to leave at least half an inch extra and all sides to hem.
Step Two:Cut your fabric after taking dimensions, then begin to hem up. I am probably the only craft blogger in the world who doesn't have a sewing machine, so I simply used Stitch Witchery to tuck in my frays and create a clean edge to my fabric. If you are a fortunate enough soul to have a sewing machine, by all means run it through! If not, do as I did (which was actually extremely easy!).
Step Two:Cut your fabric after taking dimensions, then begin to hem up. I am probably the only craft blogger in the world who doesn't have a sewing machine, so I simply used Stitch Witchery to tuck in my frays and create a clean edge to my fabric. If you are a fortunate enough soul to have a sewing machine, by all means run it through! If not, do as I did (which was actually extremely easy!).
Step Three:
With the pillow in place on the top of the suitcase, begin to attach the fabric to your suitcase with upholstery tacks. I chose to use a pillow for the padding versus craft foam because of the price. I would have had to pay twenty bucks for two inch thick craft foam big enough to cover the suitcase, while I paid four for the pillow, which I think is actually more comfortable anyway!
I liked to use the 'trim' version of upholstery tacks because you only have a pound a nail in every five spots, versus every single one, and it creates a very straight line with minimal effort on your part. But this option is much more expensive, so you be the judge!
With the pillow in place on the top of the suitcase, begin to attach the fabric to your suitcase with upholstery tacks. I chose to use a pillow for the padding versus craft foam because of the price. I would have had to pay twenty bucks for two inch thick craft foam big enough to cover the suitcase, while I paid four for the pillow, which I think is actually more comfortable anyway!
I liked to use the 'trim' version of upholstery tacks because you only have a pound a nail in every five spots, versus every single one, and it creates a very straight line with minimal effort on your part. But this option is much more expensive, so you be the judge!
Continue until you have nailed all four sides. At the corners, I did a tuck and fold method and then brought the folds together with a simple hand stitch with thread that matched my fabric and I can't even see! This created nice clean corners, but is not necessary.
Step Four:
Follow the instructions on your table legs' packaging to attach the legs to the under side of the suitcase. This step was maybe the hardest for me, but overall the entire project was easy-peasy.
Follow the instructions on your table legs' packaging to attach the legs to the under side of the suitcase. This step was maybe the hardest for me, but overall the entire project was easy-peasy.
Not only do I now have a one of a kind footrest that matches my living room oh-so-well, this cute little number will also come in handy when we move to our loft, as it doubles as storage space!
This project was so fun and easy to make. I was a little leery of dealing with upholstery tacks, but it all went super smoothly! I am beyond happy with the results! Can't wait for more awesome projects to come as we prepare for this move and this downsize! My little organization wheels are already turning!
Thanks for reading! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Enjoy this awesome weather we are having in mid-Michigan!
This is awesome!
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