Brighten up your space with Vanessa’s happy little Tea Party Tuffets. Make them simple with just yardage or add a little patchwork fun with charm packs. There are so many lovely possibilities!
*Fabric is “Marmalade” by Bonnie & Camille
- 1 charm pack or 3/4 yard fabric for Tuffet-Top
- 3/4 yard fabric for Tuffet-Bottom
- 3/4 yard fabric for Tuffet-Side
- 1 Tea Party Tuffet PDF pattern {see Printer Friendly file at bottom of post}
- 6 lbs polyester fiberfill
- 4-1/2 yards decorative trim or piping
- 4 yards HeatnBond non-woven fusible feather weight interfacing (20″ wide)
*Print out all pages of the Tea Party Tuffet PDF pattern. Be sure to print at 100% scale on regular 8.5 x 11″ paper and assemble according to pattern instructions.
PLEASE NOTE: There will be small gaps in the pattern circle shape where the pages are taped together–this is okay! Do not trim or overlap the pages in an attempt to connect the lines.
Once all pages are taped together, cut out the pattern.
Tuffet-Top: Use the pattern to cut one circle from the tuffet-top fabric. If using a charm pack instead of yardage, refer to the Patchwork Tuffet-Top instructions.
Tuffet-Bottom: Use the pattern to cut one circle from the tuffet-bottom fabric. 
Patchwork Tuffet-Top: You will need 36 of the 42 charm squares; organize them into six rows with six charm squares per row. 
Assuming 1/4″ seam allowance, sew the charm squares into their rows, pressing open the seams afterwards. Sew the rows together, lining up the seams and pinning in place beforehand. Press those seams open as well.
Center the pattern and cut out one circle for your tuffet-top.
INTERFACING OPTION: At this point, I like to iron a feather weight fusible interfacing to the back of each tuffet-top and tuffet-bottom piece. It makes the fabric feel a bit stiffer and gives an overall stability to the shape of the finished product that I really love! Not a requirement though.
EMBELLISHMENT OPTION: Another option is to embellish your tuffet-top and tuffet-bottom pieces with some sort of trim. I’ll use pom-pom trim to demonstrate, but there are many trim options you could use!
In all likelihood, you will need to use a zipper foot to stitch your trim in place. In general, you’ll want the seam allowance to be about 1/2″. Because the pom-pom trim is so skinny, I’m going to lay it down 1/4″ in from the raw edge of the fabric, pom-poms on the inside.
Whatever trim you use, I sometimes find it helpful to remember that everything left of the needle/stitching is what is going to show.
Once you’ve sewn almost all the way around, cut the end of the trim to overlap with the beginning-piece and resume stitching it down.
TUFFET SIDE: From the tuffet-side fabric, cut two strips 12″ x WOF; subcut into two 12 x 37″ strips. (Iron fusible interfacing to the back of each if you’ve done it to the tuffet-top and tuffet-bottom pieces.)
To sew them into a tube: bring the 12 x 37″ strips right sides together, aligning the raw edges, and pin along the 12″ sides.
[Switch to a regular presser foot and] sew down the 12″ sides using 1/2″ seam allowance, leaving a 6-7″ gap unstitched in the center of one of those sides as indicated by the diagram below. (This is how we will turn our tuffet right-side out later).
Press open the seams. (Here is the side with the gap.)
Pin the tuffet-bottom to the other side of the tube, right sides together and repeat.
Turn the tuffet right-side out through the 6-7″ gap in the side.
Your tuffet will look quite sad and saggy without stuffing, so fill it! I stuffed mine pretty full so it would be nice and sturdy.
Once it’s full to your liking, fold the edges in at the hole and pin closed. (This is probably the toughest part of the whole project!) Stitch the hole closed by hand (I recommend a ladder stitch).
An adorable tuffet!
Vanessa Goertzen
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