When I grew up in the 70s we would have ottomans in our living room. Back then, we would call them poufs though. I remember at least two: one was covered with bright red artificial leather, with tassels at each corner and Cleopatra in gold (no comments, please) all around. The other one was from Spain, checkered in brown and black, probably artificial leather too, showing a huge ranch brand on top.

They were there as long as I remember and consequently, when moving out, I would take the red one with me. Probably because it was convenient to have (and yes: no one else wanted it …)

In the 90s, I thought about having an old sofa redone and asked the upholsterer to do the Cleopatra pouf with the same drapery. Holding it at arm’s length, he did not approve but he would upholster it nonetheless and both, sofa and pouf, looked perfect together. However, soon thereafter I ended up storing the sofa at my parents‘ as it was too uncomfortable for me to sit on. Way too high and somehow not suitable for everyday use. I took a picture for you to see what I mean:

Can you imagine kids slouched on that sofa, or anyone curling up to watch a movie? At the same time, I would use the pouf excessively: to sit on it, to put my feet up, to place a tray on it, anything would work with it, and after 17 years of doing so you could tell: the top side was cracked, the fabric was badly worn, and the colors were faded.

As a matter of fact, those days when I would have furniture upholstered just like that are long gone (due to spending too much money on fiber craft maybe … 🙂 ), so I decided to re-cover the pouf myself. And that’s what I did!

One square and four rectangles, joint with slip stitches, and a (mindless) pattern, consisting of four different rows (dc, nothing else)  that I would be willing to translate and post upon request.

Here is the link to the German pattern.