One Foot Stool

Want to make a foot stool with me?

Here's what we need: A scrap of leftover pine board (mine's about 10 inches of a 1x12 board).

Four curtain rod finials (these will be our legs -- they're about 5 inches long).

A big hunk of leftover quilt batting (I didn't measure how much).

Upholstery weight fabric (everyone has a closet full of random fabrics, right?).

Paint, sandpaper, staple gun, staples, pencil, ruler, and a drill (for pilot holes).

After sanding the edges of the board smooth to avoid snags and splinters, mark the position of the four pilot holes. For this size stool and this size "leg" I decided to go 1 1/2 inches in from the edge. Be careful not to drill in too far -- we don't want to go through the board -- then sand the holes, just to keep everything smooth.
Place a piece of fabric (larger than your board) right side down on the floor. Fold up the hunk of quilt batting (to be the same size as the board) and place it in the center of the fabric, with the board on top hole side up.

Folding the raw edges under, pull the fabric up and staple it to the board. Begin at the center on one side, pull tight and staple the opposite side. Then staple the two alternate sides, leaving the corners for last.

Trim the excess fabric away from the corners.

Fold and tuck the corners, and staple down. Be sure to leave the pilot holes visible.

Paint the curtain rod finials to a coordinating color.

Once the paint dries, screw the four finials into the four pilot holes to make the legs. Flip over and...

Tada!