Home >> shhh, don’t tell…
December 19, 2008
I have been wanting to get bean bags for the kids to sit in when they watch TV…not that I want them to be too comfortable or turn into couch potatoes, but, let’s face it, kids will watch TV, may as well be comfy. Well, what I didn’t realize is how expensive a nice bean bag is. And I didn’t want tie-dye, rainbow, or Little Pony bags… So…. I found 2 on Craigslist.
They couldn’t have been from more opposite neighborhoods. The first bag was in Wicker Park. When I found the address, I took a deep breath and thought OH, NO, what have I done. I pulled up to an “Adult” store on Milwaukee and called the cell number. The guy with the bean bag lived in an apartment over the “store.” He had a black hood on, was about 6’4″ and had a pale, white, goth face. He came down with the bag, I thanked him and handed him his $10. He grunted, “You’re welcome” and shut the rusty red door. I felt like I was making an illegal deal. The kids were in the van so I stuffed the bean bag in a big garbage bag so Miika wouldn’t see what I was “buying.”
The second bag was in Downers Grove in a lovely middle class neighborhood. I pulled up to the split-level ranch and the mom of the house came to the door in a “holiday” sweater apologizing for the cookie dough on her hands. She took my check with the tips of her doughy fingers and wished me a Merry Christmas.
Both bags were black. I sprayed them down with bleach water and went shopping for some fun fabric to recover them. Here’s how they look now:
I realize that Miika would probably prefer a Hello Kitty bag and Nathan would LOVE a Sesame Street bag…but I don’t want to look at those, plus they’ll outgrow those themes fast. I found this very cool fabric at Hancock the other day. I can’t wait to give the bags on Christmas morning!
Oh, and as for the cost…well… the bags were $10 each plus the fabric which was a lot more than I wanted to spend….$47. But I still saved money. Nice covers on etsy.com are $68 each for just the cover. Plain old bean bags are $35-ish and nice ones on line are $80+. So I ended up spending $67 for 2 bags, not bad!! It took 3 yards of the swirly polka dot and 1/2 yard of the gold circle on the ends. Now to keep them out of site for the next 6 days!!
Wow, Liita! Those are the prettiest bean bags I have ever seen! Well done!!
These are just lovely. I love the shape. I have also made a bean bag but more of a globe shape. I think I would choose your design in the future. Here’s a thought: With my bean bag, I didn’t actually put beans in it. Instead, I left an opening and filled it with the ten million stuffed animals in our house. It’s very comfy and VERY useful. I made it out of a stretchy pink fabric that is sort of fluffy like curly animal fur (surely there is a real name for this fabric). In the future, I will use your design and put a zipper on the seam. Thank you for the inspiration. Hopefully the stuffed animal stuffing will save you from the bean bag hunt in the future!