By Monica Ewing, Sunset senior designer

I’m done! After countless hours and copious amounts of stray threads strewn about my apartment, the ottoman project is finally finished. This is what I did this week...

Step 10 Sewing the bottom pieces
I sewed the bottom sides and welting using the same process from Step 9, except this time I cut the welting strips twice as wide so I would have extra fabric to wrap around the bottom of the ottoman. Then I sewed the original bottom zippered piece to the bottom edge of where the cushion will go. This saved me time and money, and it will be hidden anyway.

Step 11 Stuffing the cushion
I unzipped the zipper and stuffed the cushion into the cover while trying to minimize wrinkling of the inner cover—which was quite a workout.

Step 12 Attaching it to the frame
Once the cushion was inside the cover, I slipped it over the frame. After straightening and pulling the edges, I folded the fabric over the bottom edge of the frame, stapled it every few inches, and trimmed the excess fabric.
Tip #5 If any of the staples stick up a bit, just hammer them down with a hammer.

Step 13 Tufting
As you will see, this would have been easier to do before Step 12. First, I measured and marked with straight pins where I wanted each of my covered buttons to go. Then, following the package instructions, I made eight covered buttons (using circles cut from leftover fabric scraps). Next, I threaded a 10-inch upholstery needle with a 2-foot-long piece of waxed twine and pushed it through the cushion from the top down. Then, I unthreaded the needle at the bottom, looped the button onto the top piece, and threaded the needle again at the top. I then pushed the needle through about ¼ inch from the first entry, so both ends of the twine emerge from the bottom of the cushion. After repeating this on all eight buttons, I flipped the ottoman over and stood on the cushion, straddling each pair of threads (which compresses the cushion). Then I pulled the threads tight, tied them in a knot, and trimmed the excess length.

Step 14 The dustcover
I bought a piece of Pellon to use as the dustcover because it's close in texture to the original. I folded the edges under and stapled it to the frame. Then, I cut holes for the feet and screwed the feet on.

People have asked me if it was worth all the work. The answer is yes. The total cost (including the price of the ottoman itself) was only $136.77! Next step: Scotchgard.

Next week: Long-lasting cut flowers.