Indian Poufs, Ottomans & Footstools!

I’m so excited to finally finish my latest batch of footstools! Poor Thomas has lived with my piles of cotton for too long.


Colorful patchwork poufs – footstools – moodas – purchased on my last trip to India from villages in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Both areas are known for beautiful embroidered saris/kurtas as well as the famous use of patchwork piecing from vintage saris and textiles.

Some of the poufs are machine-made, but most are handmade; all pieced together from handmade textiles/saris. The sizes range from 14” to 19” diameters and up to 19” tall.

I’ve filled these with recycled cotton – literally. It seemed I searched for stuffing options for months until I finally caved in to shredding cotton myself. What a chore! Thrift stores and hand-me-downs have provided an endless supply of cotton t-shirts and sweats, which I washed in hot water then manually shredded. In order to achieve a dense, heavy weight, I’ve filled with these remnants allowing the pouf to be firm enough to be used as a seat, ottoman or possibly a table. Now all I need is a pad big enough to keep 'em all.