$30 5-Gallon Bucket Ottoman

Hey all, welcome to my blog. I decided that I would post this tutorial when the only 5 gallon bucket ottoman tutorial I could find online was an $80 project by professional seamstresses and frankly the end result looked awful. This tutorial is simple and affordable.

To start, here is a full list of materials and prices:

     Patterned burlap 1.5 yds $10 - Michaels
     Plain burlap 1.5 yds $4 - Hobby Lobby
     Large roll of batting $6 - Walmart
     3/8" rope 3 yds $4 - Joann's
     4 Wooden Doll Heads $4 - Hobby Lobby
     4 flat-faced 1 3/4" screws $2
     1 Large Button
     Scrap plywood/OSB
     Hot glue & Staples

I began my project with the lid. I took some old crappy 1" plywood I had lying around and cut out 2 circles. 11" and 12 1/4". The process for cutting these circles was a little painstaking as I used a circular saw which can only cut in straight lines. Many cuts later and some work with a belt grinder, I had my two lid pieces.

     I used gorilla glue and 3 3" c-clamps to glue the smaller circle onto the larger. Any wood glue will work for this though.

With that done, I got to work on the Ottoman itself.

I drilled a small hole into the center of the lid and cut circles through many layers of the batting (I recommend at least 8 layers of batting to make a comfortable seat), I then cut the burlap and stapled it all onto the under side of the larger wooden circle and cut away any excess. Hot glue was used to tame frayed burlap edges.

For the tufting, I covered a plain button with burlap and used superglue on the back side of the button. I used embroidery floss to pull the button through the hole I drilled and fastened it with a bobby pin.

With the lid done, it was time to turn towards the base. I took the rest of the batting I had and wrapped it around the bucket going up to the rim. I (strangely) stitched together the ends of the batting to hold it in place while I wrapped the burlap around it. 

I gave the burlap a quick straight stitch up the seam, using hot glue along the seam to hold it permanently and cut away any excess burlap except for 3 inches or so on each side, leaving room on the top and bottom to pull over. 

Make some strategic cuts to allow the burlap to glue flat then use hot glue to secure the extra burlap around the edges. 

I didn't cut slits in the bottom like I did on the top, opting for folding instead. Again, hot glue to secure it. I then cut out a circle of plain burlap to cover everything and glued that on. 

I then used the flat-faced screws to secure the feet (wooden doll heads) to the bottom after first sanding the bottom of the feet to give a flat surface (or you can use large wooden spools for feet).

Now the bucket is almost finished, but it needs a final touch. The seam is kind of ugly and frankly the ottoman is still missing something. 3 yards of 3/8" rope and some (more) hot glue later, the ottoman is done (on the outside). I glued the rope along the seam, a ring around the top, and a ring around the bottom.

OPTIONAL: 

I also plan to use my remaining patterned burlap for the inside of the bucket. One fault that I have noticed while using the ottoman thus far is that it is very top heavy. I plan to cut another circle of wood to place in the bottom of the bucket to act as a counterweight and cover that with burlap as well. There should be enough scraps leftover to handle this part. I will update with more pictures upon completion.