The Most Simple -- Laundry Bag Chair

• If you are strapped for cash and need some extra seating, you can fashion a new bean bag chair from unused or discarded objects left lying around the house. Start by grabbing a large, empty, drawstring laundry bag that you don't use. You can also pick up a cheap one from the home section of a major retailer. Fill the bean bag a little over three-quarters full with some old packing peanuts from a recent package. You can also purchase packing peanuts or a 75 lb bag of bean bag filling. Once the bag has been filled you can seal it shut multiple ways. You can simply pull the drawstring shut and begin using the bag. If the bean bag will see rough use, or you just don't like the bunching from the drawstring, you can seal the bag shut with iron-activated hemming tape (available in any craft store and most major grocery stores), some fabric glue, or use a needle and thread (or an available sewing machine). If you need to establish a bottom surface for the bag, try using a stiff piece of cardboard in the bottom before sealing the bag.
  
  

A Bit More Sophisticated

• This garden slug model is a bit more sophisticated. It looks more like a chair you would purchase in a store. It costs a tad more to make than the laundry bag option, and unless you are just in it for a craft project, it might be more cost effective to buy a new bean bag chair. To make this chair, you'll need 50 cubic feet of bean bag filling, 11 yards of a sturdy fabric such as corduroy (the fabric needs to be 3 feet wide), 3 feet of Velcro, a sewing machine (or a needle and thread), and a cardboard tube to help with filling once the bag is sewn together.
  
  

Construction

• Begin by cutting two 3-foot circles, a 2-foot square, and three 3-feet by 8-feet rectangles from the fabric. Take one of the rectangles and cut a 1 foot slit in it, about 1 foot in from its end. Put 1 foot of Velcro on both sides of the slit, on the side that will become the outer part of the chair. This will be a filling hole for the chair once it's constructed. Turn the rectangle over to the side that will be the inner part of the chair. Center the 2-foot square over the slit in the rectangle, and sew the square down on three sides. Apply 2-feet of Velcro to the other side. This square will help to keep the filling in.
  
  Sew the three big rectangles together, creating a 8-foot long tube with open ends. Sew the precut 3-foot circles onto the ends of the tube while the tube is still inside out. Once the circles are on, you can pull the fabric through the slit carefully to make the tube right side out. Now you can begin to fill the bean bag shell with filling, using the cardboard tube to help. Once its 75 percent full, seal the chair by pressing the Velcro together.