Jean Bean Bag
Gerry's Story
This piece was a specific commission for a 16th birthday
Gerry wanted a bean bag created for her teenage son. As an artist herself she visualized a vibrant, funky piece that would be added to her son's room.
She had collected examples of his artwork and his skate culture as well as lots of photos that chronicled his life, family and friends.
Creating the story
Upcycling textiles is a real joy and using sturdy jeans for this project was perfect
I started by contacting my local Trading Standards to get advice on the fire safety requirements when creating a bean bag using upcycled fabrics. They were so helpful and I cannot stress enough how important it is to get official guidance.
Gerry left the design of the cushion to me so I set about creating a pattern that would make the most of the jeans and flannel shirts she gave me. I incorporated pocket areas wherever I could and those that were not included in a panel were used later, as were straps, belts and toggles.
I transferred the photographs and artwork on to fabric and Jacob's words were printed using a variety of graffiti styled fonts. It was all appliqued onto the shirts around the cushion, in organised randomness!
Gerry's Feedback:
Jo has very recently made a massive, patchwork beanbag for my 16 year old son.
I had this random idea about making the said bean bag out of bits and pieces of fabric I'd collected over the years! I immediately thought of Mrs Marvellous & wasn't disappointed! The result was a wonderful, colourful and creative version of him, that he could sit on!
Fantastic. Not only does it look good, it is beautifully made with lots of TLC!
Jacob's Feedback:
