Saturday Project–Chair re-do

Quick project to pass the time….. I had an old chair that I used for my sewing chair. This old chair had been around for years and was a very useful chair. Today was the day it was going to have a facelift.

We started with this – turquoise velvet covered cushions and a wooden frame that had a patina of grime and years of use.

My sister dropped around the other week with a ton of coffee sacks left over from orders to her coffee shop.

Which was fortunate because I wanted something chic and organic to cover my chair in. It was a quick and easy job.

Here is the process:

1/ Dismantle the chair with a little coaxing and force.

2/ give the frame a really good sand

3/ remove at least one layer of upholstery; if the chair has been redone before – like this one had. This is the original layer………. it doesn’t get more retro than this!

4/ Use the layer of fabric you removed as a template for your pattern cutting and cut into the burlap leaving at least 1cm clearance. I included clearance because Burlap is liable to fray and needs to be folded under on every raw edge. (you could machine baste with a wide stitch to ensure a long lasting piece, if you wanted too).

5/ Stretch the burlap over the cushion keep tight and work your way around the base with the gun staple. Fold the edges under as you work your way around.

6/ I found the burlap was too thick in the corners to gun staple through effectively. So to ensure integrity and strength in the fabric at corners seams and relieve the pressure on the staples (they wouldn’t stay in for very long anyway) – I worked the seams in blanket stitch with a mattress needle and waxed twine. I picked up the wax twine in a box lot I brought off an older lady who was cleaning out her sewing room. It was vintage and perfect for the job!

7/ With the cushions and the frame ready, the only step left was to reassemble. Unfortunately the burlap was much thicker than the previous layer of fabric removed and wouldn’t go back into the frame from whence it came. In hindsight I probably should have removed all the layers back to the foam. So to rectify this problem I had my hubby skilfully route out the sides a little further. He is a professional so please don’t try that at home unless you know what you’re doing. I don’t want anyone losing digits!

8/ Reassemble the chair with the help of a ratchet/spanner and a big clamp.

and all done!!

 

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Second job of the day. Hubby brought home a small table that he had made at work in his downtime. He wasn’t overly happy with it but I thinks it’s fab and instead of a table – it makes an awesome little one seater monk bench for our deck. So he sealed it with the same sealer we used on the Armoire project and now I have two cute seats – in one day!!

enjoy.