It's going to be a couple more weeks before we have any juicy construction updates for you. Currently there are a whole bunch of inspections lined up for this week, and the polyseal spray foam is going in, then insulation, but none of those are exciting photos. So, I thought a little bragging might entertain you in the meantime.
This chair is by no means perfect. It was intended to be my "learning chair" but I fell in love with the shape, and then I fell in love with the fabric so I was hoping I could get it to turn out ok. I bought it to go in Nugget's new big boy bedroom at the new house, and I'm so so happy with the outcome. I did learn a lot and feel like I'll do even better on the next one, and believe me the projects are stacking up! I've got at least 3 more upholstery projects lined up already, and then probably several more that I just haven't decided on.
My biggest takeaway is that I'm not a seamstress and I will never be a seamstress. Thank goodness for my mother in law, Cyndra, who slaved away making the cushion for this chair while she was in town watching the kids! I never could have done that part myself! And I truly mean that. I intend to do many more upholstery projects, but I will not buy a piece of furniture that has a detachable cushion for my projects again. Problem solved!
Another word to the wise: On your first attempt, don't choose a fabric with a bold pattern! See previous note about this chair not being perfect!
The hardest part of the whole chair? Anyone with even basic sewing skills, look away now. No seriously, don't read this... it's embarrassing! The worst part was sewing the 10 yards of double welt! This guy right here... this drew out my inner drunken sailor vocabulary!
Doesn't look like much, does it? Yeah, don't let this sweet looking pile of double cording fool you! It's EVIL!
Another funny mention that should probably embarrass me, but we're all friends here right? I'm not really the domestic type. I'm a pretty good cook, but that's where it stops. I hate cleaning, I hate laundry, and my iron and ironing board are as pristine as they were when we got them as a wedding/shower gift back in 2004. I'd just assume buy new clothes rather than remove the wrinkles from what I own. :) That being said, I had to iron the fabric pieces before attaching to the chair. Had to! So the kids were running around the living room like wild hyenas - chasing, laughing, the usual pre-bathtime chaos at night. I set up the ironing board in the living room so I could multi-task and be part of the family activity, and that's when everything came to a screeching halt. The kids were silent as they took in the glory of themagic spaceship ironing board that they've clearly never seen before. Oh how I wish I had a phone or camera handy to capture the awed expressions on their faces. Slowly they eased towards the mystical object, closer and closer still until I shooed them away. Sure, I was embarrassed for a nanosecond, and then my eyes met Brent's and we both burst out laughing and the chaos resumed. We've decided when they get out of control and all else fails, we'll bring out the ironing board to see if we can get the same brief moment of peace.
Ok, here we go with chair pictures!
BEFORE: (this chair came from a local ReSale store for $19.99) I bought 7 yards of Premier Prints "Emily" in the color "Corn," a 250 yard roll of double welt cord (for future projects too), 2 yards of replacement foam, and 5 yards of batting which was way too much and I have lots of leftover for another project. So this chair cost about $90 when all was said and done.
Taking the plunge! This was the first piece I started prying away from the chair having no idea what I would find underneath. That's a cardboard tack strip that seemed intimidating at first, but it's super easy to use!
This caused a mild panic - heavy metal strip with nail-like spikes wrapped around the fabric and hammered into the wood frame. Again, much scarier than it looks. When I was putting the chair back together I stood back and just looked at these metal spikes for a while until I mustered the courage to give it a shot.
The naked lady. This was after several hours of deconstructing, which took even longer because I tried to photograph and document each piece as a reminder of how it goes back together.
And she sat like this for quite a while. I was scared to ruin my $20 chair. :)
First up was the double welt. Or so I thought. I tried and tried and just couldn't get my sewing machine to do my bidding. Then Cyndra came for a visit and taught me that practicing on scrap fabric to get my thread and bobbin tensions right is always the right way to start! She knocked out the cushion, a real one with a zipper! And together we figured out the "shortcut" to making bias strips, and then she had to go home. That left me and the sewing machine to duke it out over 10 yards of double welt cord! It wasn't pretty, but I was victorious. The one last sucker punch I took was running out of thread with about 18" to go (not running out of bobbin... actually running out of thread entirely so I had to switch to another type and it worked out fine.)
Here are some photos of her masterful cushion craftsmanship!
Then I cut all my new foam pieces to size using the old pieces as templates. I don't have photos of that!
Then I cut all the fabric pieces using the old ones as templates. This was made trickier because of the bold pattern, and because I seriously messed up my first attempt at the welting and used an extra 3/4 yard of fabric that I hadn't anticipated. By some miracle I was able to squeak out all the pieces I needed from the fabric I had bought, though it probably came with the sacrifice of better matching all the patterned seams. Luckily, I don't think it will bother the Nugget. Again, no pictures, but 7 yards of fabric laid out on the floor in a long strip is quite a sight to behold! I also had some light sewing (if I call it light, you know it's super basic) to attach the muslin that covers the springs to the chair fabric that covers the footrest. Easy peasy.
Next step was attaching the foam, and I do have pictures! First just the foam...
Then I added the batting. Pay no mind to the pile in the corner. Starting to look like a chair again!!
And here's my very first piece. I was already quite proud of myself at this point! Notice the spaceship in the background? :) Gus was a little peeved with all the noise of the compressor and staple gun.
and then another piece...
and another!! You can see I had to improvise in the photo above. Where I stapled the front piece left a big indentation in the fluffy batting which would have shown through the arm cover fabric. So I tacked on a piece of batting to fill that gap before attaching the arm!
and it really moved fast once I got over my fear.
This looks done from the front, but it's a cheater photo. The sides and the back are still unfinished at this point. :)
Once again I took the plunge after just staring at it for a while. The cardboard tack strip went on easily, and the first metal strip wasn't bad either. I learned the tack strip should go first, then the batting, but otherwise it turned out good!
Good except... I used a regular mallet instead of an upholstery mallet. The regular mallet leaves a black greasy mark behind. :( I was so upset. A little oxyclean juice and some dawn and I think we're back in business.
Speaking of being back in business... greasy black mallet problem solved! Gotta roll with the punches.
One other issue I encountered was with the 4th and final metal strip. I reused all the metal pieces from the original chair, and despite straightening out each nail, it just wasn't meant to be on this last piece. As I started tapping with the mallet the spikes just caved and flattened instead of going into the wood. Again, improv! I removed the strip, folded the fabric over and used permanent fabric glue on that one seam. It's the back of the chair and shouldn't have much stress on it. And if it comes apart, I feel confident enough to go buy a metal tack strip and do it properly if needed.
Next up was putting that hard earned double welt to use! Just a lunatic and her glue gun at this point.
Ta-da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't painted the legs yet because I haven't decided what color they need to be.
The pillow has the whole color pallette for Nugget's new room. I love the craziness of all the patterns. The walls will be navy blue. The bedding is a navy/white thick rugby stripe. I'm thinking a different geometric pattern in kelly green for the curtains!
You can clearly see Gussy's relief that the foyer is back in order and the staple gun was put away!
Usually I'm pleased with my projects and I move on, but I must say I'm extremely proud of myself with this one. I've already got about 80% of the fabric removed from the settee that's going in our office, and I took the back panel off our newly acquired vintage office chairs last night. No rest!!
Hope to be back with a construction update in a couple weeks, unless I somehow finish another project in the meantime!!
This chair is by no means perfect. It was intended to be my "learning chair" but I fell in love with the shape, and then I fell in love with the fabric so I was hoping I could get it to turn out ok. I bought it to go in Nugget's new big boy bedroom at the new house, and I'm so so happy with the outcome. I did learn a lot and feel like I'll do even better on the next one, and believe me the projects are stacking up! I've got at least 3 more upholstery projects lined up already, and then probably several more that I just haven't decided on.
My biggest takeaway is that I'm not a seamstress and I will never be a seamstress. Thank goodness for my mother in law, Cyndra, who slaved away making the cushion for this chair while she was in town watching the kids! I never could have done that part myself! And I truly mean that. I intend to do many more upholstery projects, but I will not buy a piece of furniture that has a detachable cushion for my projects again. Problem solved!
Another word to the wise: On your first attempt, don't choose a fabric with a bold pattern! See previous note about this chair not being perfect!
The hardest part of the whole chair? Anyone with even basic sewing skills, look away now. No seriously, don't read this... it's embarrassing! The worst part was sewing the 10 yards of double welt! This guy right here... this drew out my inner drunken sailor vocabulary!
Doesn't look like much, does it? Yeah, don't let this sweet looking pile of double cording fool you! It's EVIL!
Another funny mention that should probably embarrass me, but we're all friends here right? I'm not really the domestic type. I'm a pretty good cook, but that's where it stops. I hate cleaning, I hate laundry, and my iron and ironing board are as pristine as they were when we got them as a wedding/shower gift back in 2004. I'd just assume buy new clothes rather than remove the wrinkles from what I own. :) That being said, I had to iron the fabric pieces before attaching to the chair. Had to! So the kids were running around the living room like wild hyenas - chasing, laughing, the usual pre-bathtime chaos at night. I set up the ironing board in the living room so I could multi-task and be part of the family activity, and that's when everything came to a screeching halt. The kids were silent as they took in the glory of the
Ok, here we go with chair pictures!
BEFORE: (this chair came from a local ReSale store for $19.99) I bought 7 yards of Premier Prints "Emily" in the color "Corn," a 250 yard roll of double welt cord (for future projects too), 2 yards of replacement foam, and 5 yards of batting which was way too much and I have lots of leftover for another project. So this chair cost about $90 when all was said and done.
Taking the plunge! This was the first piece I started prying away from the chair having no idea what I would find underneath. That's a cardboard tack strip that seemed intimidating at first, but it's super easy to use!
And she sat like this for quite a while. I was scared to ruin my $20 chair. :)
First up was the double welt. Or so I thought. I tried and tried and just couldn't get my sewing machine to do my bidding. Then Cyndra came for a visit and taught me that practicing on scrap fabric to get my thread and bobbin tensions right is always the right way to start! She knocked out the cushion, a real one with a zipper! And together we figured out the "shortcut" to making bias strips, and then she had to go home. That left me and the sewing machine to duke it out over 10 yards of double welt cord! It wasn't pretty, but I was victorious. The one last sucker punch I took was running out of thread with about 18" to go (not running out of bobbin... actually running out of thread entirely so I had to switch to another type and it worked out fine.)
Here are some photos of her masterful cushion craftsmanship!
Then I cut all my new foam pieces to size using the old pieces as templates. I don't have photos of that!
Then I cut all the fabric pieces using the old ones as templates. This was made trickier because of the bold pattern, and because I seriously messed up my first attempt at the welting and used an extra 3/4 yard of fabric that I hadn't anticipated. By some miracle I was able to squeak out all the pieces I needed from the fabric I had bought, though it probably came with the sacrifice of better matching all the patterned seams. Luckily, I don't think it will bother the Nugget. Again, no pictures, but 7 yards of fabric laid out on the floor in a long strip is quite a sight to behold! I also had some light sewing (if I call it light, you know it's super basic) to attach the muslin that covers the springs to the chair fabric that covers the footrest. Easy peasy.
Next step was attaching the foam, and I do have pictures! First just the foam...
And here's my very first piece. I was already quite proud of myself at this point! Notice the spaceship in the background? :) Gus was a little peeved with all the noise of the compressor and staple gun.
Once again I took the plunge after just staring at it for a while. The cardboard tack strip went on easily, and the first metal strip wasn't bad either. I learned the tack strip should go first, then the batting, but otherwise it turned out good!
One other issue I encountered was with the 4th and final metal strip. I reused all the metal pieces from the original chair, and despite straightening out each nail, it just wasn't meant to be on this last piece. As I started tapping with the mallet the spikes just caved and flattened instead of going into the wood. Again, improv! I removed the strip, folded the fabric over and used permanent fabric glue on that one seam. It's the back of the chair and shouldn't have much stress on it. And if it comes apart, I feel confident enough to go buy a metal tack strip and do it properly if needed.
Next up was putting that hard earned double welt to use! Just a lunatic and her glue gun at this point.
Ta-da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't painted the legs yet because I haven't decided what color they need to be.
You can clearly see Gussy's relief that the foyer is back in order and the staple gun was put away!
Usually I'm pleased with my projects and I move on, but I must say I'm extremely proud of myself with this one. I've already got about 80% of the fabric removed from the settee that's going in our office, and I took the back panel off our newly acquired vintage office chairs last night. No rest!!
Hope to be back with a construction update in a couple weeks, unless I somehow finish another project in the meantime!!
I am beyond impressed. It looks fantastic. How did you know how much fabric to buy? And you used a stapler that hooked to your compressor? I like that. I never can squeeze the manual kind hard enough to get the staples all the way into my project. I love that your kids were in awe of the ironing board. I do use my ironing board - but only to quilt. Dh has his own ironing board and iron if he chooses to wear non-wrinkled clothes to work. (I hate ironing too)
ReplyDeletehi marti! thanks for your note! i would never even attempt a project like this without the power tools! even with them, my hands are still pretty beat up. :)
DeleteI am so impressed. I had posted about my 2 chairs. I have nothing to use as a pattern as they are bare bones. I looked at some of DIY upholstery's Youtube videos. I then looked at their web site. Whoa..I didn't realize the air compressor/stapler and tools would be so expensive. Did you buy an air compressor and the Fasco air stapler ? Nothing else is all that expensive and I am not going to do any sewing as I don't know how. I don't see a pic for when you did just the seat foam. I have the same kind of springs. You can see my chairs on the thread on Decorating GW. Here is a link ...
ReplyDeletehttp://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg1110115614387.html?23. Thank you for any suggestions you can make about tools etc. Caroline
hi caroline! the tools aren't super cheap, but they are so worth it if you are the DIY type and will use it for more than one project. i have the Porter Cable stapler and a Kobalt compressor from Lowes and they've been great. you can see specific models on a previous post about my dining room chairs. http://nuggetanddoodle.blogspot.com/2013/09/dining-room-chair-makeover.html
Deleteas for your chairs, i saw your post and thought about replying but wasn't feeling super confident at the time with my own project! lol i'll go back to your post and share some ideas.