Oh to be sooooo relaxed as my little pair of chairs! You can check them out in
my shop!
Them before- very stressed out over how they look =0(
Before
This is how they got relaxed.... First I had to strip the varnish because it was so bad. Then sand, fill holes with wood putty, sand again, prime, paint in a nice semi-gloss antique white oil based paint. Sand edges to distress the finish and then let them relax while I tackled the seat cushions. They are currently getting a nice polyurethane soak at the spa. Always a good way to unwind.
Remove old cover and save to use as a template on new fabric. The cotton batting was so old, first of all it WAS cotton AND it stuck to the fabric! I used burlap because the chairs look rustic to me and therefore I thought a rustic material was in order and tres chic! It really is comfortable for all of yous guys who think, "WHAT THE?!?"
Covered in burlap from the back. Do you see the two holes? yeah, had to drill 2x to get the center for the tufted button
Make your piping. I just used the old piping for length and then cut my burlap on the bias. That means diagonal in sewing talk and it allows you make your piping go around edges easily.
I made a double piping using my burlap and then just some store-bought piping.
This is it married. See opposites do attract!
I made it wider than the original piping because I would need more selvage to staple with, you'll see in the next photo....
How to finish the edge
Here is a little free tutorial within a, oh, yeah free tutorial. Covered buttons. Covered buttons on just about everything make it look custom made vs. store bought so get you button covered ninja on and never look back at plain buttons again. Not that there is anything wrooong with plain buttons!
These come in packages so you get all the tools that you need. Then you can just get the replacement supplies for next time unless, you change up sizes like me, in which case you'll have every size tool for covering buttons. Ever. Now, place fabric on the white "bowl" and then press button into it.
Like so
and so...
Place button back over top and use blue "thingy" to press it into place. You may feel a pop when it catches. If you get just one side, press again on that side and see how you did
Pressed but not popped out yet, it can't wait to be put on the seat!
Now get yerself some long Doll needles
Thread it so you have 4 strands and use heavy duty thread
Go up through the correct center hole, through the button shank and back down through correct hole.
Now PUUULLLLLL! Staple the thread tightly back and forth several times to secure it so it looks tufted. I was not able to take the picture that shows me STANDING on the back of the cushion, pulling, stapling over and over again and trying to photograph all at the same time. But you all have such great imaginations, you get the picture..
All Done
And all done, now nail cushion to chair base and sit and relax yourself!!!
Let's Review:
Before: Stressed Out!
After: Relaxed, aahhhh!
Now, my little chairs are not de-stressed because they "look pretty" mind you. They had to go through a lot of hard work to get rid of all the stuff that was holdin' them back from their beauty within. Just putting a coat of paint over old varnish would have looked good initially but as people got closer, all the little problems would have become visible and the paint would have started to crack.
So take a page out of my little blog and do the hard work on the inside, and it will be hard, but get rid of the stuff that is holding you back and when you get through it, your new self will shine through and no one can argue with that kind of long-lasting beauty
Kim
I am linking arms with these blissfully beautiful bloggers:
Funky Junk Interiors
Shabby Nest
French Country Cottage
Restore Interiors -Restore Wednesdays
Miss Mustaed Seed- Furinture Feature Friday
Coastal Charm
