The Chair Project, Part 2

I finished the chair in time for Thanksgiving last year, and I'm just now getting around to posting the photos. So here, we go.

Purchased all the special materials from the Interwebs, and applied the webbing. 

Reused the old springs and sewed them to the webbing with "Ruby" twine,

Covered springs with burlap.

Reused the old coir filling.

Added a layer of new cotton upholstery batting.

Covered with muslin.

And, finally, covered with upholstery fabric. This print might look familiar, as I have a ton of it in my stash. Also applied the gimp and decorative nails to the edges, and put a dust cover on the bottom. I like how it turned out, and guess what? I have another chair just like it, waiting for me to do all this again. I'm hoping the second one goes a bit faster since I know better what I'm doing now.

The Chair Project, part 1

There are actually two (matching) chairs that I inherited from my maternal grandmother's mother (my great-grandmother Bridget H.) They sat in my grandmother's basement forever, until I grabbed them, and then they sat in my basement. I have been wanting to get them fixed up and in usable shape for some time, but it seemed too daunting a task. I started making some home improvements this year, and needing to move stuff around in the basement, I finally resolved to do something about the chairs taking up space there.

Before:

It was a formidable task, indeed. It took several weekends (and weeknights), and the ordering and purchasing of many various tools and supplies. Some, very specialized items.

I started by stripping the chair. This mainly just involved a tack remover, and pliers for some of the more stubborn tacks. This thing had a bazillion tacks in it.

There is a padded roll in the front of the cushion, to help keep its shape, which I removed and reused.

The filling is Ginger or Coconut Coir, which I saved. 

The springs looked ok, so I saved them.

I suspect that the complete label inside reads, "G. Buehler & Co., manufacturer of Parlor Furniture Frames, Allentown, Pa." I would not be surprised if it came from this Buehler. It makes sense, considering the location and timeframe. 

The pile of old webbing, and all the other materials that I pulled off the chair was extremely dusty, dirty, and disintegrating.  I discarded most of it.

The back was also webbed and padded.

Luckily, the frame was solid. I did not want to strip and refinish the wood. I just cleaned it, and filled the tack holes with wood filler. I wasn't sure what to clean it with, so I tried a couple of things: 1) Denatured alcohol, and 2) Mineral spirits, and I used a fine grade of steel wool. I still can't tell which is better. I probably took some of the finish off, but it brightened up the wood considerably. There are lots of scrapes and scratches, but I don't mind. I will follow up some paste wax to polish and protect the piece.  

A couche for making bread

So another thing that's new is that I've been baking bread without a machine. Not only that, but I've been hearth-baking the bread: baking it on a stone in the oven, rather than placing the dough in a pan. One way of proofing free-form loaves like that is by using a couche, which is just a piece of cloth that is used to cradle the loaves while they rise. You can buy a couche, but I have skills. I sewed two rectangles of linen fabric together, like you would to make a placemat, and viola!

Book review: DIY Couture by Rosie Martin

This was an impulse purchase and I am pleasantly surprised.

http://www.amazon.com/DIY-Couture-Create-Fashion-Collection/dp/1856697991

There are a lot of books of this nature out lately because making your own clothes has caught on with the younger crowd, but I find some of these books rather boring. NOT this one. It definitely takes a unique approach and offers a lot of cool, interesting designs.

It covers 10 basic wardrobe pieces, and eight different variations on each one, so that's 80 different styles to play with. The pieces include:

A straight skirt
The Grecian dress
The skater skirt
A waistcoat
A cape
A slouch top
The goddess dress
A hoody/jacket
trousers
and a romper

The variations follow eight different themes:

The Acid Candy collection: bright and modern
The Monochrome Art collection: black and white and classic
The American Road trip collection: a little boho, country, hippy
The Rude Disco collection: glam and flashy
The Coffee Classic collection: stylish neutrals
The Jungle Punk collection: fun and funky
The Safari Prep collection: earth-tone classics
The Tea Picnic collection: girly and flirty

The beauty part is, there are no patterns. The instructions for constructing each piece describe how to use your own measurements and clothes to draft a pattern, and you don't need anything fancier than a t-shirt or pair of jeans that fit you well.

If you have never sewn anything before, this is not the place to start, but if you have a few finished projects under your belt, most of the looks in this book are within your grasp. The instructions for pattern drafting and constructing each piece are well illustrated and easy to follow. This collection also leaves lots of room for your own ideas and customization. This is a great, inspiring springboard.