Makely

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Face Lift

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About three years ago, I found a chair with beautiful bones on Craigslist.  I was looking for a chair to go in my new sewing room in the house we were building, and this one really caught my eye.  She was in bad shape but had gorgeous lines.  With a little TLC and a recovered cushion, she was ready to serve her purpose in the new house.

Well, times (and my taste) have changed, and I decided to repuropse her to be used in another location.  So, I gave her a face lift…literally.

Since the chair was already painted a bright white, I simply popped off the seat and recovered it with a scrap of linen I had left over from the nursery project.  I thought the chair needed a little whimsy, so I cut out a silhouette with my Silhouette (heh) and applied the vinyl to the back of the chair.  The update took 30 minutes at the most, but I think it really gives her a whole new look.

Now, she thinks she’s all fancy and hot stuff.  I have to agree.

TIP JAR: Recovering the seat of a chair is a cheap way to change the look of a room.  Staple the fabric on the underside on all four sides of the cushion, pulling tight, before you put in the additional staples on each side.  This technique will keep your fabric from sliding and will make it easier to keep patterns from getting wavy.

Adding Comfort to a Wooden Rocking Chair – Part Two

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Last week, I left you with my rocking chair half-way finished and a bit scary looking.

If you missed Part One, click on over and read that before you finish this post.  If not, carry on.

Adding Comfort to a Wooden Rocking Chair – Part Two

After adding the foam cushioning to my chair, it was time to slipcover it.  I’ll admit, I have never, ever made a slipcover before, and I was really scared.  I was certain that I’d totally screw it up.  Luckily, I studied Pink and Polka Dot’s Laziest Slipcover Ever tutorial, and it answered so many questions for me.  As my usual luck would have it, she released an e-book about two days AFTER I finished tucking, pinning, and sewing.  I haven’t read the e-book yet, but she’s so great that I would highly recommend it if you are working on a slipcover.  I’m sure it will help immensely!

I chose linen for my slipcover.  I know, I know…it wrinkles like crazy.  I have always loved the look and feel of linen, though, and a natural linen is the perfect color for my room.  I bought about 5 yards of fabric and had about a yard leftover.

I started my slip cover by draping fabric over the back of the chair down to the arms in the front and down past the seat on the back.  I pinned it along the sides of the back to start making my slipcover shape.  I made the mistake at first of trying to make it too fitted, but then I remembered it was supposed to be loosey goosey.

Then, I cut a piece of fabric that fit the seat and pinned it to the piece that I had already fitted to the back of the chair.  I really didn’t want to have a seam at that location, but I couldn’t figure out how else to put it together due to the shape of the chair.

I then cut two pieces for the arms.  I pinned each one to the piece of seat fabric, to the big piece that covers the back of the chair, and in front of the arm pieces.

Then, following Pink’s direction, I basted the entire chair by hand, removing the pins as I went along.  She suggested it would be easier to sew on a machine without pins sticking you, and I think she was right about that.  I sewed it together on my machine and made sure it fit on the chair.  It did!

I trimmed the skirt so that it was the same length all around – just barely skimming the bottom of the seat.  I then added a 4-inch ruffle around the bottom.  I also painted white just the part of the chair that is visible from under the slipcover.  Yes, I’m that lazy – I only panted about 1/3 of the chair.

It’s definitely not perfect – far from it, actually!  But, do you know who’s not going to care?  Sweet Baby Emma.  🙂  It is now so comfy and wonderful to sit in.  I can’t wait to just sit and rock my baby girl (and her big brother, if he will still let me).

I’m adding this post to Kimba’s DIY Day, Gina’s Transformation Thursday, Kim’s I Made It! Party, and Traci’s Best DIY Projects of April Party.  Man, do I know how to party or what?