Slip Cover Complete!

Today I finished up my weekend project. Slip covering a chair in my son's room. Last week I shared a few before pics. I will share some "during" pics of some of the things I fixed to make the chair even better.



If you have read my previous post, you will see this pic of what the cushion looked like in the chair. It is sinking in because the strips that hold up the seat are broken.


I removed the sewn-in cushion and this is what I found. It just needs new stripping put down before adding the new cushion.

This is what the cushion looked like by the time I removed it. Kind of a mess and if I had just made a new slip cover for the seat cushion it would have been very lumpy and not looked good.

So I made a casing for the foam piece and also added more stuffing to make a fuller, more comfy seat for the chair.

I replaced the strips with new jute material strips.




I made the seat cushion slip cover first. It looks so much better already!



Then I made the slip cover for the chair. I would share step by step, but I don't really have a method to my madness. But I do prefer the process of laying out the pieces wrong-side-up and pinning everything and cutting to get the best fitting slip cover.

And if I could give two words of advice for making slip covers. Pin everything! I hate pinning things and I get in a hurry sometimes and don't want to, but it is really worth it to take my time and pin everything.

Be Inspired!
Karol

This Weekend's Project

This weekend I am going to recover an old chair that my son uses at his desk in his room. I bought a set of two chairs like this at an estate sale several years ago. I thought they were perfect for my kids' rooms to have at their desks.

I have shared on my blog before and after pics of my daughter's chair slip covered HERE.

And to be honest, I never took a before pic of my daughter's chair so I took a pic of my son's for the before and after on that page. Her chair looked the same except the seat was in better shape.

This is how the seat looks now. The chair is a very solid chair. Good structure and I like that it has casters on the bottom. What is wrong is the strips that they weave beneath the seat when making the chair are worn out and broken.

I purchased this seat strip stuff (sorry, I have no idea what it's called) at Wal Mart the other day. I was there and decided to see what clearance fabric they had. I wanted something inexpensive since it is covering a teenage boy's chair. Need I say more? Well, Wal Mart had this stripe fabric for $3.00 per yard. I think the stabilizer-strip stuff was $.67 per yard. Very inexpensive.



This weekend I am going to fix the bottom of the seat on this chair and make a simple slip cover for it. I'll share some pics when I have it done. I will also show how to fix the bottom of the seat.

Be Inspired!
Karol

Slip Covers Complete!

I took pictures as I went along on this project, but to even think of explaining how I did this is overwhelming. Let's just say I am glad they are done and I don't have 1980's mauve chairs in my living room anymore! And they are totally removable and washable.

I used inexpensive muslin to make my pattern pieces. I also made the slip covers out of Osnaburg, which is a muslin fabric, but kind of looks like a linen. Osnaburg is very inexpensive and did well when I pre-washed and dried it.


Be inspired!
Karol :)

From Shabby to Shabby Chic

To the left is before and after pictures of chairs I purchased at an estate sale. You can click on the photo to see a larger image. The pretty shabby chic one is in my daughter's room at her desk. I purchased two matching chairs in 70's fabric for $20 each. I knew these chairs had potential and I loved that they had cast rollers on them, -which is great a at a kid's desk. They had a sturdy construction -which is also great in a kid's room.

I simply made a pattern of the chair upholstered pieces with white butcher paper (available at WalMart) and traced the contour of the chair and made a slip cover. I did have to remove the cushion which was upholstered into the chair bottom. I sewed a seperate cushion for the seat and even added extra padding inside the seat cushion for a more shabby/fluffy girl cushion. I used color-coordinated fabrics to tie it all together. I just loved the monkey print fabric. It gave it a whimsical look so it wasn't too formal.

I plan on slipcover-ing the other chair in a masculine, more tailored look for my son's room. Something with plaids I think. I'll share pictures when I have that one complete.

Take a look at my Flick'r Auction Photos. I added a few more pictures of my great finds!


Be Inspired! -Karol :0)