Chair Update

I have been meaning to get this update out since my mother, her friend Debra, and I took a crack at the chair reupholstery project. And since part two is about a week away so I figured I should get to getting.

A couple of weeks ago like I mentioned my mother barely made it to my apartment with one of her girlfriends, Debra. In true fashion for my mother she drove with death-defying precision. She may or may not have ended up on a one way street going the wrong way. Gah! Amazingly, they made it in one piece. Seriously people this is proof-positive that child resiliency is real and I stand before you as proof!   

Anywho, after catching my breath from laughing about the eventful drive out we got to work. Here's a reminder of what we started with. I painted the wood portions of the chair earlier this winter in preparation.

It may be difficult to tell but we started by ripping off the piping that lined the wood and discussing a game plan.

 Initially, the plan was to not strip the chair bare and work over at least some of the existing fabric. Please note I said initially.



















Opening up the back was the start of the stripping. Then we just kept going. It seemed like the right thing to do.

What the what? Please note the strange cushion situation above. The upper "wing" of the chair is cushioned but not the base of the arm. Something had to be done.

A little switcheroo was in order. So we padded the base of the arm and formed a cage with thread over the stuffing to keep it secure. At this point we decided the second trip to JoAnn's was in order to purchase foam for the wing section to give us the plush look we're looking for.

After stripping, destapling, considering a new game plan, destapling, a trip to JoAnn's, lunch, destapling, and some laughing we were ready to get moving on the fabric reupholstery...yay!

I should mention at this point that Debra is amazing. She is very deliberate and thoughtful in her approach. My mother is more like a bull - let's remember the one-way street incident. I am somewhere in the middle. But still, cutting the fabric is more than a little nerve wracking. Measure twice three times and cut once.

Another important step is lining up and relining up the patter with the various pieces. We decide to start at the arms after positioning the bottom and back.

We start stapling both of the arms around the wooden handles. At this point we decide to call it a day. I know, I know, we've come so far. But we were losing steam and understandably Debra wanted to hitch a ride back with my mother while there was still daylight after the morning's crazy ride out. 

The lions-share of the first day was repairing, tearing, destapling, and taking the chair apart. Next week we will tackle the stapling and piecing which I am hopeful will be pretty straight forward and likely a bit quicker. Then the cushion and piping .....now that may be another story. This is why I insist on reinforcements. 

Stay tuned for the conclusion of the saga. 

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