Rescued Chair: Part 2

Well, after stripping the chair of all of its stuffing and horsehair (an entire trash bag full) I can now recover the chair!

Lucie seems to prefer the chair naked

The problem with reupholstery projects is that they can be expensive. The printed duck (that's what they call this fabric-its a combo between upholstery fabric and canvas) is $10 a yard on the low end so make sure you get it on sale (or bring your 40% off coupon) because you're going to want to buy an extra yard or two, especially if you have a pattern you're trying to match. Since I pulled all the horse hair padding off I also needed additional foam padding for the chair, I recommend the 2 inch thick version of whatever brand you prefer, the 1 inch foam pads just weren't cushy enough.

Make sure you sit in it to test it out on your tush.

I added batting to the sides for softness without the thickness.

I also wouldn't recommend doing this part in stages if you have pets around. I was trying very hard to avoid upholstering any cat hair into my chair in case it finds a future home somewhere with allergies, but that was difficult with two curious cats wanting to know why Mommy wouldn't let them sit on the new cushy thing.

Pulling the seat fabric through to the back

My chair had built in gaps where you could pull the fabric through to the back of the project to staple, this made getting the tight store-bought upholstery look a lot easier. Don't be afraid to pull it tight, you want this to look like an expert did it.

If you have a pneumatic stapler this is the time to use it because my hands took a beating trying to tug, pull, tighten, and then press the staple tight each time. I was using a manual because I was borrowing it so all that was purchased were the staples...but really pneumatic would have been way easier.

The arms were probably the hardest part, I had kept the original fabric off one of the arms and used it as a pattern to try and replicate what the previous owner had done however, even with a template I was unable to create the perfect crisp lines I was looking for.

Save the original upholstery as a pattern-this will make your life much easier.

Adding the side panels

If you're taking apart a chair that's already upholstered I would highly recommend saving the pieces as patterns, this will make your life much easier and hopefully even save fabric.

After adding the arms, I did the back of the chair where you sit and the final piece will be the back of the chair that would face away from the sitter.

The final step will be adding trim to cover some of the staples and then we will have a finished product! If you haven't already check out Part 1 of my rescued chair!

Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting is exactly what is sounds like: composting with vermis, which is the Latin for worms. I first became acquainted with vermicomposting when I started at Grow Food, Grow Hope in November 2009. One of my coworkers was attempting to vermicompost in a container he kept in his desk and usually the 1st thing he said to you after "hello" was "want to see my worms?" However, the worms jumped ship, were all over the office, and then were banned permanently. Since that day I had a small adventure into composting with worms. In my ignorance in the nature of compost I assumed that worms were always necessary for compost and therefore dug up worms from the backyard to add to my porch compost bin (an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tub I drilled holes in and added my food scraps to). These worms of course were never seen again as they were cooked in my compost bin. And then the research began. Now tha...

Shoes

Shoes Shania Twain Tell me about it... Ooh! Men. Have you ever tried to figure them out? Huh, me too, but I ain't got no clue How 'bout you? Men are like shoes Made to confuse Yeah, there's so many of 'em I don't know which ones to choose (yeah, yeah, yeah) Ah, sing it to me If you agree There's the kind made for runnin' The sneakers and the low down heels The kind that will keep you on your toes And every girl knows how that feels (yeah, yeah, yeah) Ouch, ah, sing it with me Chorus: You've got your kickers and your ropers Your everyday loafers, some that you can never find You've got your slippers and your zippers Your grabbers and your grippers Man, don't ya hate that kind? Some you wear in, some you wear out Some you wanna leave behind Sometimes you hate 'em And sometimes you love 'em I guess it all depends on which way you rub 'em But a girl can never have too many of 'em It's amazing what a little polish will do... Men ar...

FINALLY

After more time than I ever intended on dedicated to creating the list, blog, and ticker that has accompanied this 101 in 1001 I am finally finished. As you have seen, the bolded items are the categories, and the items that are NOT pink (in this case I believe we'll let them all be purple, because its a nice match, are the items that are finished. Today's one and only item (and the motivation for FINALLY getting this up) is Emma, a great book. I watched the movie with Megan before leaving for France so I knew what was going to happen. Now I'm sitting here dreaming of my own Mr. Knightley, but where I will find him I have no idea. Let me know if you find any men as perfect, graceful, handsome, and amazing as Mr. Knightley for me.

(Re) Chic