Another Wing Chair Tutorial, Part 2

The other day we started this tutorial and completed the wings and arms.



So let's get this chair finished!

 I decided to move on to the drop cloth for the next part,

so I draped a piece over the top front of the chair and cut it to fit,

making sure to add seams, and sewed it to the wings, right sides together.

 I then cut a piece for the seat (this chair doesn't have a separate cushion)

and pinned it to the top piece, folding the fabric of the top under so 

I could top stitch it instead of turning the fabric.

Pinned and topstitched along the sides of the seat as well.

I do it this way because at this point it's just easier than constantly turning 

the whole thing, which is getting pretty heavy!

 Do the same where the arm meets the wing.

Next, on to the sides. cut pieces to fit and pin to topstitch.

I used the drop cloth for the sides and the blue for the front.

 I added the custom piping in the front as well.

(See directions for the piping here)

Finished front.

 

Finished side.

 

 The last part was the back.

I wanted to use the drop cloth, but I added 

a strip of the blue first, 

 and the piping as well.

 

Finished back.

 The final detail is the velcro to close the slipcover

and the buttons along the side.

Slip covers are not difficult if you just take them step by step

cut and pin each piece on the chair for a good fit.

Another Wing Chair Slipcover!

My son has been storing this leather wing chair in my shed for over 2 years

and I just recently thought of bringing it in to the house and slip covering

it to match the one in the living room.

What took me so long??

 The lovely before shot!

And after!

 

It doesn't match the original exactly. I wanted  it to coordinate, not match,

 so I used a pretty blue canvas with my dropcloth.

 I will get started on a tutorial this week!

I can't believe it took me 2 years to think of this!

Statement Chairs: A Love Affair!

I think my love affair with chairs began as a teenager, when I went to an exhibit of American Furniture at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. I found many of the chairs to be so beautiful, they could be considered not just functional seating, but ART!

I still feel that way, especially when you have a Statement Chair in your home.
(Or, in my case, several!)

What is a statement chair?
Just what it sounds like: a chair that makes a statement, adds an accent to a room, or maybe is even the centerpiece of a room. It is often the one piece that pulls all of the other elements together.

One of my favorite home decor sights, One King's Lane, has a new feature.
 It's called the Home Decor Resource Guide, and I have found it to be very useful and quite interesting, especially if you love furniture and home decor as I do! You can learn so much about your style, how to achieve a certain look, even the history of your particular furniture piece.

Recently, I used this Resource Guide to learn more about some chairs I have in my home.

I inherited 2 of these chairs from my dad who loved antiques.
I found out that they are from England, late 17th century.

You can tell by the Jacobean legs (spiral-turned) and carved crown on top.
(If you know your English history, you know the crown symbolized a return to the monarchy after Cromwell's Puritan reign in the 1600s.)

This little chair is early 20th century from Mexico. I love the peeling red paint. The seat cover is my own touch of "cottage chic" that makes it work with my style.

But I really love my wing chairs. I have been enamored of wing chairs since I was a child. I love the shape: the high back and "wings" that come out on each side. They are such a comfortable place to sit and read, have a chat, or just think deep thoughts!

 

They bring to mind a past era where people settled in for the evening with a good book by the fire or spent their leisure time in the "library".

Actually, I learned from the Resource Guide that the original purpose of the wings was to protect a person from drafts and trap the heat from the fireplace.
 They were developed in England in the 17th century, a cold and drafty place if there ever was one!

I have 2 of them, both yard sale finds, 20th century reproductions.
I made slipcovers for them from drop cloths.

Each one is a little different; one has blue piping, pleats and buttons,

while the other is a bit simpler, with a blue stripe down the middle.

Although wing chairs were originally made for castles in England over 400 years ago, they can work in my cottage-style living room when I use a fabric like a drop cloth. And that's the great thing about chairs: you can take any style and make it your own, and it will make a statement in your home!

One's King Lane's Home Decor Resource Guide
has all the information and details you need, whatever your style!