Furniture Project: Pleated Ottoman

I decided I needed an ottoman to match my new dropcloth-covered wing chair.

I had this one sitting around in the garage; it would work just fine.

This is a no-sew project, really easy!

 First, I measured the ottoman, height and circumference, adding a little extra for  hems and overlap.

I wanted to make pleats, so I just about doubled the circumference. It was 58" around, I cut it 100" then cut off about 7" when it was done, so you can do the math.

Hem one long side. (You can glue it instead of sewing if you prefer)
 I cut along a side that was already hemmed on the dropcloth, so I could skip this part.

To make the pleats, I measured in about 7 inches (this was random, it just looked right) and pinched up about 1 1/2-2 inches,

fold it down, press and pin.

Pinch another 1 1/2-2 inches right next to it,

fold it down to meet the first fold, press and pin.

Repeat to the end, 

keeping the preceding pleats straight as you go along
.

Lining the bottom hem up with the bottom of the ottoman, pin the top of the slipcover to the top of the ottoman.

 When you get to the end, you might get lucky and it ends perfectly, or you have to decide how and where to cut it off. Just try to make it look natural. I cut this last section about in half.  You can glue or slipstitch this part together.

Using a staple gun, staple to the inside top of the ottoman.

For the top, lay the top of the ottoman on the fabric, cut around leaving enough fabric to pull tight and staple.

Here's the finished ottoman before adding the painted stripe to match the chair. I didn't do it first because I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted the stripe. I thought I would figure that out once it was done. It took me a week to make that decision.

 I decided to just match the stripe on the chair, painting freehand and keeping it imperfect

 and a stripe along the bottom edge.

Looks great with the chair!

Tutorial: Wing Chair Slipcover

This is the wing chair I covered with a dropcloth from an earlier post and here is the promised tutorial. I warn you, there are a boatload of pictures!

The first step is to drape the fabric over the top and cut out the shape of the front of the chair. Make sure to cut it big enough for seams. It was at this point that I painted the stripes.

Do the same with the wings, using lots of pins. If you are using a fabric with right and wrong sides, pin it right sides together so you can sew it exactly as is and get a good fit. (That's one of the perks about using dropcloth, both sides are the same!) This also means that when you turn the wings right side out, they will go on the opposite wing that you originally pinned. Use a lot of pins and pin exactly where you want to sew.

Then sew along the lines established by your pins and you will get a good fit.

Drape the fabric over the arms and cut to fit.

Then pin some fabric directly on the front of the arm and cut around it to get the right shape.

 Pin this to the fabric draped over the arm and sew. (See all the pins?) If you like piping, this is a good place for it.

Pin the arm piece to the front, turning over the edges of the front to get a good fit.

Pin fabric to the back of the chair, overlapping the front piece with edge folded over. Cut two overlapping pieces to fit and sew across the top. You will eventually add buttons or ties to these back pieces so they can be closed or opened for getting the slipcover off and on.

Now you have to pin and sew the back piece to the side of the wing and arm piece. As you pin, turn under the edge so you can topstitch. This will give you the best fit without making you crazy!

Sometimes you need to put in an extra piece to make it all fit, just pin it with edges turned under and topstitch.

I usually use muslin for the seat because it will be covered by the cushion. Just cut to fit, going up the sides a little and turning the edges under as you pin, and topstitch. Pin a piece of fabric to the front of the muslin that stretches over the entire front of the chair and drops down the front.

Pin the corner and sew. Wrap the side around and pin to the side arm piece that drops down the side.

There will be a lot of extra fabric on the inside of the corner.

Just cut it off. In fact, trim all the seams so they will lay flat.

Finished corner.

This is the front bottom piece. Topstitch again to the muslin and bottom of arms.

Hem the bottom edges.

Lay the cushion over the fabric and cut two pieces with seams all around. Then measure the width and length of the cushion all the way around and cut out this piece. If you need to do it in pieces, just make sure you don't have any seams on the front.

Sew the long piece to one of the cushion sides. This is also a good place for piping.

This next step is crucial: when you sew the second cushion piece on, be sure to pin it with the cushion inside! This may sound unnecessary, but if you don't do it this way, it will get twisted and you will have to rip it out and do it over. Believe me! Just be careful getting the cushion out with all those pins!

The best way to get the cushion in and out, push down on the cushion while moving the slipcover over it.

Finished cushion before stripes.

Much better than the original!

Linking to

Miss Mustardseed

No Minamalist

Elizabeth and Co

Primp

http://www.commonground-do.com/2013/04/be-inspired-133-flower-beds.html

Slipcover a Wing Chair With A Dropcloth

This old wing chair used to sit in Husband's office, but a couple years ago we downsized not only our home, but our business as well.

He brought the chair home and placed it in the family room, saying it was the only chair he could be comfortable in. 

OK, then, I better find a way to make it fit in and look good!

I spent some time playing with different fabrics, but I was not happy with any of them.

I already had a couch

 and a chair in the room slipcovered in solid white or off-white,
 so I wanted something a little different, but not too different.

I wanted to use a ticking stripe, but I had just done the rocking chair in this stripe and I didn't want it to compete.

So this is what I decided on:

a drop cloth with a painted stripe down the center.

That is sooo much better!

Next week I will write up a tutorial with the many, many pictures
 I took to go with it!