Another Wing Chair Slipcover

I had another wing back chair to slipcover, so, after referring to my tutorial on the first one I did,

  I took out another drop cloth and got to work.

I did a couple of things differently, but the basics were the same.
 

It started out a lovely blue corduroy in great shape.

I had some pretty blue seam binding and I thought it would be nice for the piping, but I couldn't find it (the piping) anywhere. So, I decided to make my own. It's very simple. 

Just put some string between the binding, or strips of whatever fabric you want to use, and sew it just like the pre-made stuff.

I also decided to put ruffles on the bottom. It's a very easy process, pretty much the same as with an ottoman I made earlier: just pinch, press and sew!

The other difference is where I put the buttons on this chair. I love them on the side of the back piece instead of down the middle, and it's a little less cutting and sewing, too!

This chair is bound for Roses and Rust,

but it's so cute, I am having second thoughts!

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

Repurposed: From Man's Jacket to Book Bag

My daughter is starting grad school soon and I wanted to do something for her.

I found a man's wool jacket at a thrift store and decided to turn it into a book bag.

It wasn't too difficult, just took a bit of thinking.

First, I measured her laptop to make sure it would fit,
 in case she wanted to carry it in the bag.

I looked over the jacket to decide where would be the best place
to begin cutting and what parts would be good to preserve.

I decided to save the pockets, buttons and lapels.

 I put one pocket on the inside and one on the outside.

The small pocket at the top became a pencil holder on the side of the bag.

I left the buttonholes and overlapped the round edges
 of the lapels to make the strap.

To make sure the bag would be sturdy and structured enough,

 I lined it with felt and used drop cloth between the lining and and the wool.

Finally, I used black seam binding to wrap all the raw edges.

The only difficult part was sewing together all the fabric

because it got pretty thick in some parts.

But in the end, it was worth it.

 It's really cute and she will get a lot of use out of it!

Seasonal Decorating: Table Runners for Fall

The first day of fall is a good time to change out all the summer details and make room for fall. Around these parts, however, it is still just a little too hot for me to be putting out things like wool fabric and quilts.

But fall is almost here and I am so ready!  The temperature has finally dipped below 90 and the mornings are actually quite cool, so I'm going for it!

Table runners are really easy to make. Here are some ideas for fall:

wool with a linen ruffle and brown floral ribbon

burlap with grey floral ruffle and pumpkin piping

burlap with linen ruffle, black and white polka dot ribbon and pumpkin piping

wool with linen ruffle and blue and brown fleur de lis ribbon

Start by measuring the length of your table. If you want the runner to overhang, add 10-12 inches.

For example, my table is 72" long, so I cut my fabric 84". That makes a 6" overhang on each side.

 The width can be anywhere between 12" and 18". Hem the runner on both long sides.

For the ruffles, decide how long you want it to be and cut the width twice as long as the runner's width. Hem the ruffle on 3 sides; on the 4th side, using the longest stitch on your sewing machine, 

 sew a straight line across, leaving long strands of thread on each side and don't backstitch. Then start to pull one thread on each side, a little at a time, until the ruffle is the same width as the runner.

Stitch the ruffle to the runner, right sides together.

To add decorative ribbon, just stitch it over the top, remembering to turn under the ends.

 If you want piping, you have to think ahead and place it between the ruffle and runner when you stitch them together.