Patterns Facebook Etsy Ravelry Patterns I love Contact På norsk Epla Optimistic by nature

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The chair project

I really love the idea of making something new out of something old.  Recycling old clothing in new sewing projects and that kind of thing.  It is eco-friendly which is great, but it also presents new challenges and stimulates creativity.  A win-win.  

We needed a chair in the baby room to nurse in and I couldn't find one I liked.  (That's not entirely true.  I found one I liked, we bought it and it got "stuck" in the living room where Øystein also liked it as an ideal Simpsons-viewing device.)  In anycase, I went to a big garage sale and bought an old rocking chair for kr. 50,- (about 8 bucks)  I also found 5 meters of awesome fabric (steal!).  So with an investment of about 15 dollars (ok, and a 20 dollar stapler) I went to work!  

Before:

























Now let me be clear.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  How hard could it be to reupholster a chair?  

























First you have to remove about 2 million staples.  

























Then tear the whole thing apart finding old treasures like coins that are no longer produced in Norway etc. I ripped it all apart and decided to keep the wood.    

























Then I started the work of putting it back together.


























I used part of a mattress and an old comforter that I washed and prepared.

























Staple, staple, staple.....  Then I figured out fabric placement.

























Made new buttons from an old funky purse.  (that I bought at the same sale for the fabric)


























Sewed and stapled away and voila!  




Several hours later (ok days later...) and I had one unique funky chair to nurse in!  A success!  


1 comment: