A few weeks ago the Fashionista mentioned that her Ikea desk chair was on its last legs. Literally. For those of you following the current project list on my sidebar a desk chair revamp was not on the list. But on Labor Day I swung by the Savers thrift store 50% off sale and spotted this wallflower needlepoint for $2.00. I gave it a second glance since my girl was born in the month of the daisy ~ April. Into the basket it went for…..something. A few minutes later I spied this sweet seat with a price tag of $7.99.
I gave my fantastic, yet grimy, chair a gentle sponge bath and then lightly sanded the entire piece. A few days later I got up at 5 am and was pleased that the thermometer read that it was only 87 degrees. This was my green light to paint ~ Summer Squash by Rust~Oleum. So apropos.
I pried apart the black frame (to be repurposed later) and gave the needlepoint a hand soaking. Years of dust was left behind in my sink. I was happy that the wool fabric came out so soft.
While the needlepoint was drying on the line I took apart the old cushion and used it as a pattern. Since I wanted it to be reversible I selected a lovely worn antique linen hand towel (Thank you Andrea!) for the flip side, as well as the ties. (The strips measured 16” x 1 1/2”.) The 6/32” cotton cording came from Joann’s (coupon!) and the vintage avocado green bias tape was in my stash. My total financial investment was $14.99.
I have never in my life sewed welting ~ also known as piping or cording for upholstery. I was eager to try it because six slipcovers for my dining room chairs, as well as a slipper chair are on my current to do list and I would like both to have piping. So I googled “how to” and censational Kate came to my rescue. Another great tutorial I found was by Susan who never naps. I too had the same problem they did in that my fabric puckered a bit. I tried loosening the thread tension but am still seeking a remedy for future projects. Ladies???? Over all my piping turned out pretty well though.
I turned the seat fabric under 1/2” on all sides. I find that making small clips in the fabric where it is curved helps it to fold over more easily.
I am a big believer in that you can never have too many pins. I placed the seamed cording at the back of the cushion and kept pinning…
I know that professional seamstresses would have sandwiched all three pieces (bottom, piping, top) together and sewed it just once. But, I am not a professional so I sewed my cushion in two stages. When I went to go check my fit and attach the ties I discovered that one of the ties that I had worked on like the devil to turn inside out with a safely pin had been sewn inside out. Boo! Luckily Nester tells us it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Will there now be a clambering for Granny’s needlepoint?
Laura
Laura you are an angel in waiting to rescue and magically make a forlorn, forgotten item into a gorgeous find. I love it!!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
What a wonderful transformation! I'm really liking the Summer Squash. I'm also drawn to old needlepoint pieces. Love that you've revamped it into a lovely seat cushion. Just Adorable, Laura!
Beautiful! That needlework reminds me of a crewel piece I made for my teacher when I was in the 8th grade. It had white and yellow daisies and my mother framed it so it would make a nice gift. The yellow paint you used is so cheerful!
MGM
You ARE a side order of awesome sauce! It's fantabulous. My daughter would adore that chair in her apartment. I love needlepoint and that one was very pretty. Just a job well done for sure. I had NO idea Savers was a thrift store, I thought it was like Big Lots. I feel so out of a loop right now!
Laura– What a magical touch you have (and some good hard work in there, too!)
The chair is SO transformed. Congrats!
Loretta
This is amazing! You did an awesome job on it and now it is a gorgeous thing that is also useful!
~Linnea
You are soooooooooooooooo AMAZING!! This is GORGEOUS!!! WOW WOW WOW WOW!!! :):):):):):):):):):):)
OH LAURA!!!
YOU ARE SO TALENTED!!!!!I really wish you lived closer to me so we could hang out all the time and MAKE STUFF from something we found ….OH MY I Just know Fashionista is Going to LOVE that chair!!!
GREAT JOB
hugs,
jamie
All I can say is WOW!!! Great job~
THAT, is gorgeous. Great transformation!
🙂
Laura~ I love that you have re-purposed the chair and needlepoint; they look fantastic! I too love daisies, and the fabrics all look like they will wear well and they go great with the linens…..more soon in the Metis store~
Darling, you are so amazing and talented, I am so proud of you for this wonderful project! I hope it cheered you up enough to face your trip…never forget how truly important you are! (And not just for doing incredibly beautiful makeovers like this lovely chair!!)
CALL ME when you get back. I need some Laura time really BAD. <3
So much love to you!
Jenny
She is just beautiful! What a great use for an old wall hanging!
Brilliant!!!
That chair looks fantastic, Laura! How great that you were able to combine the two finds into this lovely chair for the Fashionista!
WoW! You did a lovely job on the chair & its cushion. Your inspiration of using a piece of vintage crewel work is perfect. I'm glad you could save both items & make a wonderful combination.
~C8>
WOW! what a beautiful transformation!!! and kuddos to you for DIY-ing it! Great job girl!
Boy you really brought that chair back to life. I would have been gritting my teeth at the first cut of that beautiful needlework. Whenever I see needlework I always think about the woman that sat and stitched every stitch. The woman who made your never knew she would be making a chair cushion cover, but it's beautiful and will be well loved. Great job! Lisa~
Laura,
Gorgeous job. This is not furniture, but art! I have a HUGE collection of antique embroidery. I love the color you picked for the chair. I think I would be afraid to sit on it for fear that the beautiful needle work would be destroyed.
Your Friend,
Deborah
Oh I love the makeover! And you did a find job on the piping! I love yellow it's so refreshing and the caning on the back gives it character.
Very nice Laura..looks professional to me! I haven't done welting either…and maybe I never will!!
This is such a bright and pretty chair! I absolutely love yellow! I recently painted a dresser a similar color and I even named her Sunshine haha– hope you'll check it out: http://bonniegetchell.blogspot.com/2011/06/sunshine.html
-Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
Beautiful job! Love the bright yellow, and the needlepoint is perfect! Your piping turned out wonderful, too. Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE yellow color!! Will definitely be a project in my future with that one! I haven't tackled any sort of piping yet, so happy to hear it may be doable(one day…)
thanks for sharing!
I love that you re purposed and recycled the art! The yellow on the chair is Yummy!
Super uber fantastic! I am envious! What great finds and you put them together wonderfully. 🙂 Kit
Fantastic! You're not a SIDE of awesome, you're the entree!
Oh, wow… it does deserve a side order of awesome sauce. (I just loved that!) I would never have thought to use it that way. I really, really love the way it came out.
Noting that paint color too. I like it.
You are a magician! What a makeover! I hope the Fashionista will show us the silhouette that she paints on the reverse!
Great job! I usually don't read tutorials word-for-word unless I'm making one, but your tutorial kept my attention. I love the she loves me, she loves me not… =)
I've never tried piping either but I'm going to be very soon so I'll check out those tutorials you mentioned.
(via TT&J)
Fantastical! 🙂 I am not a big fan of crewel needlework… so honestly…I never would have looked twice at it and my mind never would have made the journey from wall art to darling cushion. Of course the chair stands alone!(what a find) Put the cushion with it and it is daisy-lishous! 🙂
LOVE IT!
~Liz
Can't believe that you were excited by 87 degrees at 5AM!
Love the color you chose for the chair. The caning is in such good condition! You did a fab job on the cushion, and on seeing the potential in the embroidered piece. Off the charts success!
I love caning on furniture, too, Laura. What you did with this chair and cushion is simply incredible. I love it!
These all chairs are very stylish and really unique collection you shared here. It is very much helpful for my new home furnitures. I found 6 of these chairs from our local HD- $14.99 a piece.
firstaidkits
Just wanted you to know that you post on 9/11 was beautiful. So well done.
Leigh
Where did you find that chair? I'm looking for 3 of them. We don't have a decent place here that sells gently used items. Our Goodwill has yuck and garage sales don't offer much better.
I love that chair.
Awww! It's a Michaelmas Day (pronounced MICKleMUSS) chair! I adore it! I'm always searching thrift stores for lovely handworked rejects for just such projects. Positively precious in every way!
What a beautiful chair and pad! Lucky Fashionista to have such a talented Mommy!!!
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Oh, Laura!!! I love it!! it turned out fabulous!! I wish we were neighbors so I could suck up some of your creative genius. I feel like I have creative and organizational amnesia. so unlike me. sigh… Question… Have you considered adding a link to have Subscriptions by Email. Itching to make it easier to read your blog, but have a hard time actually getting on all the time. Well, I hope you will consider it. Hugs…
It is adorable! Love this idea!
Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
Sherry
Laura, what an awesome remake. I love the daisy fabric and that sweet chair is adorable painted yellow. Perfect choices and you did great with your piping!
I think my twisting/puckering with my piping was because I pulled a bit too firmly on my fabric as I was sewing it. A reader left a comment on my post and said that since we cut the piping fabric strips on the bias, it makes the fabric really stretching so it's easy to torque it a bit as we sew it. I'll have to watch for that next time. Your's didn't looked puckered at all…looked awesome!