10 Lesson from the Wingback

Lesson #1:

• Life will soil you.  But that doesn't mean that you can't be cleaned up.

Lesson #2:

• As long as you have "strong bones" ~character~ there is still much for you to do and support.

Lesson #3:

• What counts is, what's happening on the inside.  When I was tearing down the outside of the chair my whole goal was to see what was going on underneath.  It was messy getting there.  Some staples were strong and didn't want to let loose, but patience and not giving up won out.  So when I saw what was underneath was not "bad," it really made me think the same about myself both physically and spiritually.  Yes, there is work to do, but it is very doable

Lesson #4:

•  Slight changes can make a huge differences, so although I thought that I knew what I was doing, I found that I was unpicking seams and redoing things.  All because I was not following the "pattern" ~the guide~.  We have guides all around us to help with our health, our emotions, our finances, our relationships, our spiritual well being, etc.  Are we listening to them?  This does not mean we have to follow them, just hear them out and take what we can use and apply.  We don't always have the right answers...at least I know I don't.

Lesson #5:

• Getting to the "root" of things requires WORK!  I saw and felt that, as sweat formed on my brow with the hours I put into getting beyond the surface.

Lesson #6:

• Everyone needs a break, a timeout, a respite.  This is does not mean you can just forget what needs to be done next, but take a breather and sit with/appreciate your accomplishments thus far.

Lesson #7:

• Get back to it.  NEVER LEAVE ANYTHING UNDONE!  In the words of my father, "Don't do a half-assed job!" 

Lesson #8:

• Putting it all back together takes as much patience and work as ripping it up.  Family discord, broken friendships, marital strain, all take time to rebuild and make better, but it can be done and be made even more beautiful than it was originally (I've done it and because I am not perfect still doing it).  NOT THE SAME, BUT SO MUCH BETTER.

Lesson #9:

• "It" doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.  "It" can be old.  "It" can be dirty. "It" can have it's problems.  yet, "It" STILL HAS VALUE!!

Lesson #10:

• Share your talents.

I know many of you only know me a little, but I sincerely thought of you and others as I went through this process of "rebuilding" this chair.  I know we all have had things in our life that has soiled us, or we've done some things we are less than proud of.  We've hurt others, ourselves, etc. etc., but we can be better and many of us are.  Congratulations!!!  I know all of you are a good people, I've seen it in the past or I am getting to see it now in many of you.  I know you have worked hard to be where you are by making decisions that have affected you, spiritually, physically, emotionally, financially etc. 

I know I still have much to learn and hopefully share.

In the end, you all have value to me. Thanks so much for being my friend.

How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part II

Look at that chair!!!!

So how did I get there?

Well, it all started when....just kidding. 

You know all those fabric pieces I told you about in Part I and how you should Label them all...well this is where all that advice comes in handy.  We will be working in a reverse order for getting the chair all back together.

• I ordered 5 1/2 yards of fabric for this chair and used nearly all of it.


• No pictures, but for the tools needed for the rebuild are:


• Staple Gun


• Upholstery staples (I used 5/16" but I would actually use a little longer, may 1/2")~ you can get these at Lowes or Homedepot.


• Hot Glue Gun


• Small Hammer


• Cardboard Strip (2) 1/2" wide and as long as the armrest


• Hanger Tape


• Tacks 


• PATIENCE & TIME (although not as much as the ripped down)

Putting it all back together

Step 1: Use the upholstery you ripped off as your templates and mark up your new fabric.  Instead of writing on it use a piece of paper to transfer your Label info (i.e #2, Back, Top, etc.)  Do not skimp!!!  If the fabric you removed has a little more than you think it should, don't try and negotiate with yourself for using less.  Nope there aren't any pictures of this...it's pretty self explanatory. 

Step 2:  Piping.  This was a little tricky for me since I have NEVER made piping or used it in anything, so I went to the net and this is the coolest biased tape~piping making blog entry I found HERE. I will most likely make biased tape this way FOREVER...it's so cool.  It took me a few times to get it right, but by George, I've think I've got it!!  ***Nope still no pictures*** (there are some on the link that are great).

By the way this same tutorial gives you info on how to make your cushion.

Step 3:  We've come to the chair now!!!  Yea!!  #8 was the "seat" area that I did not remove.  I used a piece of fabric to cover it.  Staple the center bottom first.  It helped me make sure my lines were where I needed them to be. If you are working with fabric that pattern is not a factor, this is a non issue for you.  I then ran a bead of hot glue on the underside of the new fabric and pressed it onto the chair.

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I don't what I was thinking when I thought stripes!!

Step 4:  Backrest.  The padding on this was in really great condition.  Thank Goodness!!  But I wanted to have my new fabric against new padding so I added a thin layer of batting.  You can find this at any fabric store, even Walmart. You cut the size you need and just stuff it in on the sides and bottom.  You will then staple the top of the batting down onto the top ridge of the chair.  You will then place your new fabric on the backrest and stuff it also on the sides and bottom until you can gently pull the fabric through to the back.  At top of the backrest there is a little curve in the chair.  You make it easier to follow that curve you will need to cut slits in the edge.  Clip really close being careful not to cut to far into the curve and staple it down on the back on the chair. (It isn't as tricky as it sounds).

Step 5:  Those wings!!  You need to cover them with batting as well and staple.  With this piece, #6, it did require a little sewing.  Each chair is different, some are individual pieces, some are just slipcover like, so I can only tell you about the kind I have...a little of both.  These wings were attached at what I call the "inner elbow."  So I used the old fabric template and made my new fabric mimic the same.  Once I completed the sew project for this I placed it on the chair, making sure the lines were straight up and down and that the "inner elbow" fit perfectly.  IT DID!!!  I was shocked!  Stuff the sides in pulling the extra fabric to the back and bottom and wrap the armrests and staple.

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Make sure that when you staple the armrest fabric down that you gently pull it down towards the edge of the wood then staple.  DO NOT staple under the armrest.  It won't look nice and straight when put the bottom half on.  Trust me on this, I did it wrong the first time and had to redo my arms :-(.

Step 6: #5, The outer wing.  More sewing here.  I added the piping to the edge of this piece.  Originally on the chair it just stapled there and for the life of me I just could figure out that out, so I just added the piping to the piece and hot glued the really curvy piece in place and stapled the rest.  SO much easier! As you can see I also added a bit of batting to the outside of the chair as well.

Step 7:  That brings us to piece #4, the sides. Lay your chair on it's side. Holding the cardboard strip to the edge of the fabric place it next to the edge of the armrest fabric (right sides towards each other).  Evenly, push up, making sure all is still aligned...staple all along the cardboard strip.  

I didn't get a picture of this {sorry}, but pull down the fabric and staple it to the bottom of the chair.   Fold the front piece on the front part of the chair, staple.  Tug a little and staple the back piece.  Here you will have the legs to go around, just make it look nice and staple towards the back.

Step 8: Not really sure what to call them other than #3  Those little decor pieces that I had to pop off.  NO PICTURES.  I just covered them with fabric and nailed them back into place (go back to Part I, to see what I'm talking about here...I really don't what to call that piece.)

Step 9:  We're almost done!!!  #2  This was the hardest piece.  Not because it is difficult to put on, but find the materials you need.  I needed a nail strip, but everywhere I went they no longer carried it, so I had to improvise.  But first, I needed to staple the arched cardboard in the middle of the back.  Then I gently stuffed the fabric down and flipped it over. Then I went on to make my own nail strip.  To make it a bit easier than I thought it would be. I used a bit of double sided tape.  Place it on the Hanger Tape (which is in the plumbing section at Lowes) and place the strip on the edge of the fabric (wrong side) and turn toward the chair.  Use your finger to find the hole and tack it.  Once you have all those in gently tug on the bottom and stretch the fabric over the bottom wood piece and staple.  Done.

 Step 10:  Last step (if you want it to be).  Staple the mesh , #1, back to the bottom of your chair.

Step 11:  Now...Do the Hustle!!!!  You are done.

I actually sprayed my chair with a fabric protector at the end.  You don't have to do that, but I recommend it.  Can't be too careful right?

If you missed Part I click the link below:

{figure}ing out How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part I

Leave a comment here telling me what you think.  I really want to "hear" what you have to say.

{figure}ing out How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part I

I have only really "reupholstered" one chair in my life and I have done it a couple of times, and I really wouldn't call it reupholstered...more like just put a cover on it, so when I was with my girlfriends doing our annual Parade of Homes thing this year {2011} I said out loud, "We should reupholster some chairs!" 

And I was excited...now here I am looking at this chair thinking what have I gotten myself into. I hear the task is a real workout...if nothing else good come of this adventure....at least I'll be burning some calories and getting good workout trying, right?

I found this beauty at Desert Industries {the DI, it's "the" major thrift store here in Utah...like a Goodwill, but better in my opinion} for $15.00.

There are tools for every trade and this is no different.  For this I used: 

 

• very thin flat nosed screw driver


• needle nose pliers


• a little hammer (or any size really)


• a bowl (a magnetic bowl was what I used and I high recommend it)


• a marker to label the pieces as you remove them (very helpful in remembering the order and position each piece needs to go back on as.


• TIME & PATIENCE

That last item is super essential, if you don't have the patience, I wouldn't venture into this.  The $300 or so you could spend buying a chair off the floor of some furniture store is well worth it if you don't have time or patience for this, although this method is much less expensive 

This does take a lot of time and I think if you really want to do it, it is worth it.

Now I will take you on to Part I of reupholstering this chair, step-by-step.

Step 1:  Remove the bottom mesh and make sure you label it #1 (the labeling will help you put in all back together, and I will explain and show all of that in Part III, but I am doing this as I make this post so thanks for the patience).

Step 2:  Next remove the fabric from the back of the chair.  Stick a flat head screw driver between the seams and pull towards you.  There will be a TON of staples (this is where the magnetic bowl comes in handy).  Once you get the back off remove all staples (using both pliers and screw driver.  Oh and be careful those staples are sharp!!).  Label #2.

Step 3: Not all chairs have this little piece, but mine did, so just like the back, I just stuck the screw driver between it and the chair and popped it right off.  Label #3.

Step 4:  Now it's time for the sides.  Again there are a TON of staples so pull them out with the pliers and screw driver. If you are strong enough you can get a nice size piece of the fabric and YANK!  It worked for me, so it's just a suggestion. Be sure to label like crazy, which is the top of the piece, which side of the chair it came from  and for good measure which end was toward the front and back of the chair. You need to do this for both sides of the chair. (You can never label something too much in my opinion.) Label #4 (don't forget to mark whether it is the left or right side...muy importante!!)...So you should have two pieces, one with #4 left and #4 right.

Step 5: Those pesky wings are next. This chair had some seriously scary teeth that bite!!!  So be super careful!!!!  Just stick in the screwdriver and PULL!!  And of course more staples...I hope you've been putting those little devils in a bowl, don't want to get those under your knees.  Again, Label #5 and which side it is from, left or right. (This is just the outside portion of the wings).

Step 6: You see that last picture above?  Well you need to remove all of those staples.  You need to, in order to get the inside wing and armrest piece off.  On my chair both were sewn to each other so it was one large piece.  Label #6 and right or left.

Step 7: Remove the backrest fabric.  Just like the rest of the other pieces it is stapled to the chair.  So remove the staples and take it off and mark it Label #7 be sure the mark the top and bottom also. 

That was the last piece I removed.  I left the bottom and plan to just cover it with a new piece of fabric.  But I did label it on the chair as #8.    So this is what a "nearly" naked chair looks like and the pile of fabric templates from it.

WOW!!!  That was work!!!  5 hours later and this is what I have to show for it.  I'm pretty sure this would have been faster if I has a partner in crime, but hey I do what I gotta do. 

I am going to take a couple of days off before I start the work of Part II, but it is coming.  See ya in a couple.

Leave me a comment here telling me what you think so far.  The more comments I get helps me know whether showing this stuff is even interesting to people.

Here are the links for:

(as I get the other post done these links will work so check back in a little bit)

{figure}ing out How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part II

{figure}ing out How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair Part III

***Update***

I decided that I would not do a Part III.  I will just get everything said and done in just one more part....Part II

Recharge Lake Tahoe Style

Everyone deserves a recharge and our family needed one.  It was absolutely necessary.

This year we went to S. Lake Tahoe, CA.  We have never been there and that was the best part.  Everything thing we did was new to all of us.  Staying in a rental house is the best way to do it.  I highly recommend it.  The temps never got above 83 degrees.  BLISSFUL!!

We hiked Eagles Falls, went on a 10 mile bike ride through the woods, took a 2-hour cruise in the lake (learned a lot of interesting facts), buried each other in the sands on a private beach, made friends with the locals (heck a photographer took our family pictures for free can't wait to get the CD).  Shopped.  The list is endless.

If you ever get a chance to go... DO!!!  It was well worth the drive.

Here are a few pics and slides of some of the stuff we did. If you have a hard time seeing the slideshow, just

refresh your browser.