SLIPCOVERED CHAIR IN BLUE DENIM THAT REALLY ISN'T

I did this chair a while back, but never got around to posting it.  This fabric was one of the oddest I've ever worked with.  It looks like denim, but it is mostly, if not all, polyester and the reverse side is a black fleece; a faux-denim, if you will.  Very strange.  It is very soft, though, not even a little rough like real denim can be until it has been washed many times.  

My clients had just moved into the house, and I slipcovered it before the rest of the new furniture had arrived, so I was taking pictures of just the chair, trying not to show how much empty space there still was.

Side view

And the back, with the ever-popular covered buttons.  You can not tell from the photo, but the buttons are actually a stripe that is the sofa fabric (the sofa that had yet to be delivered at the time of the slipcover delivery.)

With a throw pillow, to add a bit of color.

Then, today, I was at my client's house measuring for something else and was able to get a shot of it, moved to its new 'home' on the other side of the room so that the buttons would actually show.

Along side the other chair that came with the (not pictured) new sofa.

AN OCCASIONAL CHAIR UPDATE

This small, occasional chair was in need of a make-over.  There was nothing really wrong with the upholstery; it just was tired, and my client wanted more color in the room.

The solution?  A blue and white ticking stripe.  My client ordered this fabric from fabric.com.  It was a great weight and it washed very nicely.

As with any barrel chair, it is always more challenging to do a slipcover.  There has to be lots of darts and seams that a less rounded chair would not require.  Still, the stripe helps hide those seams and darts.

In this case, the buttons were a necessity to get the slipcover on and off the chair.  We kept the skirt short so as to not weigh down the look. 

(I also made arm covers out of the same fabric for a chair in the bedroom of my client's son, though I did not take a picture of that.)  

HAPPY 2015 TO ME

I never make anything for myself.  That is partly because I don't pay myself to make things for me, but mostly it's because I sew most every day, for most of the day.  So when I don't have to work, I simply cannot sew.  I was sick at the end of 2014/ beginning of 2015 and decided that I was going to make myself a present.

I got this adorable hot pink polka dot fabric at Home Fabrics for just $8 per yard.  I washed it to pre-shrink it so that I can just throw it in the washing machine when it gets dirty.  

I have had this Parsons chair for, well, ever, and had never taken the time to make a slipcover for it.  Since it is upholstered in white duck cloth, it has gotten really grubby.  I got tired of looking at it and decided to, finally, do something about it.

The slipcover has a button-back, though it is really difficult to see.  The buttons are solid pink.

Now, when I walk into my sewing room/office each morning and throughout the day,  I am greeted with a bright, pretty new gift to myself.  

And I deserved it!

EXTRA LARGE CHAIRS

This is the same chair I did back in the spring for the home of the designer on this job.  At the time she had me make a permanent pattern because this is a chair she likes to use in all the homes she does.  It is super big, but then again, the homes she works on are super big.  Perfect fit!

The fabric, a heavy linen, is photographing as aqua, but it is really a much more teal green than it looks here.

Since the house is still in the process of being finished, it looks very empty.

The back of the chair, with large buttons, since the size I usually use would have needed about 20, and would have looked ridiculous.  And because the chair is very rounded, the buttons are actually needed to make the slipcover fit properly.

A couple weeks later I was back at the house delivering other items, and took these shots.  By then, pictures had been hung and accessories added so it was looking more like a lived-in home.

The window treatment fabric has yet to arrive, but once it does, there will be balloon valances on the windows that look into the courtyard of the house. The fabric is another gorgeous Designers Guild stripe like nothing I have ever seen.  I look forward to making them and posting the finished room.

SUNBRELLA SLIPCOVERED PORCH CHAIRS

These chairs literally weigh about 2 pounds each, including their new slipcovers, and so can easily be moved inside to provide extra seating.

I forgot to take a picture of the original fabric, but it is a black Sunbrella.  The gray is just a touch lighter and the skirts make them seem fancier than they really are.

The covered buttons are more than just a nice touch.  Because the top of the chair is wider than the bottom, without an opening of some kind, it would not be possible to get the slipcovers on.

My client, and her adorable dog, love the 'new' chairs.

SUNBRELLA SLIPCOVERS - SAVE FURNITURE FROM LITTLE BOYS!

My client has two little boys.  Both when I went to cut the slipcovers and to install the finished product, I had to wade through legos, lots and lots of legos.  And all kinds of other toys that little boys love.

Both of these chairs are upholstered in a lovely damask, a cream colored damask.  Not the best color for little boys.  So a dark gray Sunbrella was chosen for slipcovers.

The good thing is the slipcovers can be removed for cleaning or simply to change the look of the room.

I did a short skirt on both chairs for a lighter look.

Buttons down the back of this chair.  The other one did not need to have an opening for ease of getting it on and off.  Since they are different frames, I decided to go without buttons on the one.

The chair below is the above chair in its 'natural' state.

OCCASIONAL CHAIR AND OTTOMAN

It's kind of hard to see, but this fabric is a light blue and khaki stripe, and goes perfectly in this very neutral home.  

The button-back is really just decorative.  When I put the slipcover on the chair, I did not even unbutton it.  This chair does float, though, and the buttons are more interesting than a plain back.

Throw pillow with self-welting

Flanged pillow

The blue of the chair picks up the blue of the swimming pool.  

AN OVER-SIZED CHAIR AND DESIGNERS GUILD FABRIC

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but this chair is HUGE!  I mean, it was so big that I wasn't sure it would make it through my front door.  It did, by about a half an inch.  And if that weren't enough, the repeat on this lovely Designers Guide fabric was also quite large, something like 36".  A normal chair usually takes around 10 yards of fabric, even when matching is involved.  A larger than normal one might take 11.  This took 14 yards, and because I had to center all the cuts, there was a lot of wasted fabric.

I did a pretty good job of getting it all matched.

Buttons down the back are really more decorative than anything else.

Because the chair was so big, larger buttons were called for, as well.

This is the chair in its new home.

It looks so much better here than in my workroom/living room.

'FACELIFT' FOR BEDROOM CHAIR AND OTTOMAN

This is an example of exactly what a slipcover is good for--my client's chair and ottoman are in perfectly good condition, and she still likes the fabric.  She just wanted to update the bedroom for spring and summer without reupholstering the furniture.

Then, sometime in the fall, she can remove the slipcovers, change out the rug and go back to her heavier, darker bedspread.  And voila ... 'new' bedroom.

SEASIDE COTTAGE STYLE

Seaside Cottage Style is my friend, Laura Petersen's, business.  You can see all the fabulous things she does on her site.  

I did these faux-wing chairs for her living room.

Buttons, of course, down the back.

The cool looking burlap lamp shade that is visible in all these pictures is one of Laura's creations.

This view is from the kitchen, looking towards the front of the house.

And the sofa is wearing a slipcover I did for her about 7 years ago!

THE EVER-POPULAR WHITE DENIM

Originally, my client wanted black slipcovers.  I told her with her dark wood floors, I thought it might not look good.  With a sofa, a chair and a half and an ottoman, it seemed to me like it would be too dark in the room.  Even with the high ceilings and French doors on three sides.  But, ultimately, it would be her decision.  In the end, she changed her mind and went with white.

The sofa has a bed inside, so I put a zipper around the deck so you can get it out without removing the slipcover.  

The chair isn't photographing that way, but it is considered a chair and a half, and it is pretty big.

Buttons down the back for easy on and off.  The sofa has them, too.

The family room - looking so much better.  I forgot to take pictures of the before slipcovers, but just know that they were way past their 'expiration date.'  They no longer fit properly because fabric does continue to shrink, and after repeated washings, they were a mess.  Not to mention the skirts were coming off and had to be pinned back in place.

My client no longer has to be embarrassed when someone comes to visit.  She's happy, which makes me happy!