Sunday, March 29, 2009

woman wearing clown costume weaves a chair seat

Yes, I fixed my dining room chairs. But, only two of them. Because my hands are withered and sore after doing these two, and I used enough fabric to circle the globe....twice. I swear.


This one turned out to look a lot like my college dorm room. I had a peach comforter and I used light green floral to accent everything. Gag. Some of the fabric is at least twenty years old and came from the now extinct TG&Y. All this chair is missing is a duck with a bow around its neck stenciled along the arm.




I did this one second and thought about the colors a bit more before starting. Unfortunately, I ended with that gingham print which ends up being the dominant pattern. I do like this one more, but lets just say this was an experiment.

All the knots that tie the fabric strips together are on the bottom. That was the hardest part, retying the fabric so the knots wouldn't be on the top or sides.



I still need to tuck in a few on this chair, but my hands are too mangled at the moment.


Not a bad fix for a while. When and if and when and if and when I can spend some extra cash on the actual cane, I think I'll re-do them. Or I'll wait another 25 years until these fall apart and then I'll sell them as vintage antiques. Har har.


Now, let's talk about what I was wearing while doing this little project.

Remember,

-it was snowing
-it was a Saturday
-I have a very meager and pathetic wardrobe
-I wanted to feel vintage, like the fabric I was using...

Ready?

Brace yourself.










Yes, this is me. In capri pajama pants OVER, mind you I said, OVER a pair of long johns. Add some striped grey and pink wool socks and top it off with an ancient LA Gear sweat shirt that my elderly neighbor found in her house and thought one of my kids would like it. Please don't tell her it's one of my favorite things....she really thought my kids would like it.



Ellen helped me. The weaving is easy, the keeping the fabric tight is hard....on the hands.



I thought this chair would be a pretty blue and brown and white. I had gobs and gobs of fabric and thought I'd finish the chair with those colors.


Uh, nope. I had to break into the peaches and pinks and greens before I finally had enough fabric to finish the darn thing. That is why I have a lot less fabric stored in my fabric box.


You could do this with really cheap polyester sheets. I know this, because I also used some really cheap polyester sheets in the project. The longer the fabric the better so there are less knots to tie.

Can you see why my back is sore? I found the direction on how to weave the seat with fiber rush on line (that's what was originally on the chairs) and I decided I could probably do it with fabric just as well. So I did.

The End

30 comments:

Southern Gal said...

Those look amazing, April. You go, girl!

I would leave them until they rotted. But that's just me.

Love the coordinated fashions, too.
Comfort is the main priority I always say.
Renee

Rhea said...

Impressive project, April!

Your outfit is hilarious.

I'm disappointed Clay wasn't dancing, but at least no chickens were harmed in the making of this post...

Sharon said...

I am pretty impressed. Imagine what you could do with some money. Hey maybe you can start selling you weaving talents on etsy and make some cash? ;)

Melissa said...

They look great. I wonder if you could set the chairs on top of something like a coffee table when you weave the rest. Maybe it would be less of a strain on your back.

MamaHen said...

I am impressed! I know you don't like the colors, but they look really neat! And don't worry about the clothes~when you are working comfort is the key. And you look comfortable, except when you are bending over with that strained look on your face!:)

Staci said...

I love those chairs! And since I usually choose my fashion as to what doesn't need ironing and doesn't itch, I'm liking the outfit as well. I'm also noticing that my word for verification on this comment is "fasheric" which may or may not be some sort of sign......

Unknown said...

I'm so impressed that you did two! I think they look great and the pattern is neat. Good job! Oh and I love the clothes. But you need good comfy clothes to do all that bending!

pam said...

I LOVE the peach and green one. It looks very Southwestern to me. Can you post the link on the instructions. I really like the look of the fabric weave.

Swartzmomto3 said...

You are amazing! What a great team you and Ellen make! Very impressive!

Gladys said...

That is really cool I never that to do that. Now why didn't you put the chairs on the table and work standing up or on a bar stool? Do I need to come be your ergonomics coach? Did you stop every 30 to 45 minutes to dance around and shake out your hands? Did you drink plenty of water? I'm thinking with that outfit you should have been dancing to "Maniac" or "Give the Boy a Hand"...I'm just sayin...

April said...

I have a picture of myself decorating a Christmas tree in an outfit just like that! Really! It must be an "April" thing.

~the Other

April said...

Oh and the chairs are awesome - so crafty!

~the Other

Kathy the Receptionist said...

They look great! I find lots of my material at yard sales and Goodwill very cheap.

Ejayjo said...

I think they look great!

Jenni said...

I really like them! The first one is nice, and I don't think it's too peachy at all. I wonder if you could do this with denim. I have a bunch of pant legs I've saved for...oh, I don't know what for! Now I'm tempted to go garage saling or curb searching on town cleanup day for old wooden chairs with no seats in them just so I can use all these scraps I have stock piled. Then this project can sit half finished with the pile of incomplete aprons in my bedroom or with all the junk collecting in my mudroom. You are very clever and creative and I commend your ability to get those chairs done. Now, should I go work on projects and clean out my mudroom or just read more blogs? I think the blogs win.

Unknown said...

I think that that is just cool. I hope they are comfy after all that work! I am just wondering why you didnt sit on the floor to do all that work. You probably would have been more comfortable! Oh well! Done is done.

Andi said...

Love the chairs! Good work, and take some ibuprofen for that poor aching back. Mine hurt just looking at that position. And hands? I have wimpy hands, and the thought of tying all of those knots makes me cringe.

April said...

Here's the instructions
http://www.cohassetcolonials.com/fiber-rush-weaving-instructions.htm

Note: I didn't use any tacks or other materials besides the fabric. The thicker the fabric the thinner it should be cut. The cotton fabric I cut 1 1/2 inch strips, the heavier decorator fabric I cut about 1 inch thick.

Jenni, I have a lot of denim too. The thicker the material is makes it a bit harder to work with, but I think it can be done, especially if you cut your denim all the same size.

The chairs are much more comfortable than the fiber rush chairs I still have.

I did end up sitting on the floor at the end. My hands are still sore.

Jennie said...

Very resourceful! I think they look grand. As for your outfit - also very resourceful! My favorite work shirt is an old Detroit Lions jersey that my children found in our barn rafters after we'd been living here for over FOUR YEARS. Who knows how long it'd been there! I washed it and it looked great so I kept it. Hey, can't beat free with a stick!

FranP said...

woman wearing clown suit weaves a wicked chair seat. was weally wowed with work!

jean said...

You guys did a great job on these two. My hands are having sympathy pains.

Karen Deborah said...

they really look great!

Unknown said...

I'm SO impressed! And ohmygoodness...TG&Y! I had totally forgotten about that store. There was one in the town I grew up in and it's been gone for years and years.

Jean Martha said...

This is awesome!!!

Kris said...

I am more impressed with your outfit. I fully get the capri jammies over the long johns...here in Kansas we like to layer our clothing

Updated by Lila Huggins (grandmother) said...

Wow! I'm proud of you girl! Those look wonderful!

Miss Lila in Atlanta
lilahuggins@gmail.com

I'm not Carol said...

Great job April they look great and I love the fact that each chair is unique.

Brad, Lauri & Ethan Bernet said...

I thought I heard somewhere that it was in vogue right now for all things to be eclectic & different colors....not that I would care-I think you are very resourceful!!

queen bee tracy said...

I am loving the chairs. And the outfit. Thanks for the laugh. Between you and your sister, I know I will get my daily dose of endorphins. You rock!

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