Monday, June 23, 2014

Latest Project: Sewing a Slipcover

Summer vacation is like New Year's: time to make resolutions for making (and finishing!) projects. With the optimism of a new season, here is one of the projects I hope to complete before the summer is over:
I inherited this chair from my grandmother, who was also a maker. Someone, way back when, had modified and upholstered this chair for her. It was one of my favorite chairs because the chair was made for someone of short stature (something else I inherited from my grandmother).

The blue fabric is showing its age, but is still in decent shape. With it's relatively simple lines, it would make a good candidate for a custom fitted slipcover. The fabric purchased for this project is white cotton twill with black cotton twill for the piping. At the moment, the plan is to 'doodle' designs on the white twill for a patterned effect. Stay tuned!

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Swinging!




New sling cover for our deck swing is finished! The old one was unusable: it was disintegrating and falling apart, and just generally looking disreputable. It also tended to collect rain water in the seat.With that issue in mind, I chose phifertex mesh fabric (in Sand Grey) with the idea the mesh would allow water to drain away.

Now all that's needed are cushions to put over the mesh sling. The old swing cover had the cushions and sling as all one, integrated piece. In addition to quick draining, I wanted separate cushions so they could be stored during the winter and hopefully last longer. At the moment, I'm looking at buying cushions, if I can find something I like at a price I like, at the size I need. So far, this search hasn't proven an easy one.

Also used for sewing the sling was a #18 universal needle and V92 UV coated thread.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Woven seat bench at Target

At the beginning of spring I saw this bench at Target:

I liked how the seat was made from weaving fibers. I believe the brown is hemp and the colorful yarn is some kind of up-cycled material--maybe plastic shopping bags. The yarn definitely had a plastic-y feel to it. I thought it was a neat little bench and might make an interesting project sometime.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Jeans Cuff Pencil Case Instructable Published


My instructable on making the Jeans Cuff Pencil Case is now published. My instructable was even featured right off the bat on the home page and on the Living category page. What a pleasant surprise! Enjoy!