Monday, May 28, 2012

DIY Stool Covering

Some time ago, while shopping at a thrift store, I found a large, sturdy, looking stool.
I wanted to take it home. (I like stools; They remind me of times past.)
I will say it was well-loved. The cover was a grungy gold, velvety fabric.

It cost me three dollars. What a deal! Don't you think good finds are fun? I washed
the cover and it felt clean but still looked grungy. I didn't know exactly what I wanted
to cover it with and so it sat in our living room in it's place by the woodstove. It was
enjoyed by the family and even the cats found it to be pleasant spot to sit.

I am also VERY prone to procrastinating when I feel intimidated by a project. And as
I had never done anything like that before, it sat for a long time. It was enjoyed by the
family and even the cats found it to be a pleasant place to rest.

***********************************************************
A couple of years ago, I had been wanting a large piece of upholstery fabric to make
a curtain.I found a nice piece for 4 dollars. I decided not to use it for the intended project
but I held onto it because it was a very pretty and of a good quality.

The fabric matched our furniture and so I decided to tackle the project this last winter.
Below are a few pictures of the finished cover. I'm sorry the photo quality isn't very good
but you'll get the idea.


The first thing I had to do was take the old cover apart. Carefully cutting
the seams with the seam ripper, the old cover was taken apart and layed out on the
piece of fabric and used as the pattern for the new one.

The old pattern was very rough and obviously a fellow
DIYourselfer had sewn the first cover. The pieces were cut very crookedly
and sewn together without a straight or consistent seam allowance.

But I say GOOD FOR THEM and give the
 person credit for just jumping in and doing it without
a care of it being perfect!  Something which I am learning to do.
I am sometimes so intimidated by a possible flaw, that I fail to try at all!
 This is such an unhealthy philosophy.




In this picture, you can see how the tucks were taken in to match up with
the pattern. I had initially measured the distance between the tucks, but that didn't work
out because of the fabric's pattern. It was very easy to make
the adjustment.



When cutting the piece for the top, I realized at the last moment that I
needed to center the pattern so as to have a nice symmetrical finish. The
pattern on the piece made it very easy to lay it all out and cut.

I was very pleased with the completed project. I enjoyed the entire process
and was surprised at how easy it was. I don't consider myself a seamstress but just used
 common sense to figure it out.

If I can do something like this, so can you!



1 comment:

Mikailah Autumn said...

Beautiful post, Mommy! :) That project was very fun, and relatively easy. I have always enjoyed DIY projects.

Love you!
-Mikailah