Monday, August 25, 2008

Making chair cushions...

We bought two of these Danish-modern teak chairs for our living room last year from Century Modern, a store that specializes in mid-century modern  furniture. 


I love these chairs but was never crazy about the neutral upholstery on the cushions. I'm a quilter, not an upholsterer but I looked at those cushions and figured that I could make new ones.
I found the perfect fabric for the chairs Saturday when I was shopping with my sister-in-law, Deborah. 


The large circles on the brown print are 4" in diameter. It's perfect for the room color-wise — and it has dots! 

I chose the other fabric for the piping cord for each cushion. This fabric is really pretty ugly (it was way back in the sale room) but it was the only thing in the store that had colors that worked with the both the brown print and the rest of the stuff in my living room.

Here are some of the cushion parts in progress....




...and here is a finished chair! It took me about 7 hours yesterday to make the cushions and get them on the chairs. I had the original covers in hand to use as a guide which helped a lot. So, quilters, let me tell you that this was not hard and you, too, can recover cushions! You will, however, need to locate the 1/2" seam guide on your machine. I never did get used to using it.



The chairs really do need to be stripped and teak oiled but we are saving that for another day. for now, they are just fine.

7 comments:

Tine said...

That chair is looking wonderful! Very very pretty!
The fabric is perfect!

Carrie P. said...

Perfect choice! You did pretty good for not being a person that does upholstery.

Anonymous said...

Do you have extra fabric??!??!

Becky said...

Yes, I do have a bit of extra fabric. I have a plan for it though. I can tell you where you can buy more... I got it at Cutting Corners in Dallas. Here's their contact info: 13720 Midway Rd # 200
Dallas, TX 75244
(972) 233-1741

thepictures said...

i just dragged a mid-century chair out of the trash. the cushions are torn and leather and have springs. i'd really like to make cushions like the ones on your chair but i'm a little confused about how the cushion sits on the chair after you cover wood in batting and fabric.

any pointers?

Unknown said...

The are just perfect for your chairs and I hope your Sis can sew you up a couple of throw pilloes as that would be just devine.
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Prof. S (the enchanted bobbin) said...

I'm inheriting 2 chairs nearly identical to these...in need of new cushions! Your post is very encouraging :)