Time to Recover

Can it really be over half way through November already?! It will be Christmas before we know where we are! My last post was at Hallowe'en, but I have been very busy between then and now working on a special project for Christmas. Before I can finish my Christmas project, I need to get The Swan Inn knocked into shape, so have been working on all those jobs that have been put off over the summer months. First on the list was a little reupholstery work.

Do any of you remember this sofa? I was given it free by a good friend of mine (hi Dianne!) but I absolutely hate the covering fabric.

Here it is inside the pub's sitting room, looking rather out of place in my view. I did like the shape of the sofa and always intended to recover it, so that was the first job to do!

Fortunately, the sofa came apart quite easily and I was able to remove the old ugly fabric from any parts that would be seen. I kept the old fabric for use as templates when cutting the new fabric which was to replace it.

The new fabric has a much more 'country' style that I wanted in the pub sitting room. Most of the work was done simply by cutting and gluing, but the pleated pelmet skirting the bottom required more work to achieve, which included SEWING!!!! Yes dear readers, I picked up the dreaded needle at last! please don't look too closely at the ham fisted stitches along the hem! I also have to pin, iron and sew in the pleats. Now, it may not be as neat as the original cover, but I think it looks a lot more attractive now!

But the story doesn't just end there. I also made a wing-backed arm chair, this time completely from scratch, using MDF and some wooden dowel. I also made those stubby little legs on the front of the chair. It doesn't show too well in the photo, but there is some buttoning on the back seat of the chair too, which should have been simple, but cause me no end of problems!! Again, I am sure I could have bought something a lot better, but I am very pleased with this little chair, and the fact I made it all myself makes it even better!

And here they are both together. I decided I didn't want the foot stool in the end as there wouldn't be any room for it in the sitting room, so it never got recovered. Now, I think it would be nice to have some cushions on the sofa, but that may be pushing my sewing skills too far!! we shall see! I am sure you're all dying to see how this furniture looks in the pub sitting room, but I am afraid you'll just have to wait a little longer for that. I don't want to ruin any surprises! ;o)