Friday, April 27, 2012

DIY Dining chairs - finally finished them!

I can't believe I finished all the 8 chairs! I thought I will be buying my dining chairs. I am very happy and proud of myself for finishing every single project that I started for my dining room.



beautiful red oak table detail


See how I finished my chairs:

- Start by putting the webbing as shown.

-Add X webbing.

-Add more horizontally.
made two of this particular chair very strong for the king of the house :)

-Attach 1 inch foam (two inch for the seat)

-Then the batting.

Back view.

- For the seat cover corner, cut the corner as shown.

-Sew.

The clean corner look.

Do the same with the bigger chair.



- For the back cover, cut slits.

-Tuck the middle part in.

Back view.
 

- Staple.

- Fix the back corner by tucking the side and fold over the middle part to get this look.

detail of the large chair
-Use decorative tacks to attach the lower back of the cover.

 - And the front part for stronger hold.

Put the back cover using hidden metal tacks strip.


-Make the buttons for the large chair as directed on the package of the button maker.


- Mark where to put the buttons.

- Put buttons using nylon thread.

-Use scraps for the back to prevent the thread from going through.

It's that easy and you got your cute buttons!

- Put decorative tacks on the lower side if desired.

Finished side chair.

Finished large dining chair.


fabric detail


All together.

All the furniture on this room were built from trees damaged or felled by tornadoes near where we live
Now what should be my next project? :-) Pin It

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Dining chairs (continued)

Finally found the upholstery fabric that I really like at Hancock Fabrics. I also saved a bunch because the fabric was being discontinued so it's on red tag! The eco friendly foams that I got were also on 50% sale and the factory that made it is located in our neighboring county. How cool is that!

So I found the fabric, got the foam and batting but apparently no fabric store or retail store in our area sells the webbing that I need to put at the back of my chairs. We can only order it online and that means 4 days or more of waiting before I can finish up with my dining chairs :(

Anyway, I was still able to finish some work today.

My steps (cont'd):

Clear coat the chair legs and let fully dry.

Trace and cut 1/2 inch plywood for the seat top ( can use jute webbing or S-spring for more comfort). I am using ply wood to add more strength on my chairs.


Make sure all fits, trim if necessary.

Take the seat top and trace on the foam 1/4" to 1/2" bigger.

Cut the foam using bread knife.

Attach the seat top using brad nails or screws and glues ( I only used brad nails, easier for me to pry when time to change the upholstery)

Spray adhesives and wait for it to get tacky ( directions on the bottle)

 Then put the foam ( I used 2"  foam)
foam made of soybeans

Use plywood sheet and clamp to press the foam into the wood. 

After a minute or two, take the plywood sheet off that's used to press and cut batting wider than foam.

 Spray adhesive and staple the batting. It's best to use pneumatic stapler, I used electric stapler and I had to hammer it some.

Cut the fabric.
Covington Bonetti in black with tan background, the black print has velvety texture, so elegant!

If fabric have patterns like mine, make sure to center it or proportionately lay it out before stapling.
 Start stapling in the middle of each side.
 Then working outward while smoothing the surface by rubbing it.

Until my webbing arrives, all that's left for me to do is to cover the seat top with fabric and wait and wait and wait...
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