Tres Chic Telephone Table Dahling!

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Cath Kidston Tapestry Chair

Applying the Hessian and ties

The chair before...

Horsehair layer

 

Finished chair in the studio with little blue chair 

The finished chair with Cath Kidston Tapestry seat.

Last week I finished this really lovely little tapestry covered chair, and forgot to blog about it! I just wanted to show you how a little chair can have a big personality. I cleaned and treated the wood, mended the wobbly joints, and gave it new webbing and stuffing. The tapestry had been done by the customer, and was a pattern from one of the Cath Kidston stitch books. The trim was from John Lewis and matched the wool colour perfectly. 

The one thing I would recommend if you are going to do a tapestry is to use a standing or handheld frame - this stops the canvas from becoming stretched out of shape by your hands. (And makes it much easier to apply to a chair if it's all square.) 

Tapestry can be a lot more fun than pictures of kittens in baskets (although if kittens in baskets is your thing - go for it!) I wanted to see if I could find a tapestry I would like to do and came across the amazing work of Charley Harper  Have a look at more of his beautiful illustrations turned into tapestries on the Purl Bee craft blog.  Imagine those beauties on a chair! 

Helfa Gelf // Art Trail | North Wales

The Helfa Gelf //Art Trail around North Wales was a brilliant success last year, and Laura's Attic is going on the map again. This year in September we will be open every weekend for visitors, but to keep you going till then, here is a sneak peak. There will be lots of furniture on sale and cushions, bunting and gift items to buy. You can have a poke around my fabric stores and see the upholstery process up close. I might also put an order in for some home-baked goodies for my visitors from Birch Bakes. YUM.
Art and cake has to be a winning combo!

Make Do and Mend your Leather

Worked some magic on these leather chairs this morning, just goes to show its always worth asking an upholsterer's advice before you buy new furniture!

...and After : Lloyd Loom Chair

Finished chair, in shiny GOLD. It looks regal! Seat covered in a woven satin and chenille spot fabric with contrasting piping in a patterned woven gold fabric. Really pleased with the paint, becoming a little obsessed with painting things gold now...

Serious Stripping

Victorian Balloon Back chair with traditionally upholstered stitched and stuffed seat.

The next piece on my course was a bit more challenging, a stitched and stuffed seat. Because the seat is part of the chair (unlike the drop-in seat which was separate) I had to treat the wood first. See the step-by step pictures in my album on facebook. The wood underneath the old thick Marmite-like layer of varnish was beautiful and came up a treat when stripped and re-polished with several layers of shellac and wax. 

 I used a cream and silver woven fabric for the top cover, which is tres glam! I just need to find an equally glam trim to cover the tacks now.

Turn On, Tune In and Drop In Seat

Drop - In Seat Dining chair, Traditionally upholstered

The first piece completed on my course was a Drop-In seat, traditionally upholstered using animal hair. See the full step by step pictures in my Photo album on my facebook page. I plan to strip the wood and re-polish with a dark shellac, to match the black in the fabric, giving the chair quite an oriental feel. The chair is one of 4, so I've got quite a lot of work still to do! But its definitely worth it, the finished seats look lovely and will last for a lifetime.