The Final Note

The last I left this project, the basic upholstering was done. I needed to complete the trim and cover the back. Here's how that went ...

First, the trim. You might remember back, I made quite a bit of that stuff. I found today I needed to make a bit more. You'll also find out I ran out of fabric. To make the trim, I used scraps. No problem.

I started on the inside arm of the chair and nailed down the beginning piece with a finishing nail. Then I glued down the trim with hot glue about 4-6 inches at a time.

Hard to take pictures and glue at the same time.

Nailed down on the inside, then start gluing.

Following the curves and dressing up the hand rest.

The trim does a great job covering the staples.

Interesting spot here. Not only is it an intersection of two runs of trim, but it's also the spot where I ran out.

No worries. I had already planned out the intersection. I slightly burned the ends of the trim to prevent fraying then hot glued them together.

I absolutely love the tailored look with the black and white tweed. You can also see in the background the inside trim.

Now here comes the part that makes me absolutely sweat. The back cover. But first....

I added a time capsule. I took a cutout of the fumigation label from 1964, wrote a note, and put it in a baggie. I nailed it to the inside. Any future DIY'er will find a piece of history and the story of the chair that I know.

 

Along the top of the back, you can see where I have stapled down a cardboard strip. There is where I start sweating, literally. The next part is using tack strip. It is a strip of tacks, and it is painful if handled carelessly, and if the fabric doesn't lay just so, it doesn't look right. So now, I will flip the fabric down the back, and start hammering....

Flipped over. Grab all tools from inside the chair, because it's about to be closed up.

Flipped over. Using a solid black tweed is my solution to running out of fabric. I like the result a lot.

Laying it down, creasing the edge, then dealing with tack strip.

You will also see along the right side, I added a piping trim. I wanted to dress up the black back a bit and frame it a bit. Without it, truly, it looked odd.

A few staples down first to hold the piping, then the cover back went over it.

There is a strip of tack in there, and I have just hammered it down.

All done. Nice, tight and slick.

The end result with the trim.

Not quite done yet. I flipped it over to prepare for the dust cover on the bottom. Again, I am so glad I used stitches instead of the metal clips. The dust cloth is tight against the jute with no protrusions.

The backside, all done. I like how the back highlights the black painted trim on the hand rests at the front of the piece.

Now let's look at this from the beginning...it's always good to see where we've come from.

I think we can agree, she was an ugly beast.

Almost bare.

The insides of the cushion.

Did I mention?
I have another chair already waiting for a new outfit.