Good morning lovelies! Recently I was browsing through some of the adorable fabrics at
The Ribbon Retreat, when I saw this super fun Owl Fabric. I knew my
nephews birthday was coming up and this fabric would be perfect to
make something fun for him. My nephew is 2 and all about being a “big
boy”. He doesn't want to use sippy cups or sleep in a crib anymore.
He has an older brother and sister to keep up with, so he wants to
get rid of all the baby stuff. Keeping that in mind, I started
racking my brain for what I could make my little monkey nephew for
his b-day. Then it happened. That imaginary light bulb above my head
went off. Ding Ding! I don't know if that is the sound a light bulb
idea moment actually makes, but in my head it does, so just go with
it. I remembered I had an old, sun damaged chair in my shed. One that
is the perfect size for a 2 year old. Then Bam! the project was created in
my head! I love those Bam! Moments when things just come together.
Awesome right?
I brought in my chair from outside and
gave it a good rub down. It may have had a bit of dirt and such caked
on it. It was outside, so it has no reflection on my cleaning skills,
which are pretty awesome if you're wondering. I then took a good look
at my chair. It is always important to really check things out before
you start cutting. I knew I wanted to use the old chair cover as my
pattern, so I wanted to make sure I paid attention to how it was
secured onto the chair before I got scissor happy. Once I had an idea
of how everything would come off and go back on, I cut the cover off
the chair.
Where the seams were, I cut my cover.
This created my patter pieces. The original cover was sewn by the
manufacturer, so I wanted to add heavy duty Velcro to make sure all
bottoms were secured in the chair. No diaper bottoms falling through
on this chair!
I laid out my pattern pieces on my
fabric. Make sure you watch the way your fabric is laying. If it is a
directional fabric, like my owls here, make sure that your pattern
will be facing the way you want it. I had to make sure none of my owls
would be upside down when the chair was finished.
I pinned my pattern pieces onto my
fabric. When cutting out my pieces, I gave an extra ½ inch for seam
allowance. I needed enough room to do a few reinforcement stitches
throughout the chair.
Once all my pieces were cut out, I
pieced my fabric together. It is kinda like putting a puzzle
together. I can see why every three year old in the world likes
puzzles. They are pretty darn fun!
Once my pieces were pinned together, I
got my sew on. I ended up doing three sets of stitches. I started
with a straight stitch and then finished up with a tight zig zag
stitch. I knew the seams would be getting a lot of tug and pull as
cute little diapered bottoms plopped down onto them.
After my seams were secured, I added my
bias tape. Remember last time how I told you bias tape had changed my
world? I was not lying. I have used it quite a bit since. Like in my
Stars and Stripes Skirt. I love the finished look it offers to a
project. This project was no different. I had some brown bias tape in
my stash (yes I have a bias tape stash now. I told you I was serious
about it being mind blowing). Honestly pinning the bias tape was
probably the most time consuming part of the chair. You want to make
sure it is pinned just right, so that when you sew it on, you have no
gaps between the fabric and the tape. You can put on an episode
of Vampire Diaries or whatever other vampire teen drama entertains
you and start pinning. It took me two episodes, but honestly it is
because I kept stopping, so I could see who else's life was being
threatened by a head vampire...in fact maybe you should just listen to music
instead. Then you won't take forever and a day pinning bias tape like I
did.
Once your bias tape is pinned, get to
sewing. Take your time though, checking to make sure everything is
lined up correctly. Nothing stinks more than to finish sewing on your
bias tape, only to realize it had not been lined up and you have to
seam rip everything and start again....not that I am speaking from
personal experience (I blame it on the
Stefan-has-lost-his-humanity-what-will-happen-next teen vampire
drama).
Once you have completely sewn your
cover and the whole enchilada is looking good, have a cute little red
head test it out. My red head happens to be about 65 lbs and is
definitely not a two year old. I am so glad she tested it out because
it let me know I needed more Velcro. Having a bit of Velcro just on
the side was not enough. I ended up adding a whole strip to secure
the bottom of the cover to the underneath part. This kept all little
bottoms from sinking.

I also spray painted the metal part of
my chair with white spray paint (the kind with a primer already in
it). I loved how it came out and it was a huge hit at the birthday
party. My niece Ava even tried to steal it from my Nephew. Nothing
like a little toddler tussle to let you know your hours spent making
something are well worth it :)
Are you ready to make your own chair
now? Look around your house or at thrift stores. You never know what
treasure is waiting for you to re-purpose it and make it new again.
Fabric like this and this doesn't hurt either in upping the cuteness
factor!


Stay Cool Lovelies!
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ReplyDeleteThank you!!
That project was pure genius! I love it... It gave me ideas of my own. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love this chair- super cute and a great way to use what you already had! have you heard of double fold bias tape? It saves SOOOOO Much time!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely adorable! What a great job you've done. Well done! :)
ReplyDeleteoh this article did give me a good giggle especially the bit about nappied bottoms going through the seat. I live by the sea with a tide washed paddling pool surrounded by beach huts, very safe for littlies. So there we the local populace were one beautiful sunny day when a big family turned up at one of the huts including granny. We took it that grannies corns or something were giving her gyp because she whinged all day and every body in the environs was giving full benefit of her displeasure! she wasn't exactly quiet. About 4pm divine retribution arrived and her bloomered bottom went straight through the seat and nobody could get her out for laughing. Luckily the only thing that was hurt was her pride. Oh the wonderful happy memories I have of the summers I spent with my littlies down by that pool and now I am repeating with my grandson. I have a daughter and grandson both with more than a tinge of red in their hair. Aren't they gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLove this! I think there is a tot sized glider out in our barn that once belonged to our now 13-year-old niece. I could see myself tackling a project like this. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteLove the owls!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat chair makeover! Love that you could use all the pieces as a pattern :)
ReplyDelete