Summer Project: Wingback Chair {Part I}

Because I love (attempting) to be crafty, I'm taking on my first - and maybe my last depending on how well it goes - summer project. Drum roll please...the reupholstering of a wingback chair.

I scored this Paul Robert original at the Goodwill some months ago and it's been sitting in the spare craft bedroom. It wasn't that I was putting it off, I was just waiting for the long lovely free hours of summertime before I delved into this project.

The chair itself is extremely well made and in good shape. The fabric, not so much. Kind of gross actually with a pretty horrifying musty smell. Blegh.

Two days ago I set out to begin removing the fabric and the millions of staples holding it in place. The work to remove the staples and fabric is not difficult, it's just incredibly tedious. And when I say millions of staples, I mean it. Literally. Millions. Nevertheless, I got it done, and the bones of the chair were visible after 2.5 days of serious staple removing.

Last night, Big Red and I took a little field trip to JoAnn Fabrics, where I scored, thanks to a sale and my teacher discount, some super cool bright fun fabric. After doing some research online, I discovered that the recommended yardage for a project like this is 6.5 yards. I grabbed the bolt of fabric took it to the cutting counter and was faced with a tough decision. The cutter revealed there was only 5.75 yards on the bolt.

When I verified that I could return the fabric, so long as I didn't alter it, I pulled the trigger. My plan was to lay out all the old pieces and if they didn't fit, I'd return my $40 score and search for something new. As luck would have it, everything fit:

This afternoon I began the careful task of cutting each piece. I pinned the old panels onto the new fabric and then cut. Making a mistake was NOT an option. Thankfully, I did just fine. Then I decided I'd take on the deck (the bottom part of the chair that's underneath the seat cushion). I was again really careful to mark any and all necessary points of interest, cut carefully, repined even more carefully and then fired up the sewing machine. After a dry fit, it became clear, I was on my way. The new deck fit and was a huge confidence booster. I'm going to leave the chair over the weekend as I don't want to get sick of it, therefore losing my patience (of which I have little to begin with), then getting angry and making a costly mistake.

My cool new fabric. I'm thinking maybe a lime green or black fabric for the piping to add some fun contrast...

Dry fit deck fits beautifully! Don't worry that it looks a little lumpy; that will all right itself once the fabric is pulled taut.