Adventures in Upholstery - Rocker for Susan - Jan 2011

I've been thinking about sharing some of my upholstery adventures with ya'll for a while now.  Upholstery is my day job, and I run my sewing business on the side.  I work with my dad at his shop, which he runs out of his house.  So, I get to hang out at mom & dad's house all the time!  It's really fun.  Dad and I make such an awesome team.  

I'm more or less an apprentice.  I started working with dad during my summer between my first and second year of fashion college, and after college, I worked with him for over 2 years.  I then moved away from home and worked as a cashier at Wal-Mart, then upgraded to a teller at a bank, then worked my way up to receptionist, then Mortgage Administrator.  I was at the bank for 4 1/2 years.  I could have worked my way up the corporate ladder, but it was pretty clear that paperwork was not my forte.  

I was itching to sew.  So, I left the bank and worked at The Bridal House for 7 months and learned a ton about altering wedding gowns.  The experience I gained was priceless.  But it was very busy, very stressful, and sucked up all of my summer.

So, I started dreaming of starting my own sewing business, but I didn't want to rely soley on that.  I asked my dad if he would like me to work for him part time, and he almost came unglued!  "Really?!"  He was thrilled.  And that was history.  I'm not making as much money as I used to, but I finally feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do.  I can finally say that I LOVE MY JOB!

So, to introduce you to my trade, I'd like to show you the rocking chair I recovered for my mother-in-law Susan's Christmas present.  In keeping with my usual timelines, I missed the Christmas deadline and did this in January.

This is her mother's chair, and she sits in it every day.  I helped her pick out a brand new fabric, then I kidnapped the chair for a couple weeks, and got to work!

Before

Eep!  It's naked!  This is a typical piece of good-quality older furniture with all its clothes removed.  This is like working on a blank canvas.

 When you recover furniture, you measure and take apart the old pieces and use the shaped ones as patterns to cut new ones.  The closest thing that describes it is a knock off.  If you've ever made a pattern out of your favorite pair of jeans without taking them apart, you know what I mean.  Except in this case, you can take it apart, which makes it easy.


I've now clocked in over 4 years in this trade, so I can do furniture almost entirely on my own.  The only stage I need help with now is stapling it together. I just ask Dad tons of annoying questions.  But he assures me there is no such thing as a stupid question.  He's an excellent teacher.

 The chair gets assembled in a logical order.  First, the deck, then the arms, then the back.  Here you can see the pulls on the sides (the beige strips), and the little rolls of fabric that you tie the buttons to.

 Here is the front.  Coming together nicely!  Isn't this fabric fabulous?  It's very similar to the old fabric, only more modern, and quite striking.

 Next steps are to cover the outside arms, the outside back, and attach the skirt.  The very last thing we do is the cushion.  We always add extra padding, so we put in the old cushion and double check the fit so we don't make it too tight.

 I love this trade.  Every time you finish a project, you get such an amazing sense of accomplishment.  I love being able to take old, ratty things and make them shiny and new!

 Susan loves her chair.  And I love being able to see it every time we visit!

I hope you enjoyed my first upholstery post.  I have lots more cool stuff to show you.  As a seamstress, I find lots of this stuff fascinating, and I'm taking a chance that you will too!