BED AND BEYOND

I have spent weeks looking at this poor single bed. I have moved it around my workshop and almost disposed of it several times. The urge to saw it up won out, resulting in a bench.

 

First I lowered the headboard by sawing the bottom 10" off the Legs. I dismantled the footboard and done the same to the front legs. I gave the side rails the same treatment reducing them to 24".

The footboard I decided to re-attach upside down after sawing off 6" to create a straight edge to become the front of my bench

The original lip on the side rails allowed me to reuse the bed slats to create the seat of the bench.

Starting to resemble a bench

     I used a 2" foam to create a seat pad, covering it with tartan.

I decided to upholster the top panel of the back of the bench, I used a piece of 1/2" foam to pad and covered in the same tartan, added a little piping cord to finish it off

                                  Little bed became a really sturdy bench

Chair revamp fit for a princess

or two.

A 1970's chair and a discontinued fabric      sample book.

Remove the seat pad and unpick the staples to remove the original upholstery fabric

A padded loose cover to fit over the back of the chair.

A second loose cover made from chosen pages from the sample book

The cover should fit snugly 

over the back of the chair.

 I left the long flap to allow 

me to staple the fabric

 to the base of the chair.

staple a skirt to the base of the chair. I created a pleat at the 4 corners, re upholstered the seat pad and screwed it back on

This chair was for princess Jessie's room so I personalised it with a reverse applique cushion on pink velvet

 Two princess's in the one house meant that this was one of a pair. I went for  reds and golds to create Emma's chair

 Best part of this project was the

 reaction of my two beautiful nieces

Wardrobe Revamp

 Wardrobe revamp

I reckon that I wear about 10% of my clothes 90% of the time.

The rest is a mix of things that I wish still fitted and impulse buys that

warrant arrest by the fashion police!

This little beauty takes up a hanger in my wardrobe because........?

 I like it from the waist up. 

Well I have decided that it deserves to see the light of day.

Dress code at work is black and white and another top never goes amiss.

Simply measure the length you want your top to be and cut off excess.

Don't forget to cut a little longer to allow for hem.

A little double turned hem and a quick iron,

Hey presto project complete.

In the bag!

this was a charity shop find, bought only for the fabric. Originally I thought it would become a skirt, but a bag it is.

Firstly I filled in the

 neckline with leatherette

shortened the skirt to

desired length

added a leather base

Use a strip off the bottom
of the skirt to create
a strap to lengthen the shoulder strap

As you can see the original lining of the
dress becomes the bag lining.
I added a zip fastener .

lastly I cut these figure 8
petals to create a flower corsage
and added it to the bag

Our little tote in use

SUIT-ABLY REVAMPED

Loving all things pinstripe at the minute. I bought a few old

suit jackets from the charity shop.

Chair was also a charity shop find. All in i spent less than €20

I sawed the back off the chair. Not easy with a hack saw but got there in the end

I then shortened the legs to a suitable height for a footstool.

Next step was to remove the existing upholstery......

be prepared, removing all those staples was time consuming

okay on to the suits. Just like a patchwork I cut random sections of fabric from several jackets. I kept the inside pocket and lining intact. I also used a few pieces such as the pocket flap rather than just flat fabrics. I re-sewed the various pieces to create a piece of fabric large enough to reupholster the stool.

Use an old handbag strap to add a little patent or leather and reuse the old suit buttons if you wish.

The suit pocket is actually a functioning pocket on this stool 

Before upholstering you may wish to sand and paint the legs.

 I used acrylic paint and top coated with varnish once dry

I have lots of pieces of suit fabric left over. My next post will show a use for them.