Monday, September 17, 2012

Make Yourself Comfortable!



Chairs.... Take Two.....

The search for the Elusive Perfect fabric for the chair was resolved, Dear Readers, in part by me lowering my standards and in part by me wrestling with the original fabric choice until it behaved a little bit the way I had envisioned. I had wanted a "tapestry-like" effect.... but this is a VERY TINY scale.... and I at last acknowledged that short of finding and hiring tiny elves to Weave me some fabric.... I was not likely to find something in a small enough scale... even if I were to try to stitch the needlepoint myself.... the seat is about three eights of an inch wide! So I worked harder at making my first choice look sort of like what I wanted... finding a piece of the pattern that had enough variance in color and texture.... and then gluing it on without any padding or hemming because the fabric is fairly thick! You can see below the results......

You will have to think of it as a very worn out killim rug used as upholstery....

I could not prevent frayed corners and edges.....
But at least now the chair is a bit more comfortable!

And here below you can see it in solitary splendor in the Library.....

But you must understand that this chair was never meant to be the "cozy" chair! This is to sit at the still unfinished desk..... there was always going to be a soft over-stuffed easy chair by the fire!
So I started to make one.....


Here is the basic framework made out of a scrap of wood and cardboard.... 
the legs are added next.... and are cut from matchsticks....
And here you can also see the beginnings of gluing on the fabric 
over a layer of cotton batting .....

The fabric is a lovely rose colored cotton velveteen.... cut from used trousers....
It is very soft and pliable and does not fray too easily!
The shape is cut to fit and glued into the valleys of the frame with no hemming.

Here you can see the batting for the inside of the arm and headrest... 
it is loosely shaped and glued to the framework.....

And the fabric is glued at the same time..... 
just pressing the edge of the fabric into the glue in the valley 
using the tip of my awl....
And you can see that the fabric is left over large until the glue is dry.

Here you can see both side pieces are gluing.....

Here I have rolled and glued the armrest portion of the side... 
wrapping it around to the outside of the frame.
It was important to wrap and glue tiny sections at a time..... 
allowing them to dry thoroughly before gluing the next piece. 
This made it easier to prevent excess glue from getting onto the good side of the fabric 
as well as allowing for careful and precise fitting of the curve of the fabric.

Here you can see one side is partly glued......

One side nearly done.....

The other side too..... you can see the bare outside surface....


And here is the seat cushion being added.... 
I borrowed an idea I saw on Someone's blog 
(forgive me that I cannot remember whose!) 
to cut the center out of the padding so the seat will have a "worn" dip 
to look like it has been sat in for ages...!
Again, the fabric edges are pressed into the valley with my awl... 
making contact with the glue only along the edges.
 
 
Here the front of the seat fabric has been glued around to underneath the base....
cut away around the legs and wrapped to the sides.
The front end of the armrests have not been finished yet, 
and the outside all around still needs to be covered..... 
and the legs will be painted....

But for now.... here you can see it with the Jacobean chair.....


And here you can see them in the Library.....


Hmmmmm.... there's not a lot of room in there! 
It is amazing how much floor space was used up with the shelving units......!
I may have to adjust my ideas of what goes where.....
And the Rose color seems so Bold! 
I may have to "age" it a bit.....
But for now....
Why don't we light the fire.....

Pull up an (easy ) chair....
And Make yourself Comfortable!

18 comments:

  1. Betsy, you never cease to AMAZE at the little scale you work in. Everything is so TINY, even by standard, 1:12 scale...I don't know how you do it! I would LOVE to be able to pull up a chair in your library...

    Big hugs,
    John

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  2. You make tiny upholstery look so easy, I must have a go at upholstering a 1:12 scale chair, maybe even making it from scratch as you have done. Well done.

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  3. Oh Betsy, you're a mini upholsterer extraordinaire!
    You've done a great job on the chairs, I wouldn't be brave enough to even try one! I'm sure you'll work out the floor space once the desk is complete.
    Lots of love
    Simon x

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  4. Hi there! Thanks for showing how you made the upholstery! That was very interesting and your chairs look so great. For me the rose color actually looks nice, it is an eyecatcher in this room, maybe just a cozy pillow or a banket would make it look more worn. I´m looking forward to your next post :-)
    Hugs, Sandra

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  5. The chairs are lovely, how you can work in such small scale amazes me

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  6. these "tiny elves"...i think they must be around somewhere ...quite near to you! wonderful chairs! yes..one has to bring up the patience to let parts dry before doing the next...:) Thank you again for sharing this beautiful project!!

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  7. Hello Betsy,
    What a FANTASTIC room! I love the size of it...the furniture is close together and it adds such a feeling of warmth. You did a fantastic job of the chairs. I think the "aged" look works so well with this room. I keep thinking "If these walls could talk". I think it is very suuccesfull and even more impressive because of the small sacale.
    Bravo Betsy, you set a high bar indeed. When can I come over to sit and read by the fire?
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  8. OMG!!!!! Betsy I will never stop admiring what you do in this teeny tiny scale! FANTASTIC!!!

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  9. Hi Betsy! This is stunning work to upholster those tiny chairs!!! It looks so cozy at the fire with those chairs. I admire the work you've done so far, I'll follow the progress of this amazing house :D!

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  10. its so cute, I think my hands are too big for such small work! great job :)


    Love
    Marisa

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  11. Your room really does look as if you were there and can read comfortably at rest. I would choose the rose-colored chair to sit on. All things are so tiny. Wonderful.
    Hugs from Craftland

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  12. The rose color's fine. Inviting. That room is so gorgeous! Maybe you'll have to have a lap desk? I think they exist. Because I wouldn't add much, at this point. Very lovely.
    Lovely,
    Mom

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  13. I like these comfortable chairs. Your room looks fabulous!
    Kiss Faby

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  14. Oh yes, I've made myself comfortable, sitting open-mouthed while reading your post, only my chair isn't as nice and comfy as yours. But of course it has one advantage - it's big enough for me! (LOL). Stunning work!

    Greetings
    Birgit

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  15. How you managed to keep the glue off that little chair amazes me! It looks so comfy too.

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  16. Hi Betsy, sorry I missed your last post, I love both of these tiny chairs, they are fab, you do such a good job, especially given the size of them, They look great in library, what an atmospheric chamber that looks!!! I can imagine all sorts of strange things happening in there!! ;)

    It contrast well against the luxurious drawing room below too, much more masculine if I dare say so?!!

    look forward to seeing more soon

    Andy xxxx

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  17. Oh, my goodness, so tiny!!! And, they look quite comfortable! :)

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  18. Now that chair is definitely mine for tonight ( it is still raining here! ):)

    Bets, I find ribbons very useful for tiny scale.

    My next project is 1:48, bashing a woodcraft construction kit house that someone wanted to throw away. I never thought I would like working on smaller than 1:12 scale until heaven for dead cars :). I can totally understand your thrill.

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