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Finally greening up here in NC! Love this velvet club chair on my spring green moss carpet. Do you love spring, green, velvet & moss?
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We all may dream of draping fabric on a chair, and with a few rips, pins, nips tucks and stitches, a perfect slipcover magically appears in just a wee bit of time. However, the reality is that this scenario has a good chance of ending in tears and an ill fitting cover. Sometimes, drafting a flat pattern for slipcovers is called for, and I call this scenario "making a muslin for a chair dress". After all, slipcovering and dressmaking are kissing cousins!  This week I had the opportunity to facilitate a hands on learning and sharing experience for my friends and members of the Triangle WCAA. Thank you to Sandra and Cathy for assisting as floating instructors!  Also special thanks to a great friend and mentor - and expert apparel flat pattern designer - Debra for encouraging me to teach this class and for loading all the coffee cups into my dishwasher a the end of the day.  Taking time out to wish Tammy a happy birthday! Cake was designed by Jamesa (special delivery by Bianca) and the icing on the cake matched Tammy's earrings perfectly. Photo credit to Janet.  Donations were accepted for Make-a-Wish! Feels good to pay it forward. Hopefully everyone will be inspired to make a chair dress real soon!
Spotted my slipcovers in the current issue of
"Where Women Create". I'm a secret source! Shhhhhh. It's a secret.
Winter looks for dining chairs can be achieved! A pre washed 100% Indian woven cotton was used in this example. The body of the fabric gives shape to the wooden back of this chair without complicating the design. Covers are held in place by tying to the back splat. Patterning from the horizontal stripe was applied vertically to band around the seat bottom. The welting was straight cut from a stripe to imply a contrast dot pattern.
Breaking up is hard to do? Not so for this lovely lime pair of tufted attached back swivel rockers in very nice condition. One would be used in the den filled with darling grandchildren and would require a washable fabric. The other desired a more sophisticated look for the master bedroom, and likely would serve as a modern day butler and lady's maid. As you will see in the gallery below, the end use of the cover, as well as the weight and hand of the fabric choices, influence the overall design and construction details. The cotton ticking stripe was loosely fitted with ties and the chenille animal print tightly tailored. Of course that leaves us with the chance that someday the lovely lime pair will reunite.
 Here is one of a pair of small winged parsons chairs, and they will book end the fireplace in my client's home. Nice way to spend some of the chilly mornings we've been having. Loved the color way of greens and blues on the charcoal ground of the fabric, perfect for cozying up to a warm fire. Working in large scale floral is always fun, and I try to minimize the break in pattern to keep the flowers flowing. In this design, the back and sides of the chair were cut in one piece from one width of fabric, as were the inside arms, seat and front panel and corner pleats. Below are a few clips from the draping design process.
This slipcover was for a Very Important Person: my MOTHER! Mama had been busy sprucing things up in her bedroom. She painted the walls lavender, purchased new bedding and made new curtains and pillows. The old attached back winged rocker just didn't go with her new nest. So we selected a lilac check and made up this pretty little lady. A Very Important Project for my VIP! |
