A Slipcover..A Dinner.. and a Rainbow

Hello friends, happy to see all of you back here again. 

Lot's of photos today, so get comfy.

Remember the post when I told you of my quest for the perfect upholstered chair.

Every Wednesday, I would make my weekly pilgrimage to my beloved Salvation Macy's.

Then one week, I found.....

This beauty!

She screamed to me.. "take me home"

She was rock solid, sweet smelling and clean as a whistle.

With the 25% Wednesday discount, I paid $41.00!!!!

Crazy, right??

Man, I love my Salvation Macy's.

So here is my inspiration photo. This Kelly Keiser designed living room was in the March issue of Better Homes & Gardens.

I loved the fabric used on these chairs.

I found an almost identical fabric at Fabric.com for only $5.00 a yard.

This is a nice home decor weight cotton...perfect.

I've only worked with drop cloths and using real fabric was a little scary at first.

Before I go further, I want to dispel the myth that piping is something to be afraid of.

I used to be intimidated by piping, but now I love making it! I wonder if premade piping would sell on Etsy ;->

Can you cut lot's of 2inch strips of fabric?

Can you fold this strip around a string of welting cord?

Can you use a zipper foot on your machine and sew a straight line along the cord?

Can you simply sew right sides of fabric together to create long lengths of piping?

If you answered 'YES' to all those questions, my friend, you can create piping!!

Stop being afraid of it.

Here you can see I sandwiched the piping between the back front and the back pieces and pinned in place.

See how easy?

Fit..pin..fit.pin...etc...etc.....

Pay no attention to the secret agents 'I'm taking it to my grave' Archie Bunker chair in the background.

I WILL be slipping that baby very soon.

Now keep fitting and pinning all around the seams where you want the piping to be.

I brought mine around the top, the sides and down the inside arms.

I will admit the areas where three seems meet are a bit tricky. I just take my time and if it does not look good, I rip it out and resew it. Just be patient and take your time.

Helpful hint: cut a generous seem allowance...you can always trim, but you can't add fabric.

I think the piping looks pretty darn good (shines her own apple here)

I payed close attention to the placement of the damask pattern to keep it centered.

I decided to do a skirt that included some ruffles and a double pleat. 

Keeping it real here...The truth be told, I just could not decide between the two.

Rather than try to create ruffles on my machine, I chose to hand gather the corners with some embroidery floss...worked like a charm.

Sorry about some of the dark pics..storm clouds kept rolling in

Perfect!

I closed the back of the cushion with a long strip of sew in velcro.

Sewing makes me hungry...

Let's eat some dinner.

Chicken cutlets anyone?

Now let's see...what vegetable should I cook.....

I told you clouds inspire me

That's it....baked Cauliflower casserole.

Don't you love how my little mind works? 

Perfect with coffee the next day

Every night my secret agent asks.."what's for dessert?"

I made him a pumpkin cake with cheesecake swirl. So easy to make, just mix one boxed tea bread mix as directed (banana, lemon or pumpkin). Pour into a square baking dish and top with a mixture of 1 cup softened cream cheese, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 cup of sugar (I used Truvia) and a dash of vanilla. 

With a knife, swirl the mixture around.

Bake at 350 degrees until cake tests done (about 30 min)

Easy and delicious and great with coffee in the morning.

Ok...now that our bellies are full, lets's get back to slipcovering.

Once again, here was my inspiration photo.

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And here is my take on that design

Introducing the newest member of the Metzger household.

I have to say...the piping is my favorite part of the whole process.

I love how my hand pulled gathers add a little romantic whimsy to a somewhat formal chair shape.

Again, velcro worked great on the side closure and was very easy to install.

I love the sleigh curve of this chair. You can barely notice where I added the velcro.

Nicely centered pattern on the back

The crisp pleat at the front center is a nod to the classic line of this chair.

I am experimenting with some fabric choices for pillows. This yellow toile is actually just fabric temporarily draped over another pillow.

What do you think about the yellow with the robins egg blue???

What suggestions do you guys have for pillow fabric?

So let's recap...instead of paying $1,500.00 for one of these damask covered club chairs.

I bought a chair for $41.00 at my Salvation Macy's, purchased 10 yards of home decor Damask (Fabric.Com) for $50.00 and with my basic sewing skills, created a beautiful piece of furniture that I will enjoy for many years to come.

Please get over your fear of slipcovers..just try it. I'm telling you friends, you can do it!

Surround yourself with Miss Mustard Seed, Pink & Polka Dot and my gal Shelley and you can't go wrong.

We're almost done..I promised you a rainbow and without further delay....

This was my back deck view this evening during a rather fierce sun storm.

Sun to the right and dark clouds to the left with a rainbow between.

Beautiful

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.

PS...Tornado warning just issued.....I'll be back later...I hope....All Ok  ;->

I'll be sharing this week

All Things Heart and Home