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In need of some loving
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Finished my first upholstery project (fanfare is going off in my head!), the dinky little footstool I got from a second hand shop a while ago. It started a little ominously when I arrived at school two hours late after having forgot to set my alarm. This is what happens when you stop having to get up for work in the mornings! But I digress...
I must say that I found the upholstery process pretty satisfying. This despite the fact that my fingers are a little numb and swollen, being unused to such hard work. I also appreciate much more why everyone keeps telling me that there's no money in this - material costs are high, nay, exorbitant (especially fabric), not to mention the time cost of producing the thing (even if I was paying myself minimum wage to do this, total production cost is triple what I could sensibly expect to sell it for). Looks like I will have to revisit my business plan.
Since everything in this shiny new world of craftsmanship is a chance for me to explore things I've had no prior experience with or appreciation for, I opted for the traditional upholstery method even though it was going to be more work (after all, in it for a dime...).
Mae's take on upholstery:
"In addition to the technical skills and patience needed to upholster a piece (sewing skills are handy, the ability to hammer in tacks in a straight line doubly so), one also needs an eye for colour, textures and shapes."
I looked at a lot of fabric before settling on the cover for the stool, and its amazing how the feel of it changed with each swatch. Looking at my dinky little stool now that its done, it seems perfect to me. But if I was honest, there was a point when I was beginning to doubt my choice of "thai sapphire blue" (although in my defence, I had a pretty limited choice of leftover paints to use). I had no real idea of what I wanted the cover to look like and what would be the right fabric to finish the project off. I just knew that I would "know" when I saw the fabric. I'm not sure this is the most scientific way of getting things done. Or if it will work every time I need it to. It certainly didn't end up where I thought it would.
It was also very interesting looking at everyone else's work. There's always someone who does something which makes you think "damn, I wish I had thought of that". But I guess that is the beauty of it all.
What else did I learn from this? That fabric is awesome. And I want a sewing machine.
In case you are interested, here are some pictures of what went on in between:
Mae's take on upholstery:
"In addition to the technical skills and patience needed to upholster a piece (sewing skills are handy, the ability to hammer in tacks in a straight line doubly so), one also needs an eye for colour, textures and shapes."
I looked at a lot of fabric before settling on the cover for the stool, and its amazing how the feel of it changed with each swatch. Looking at my dinky little stool now that its done, it seems perfect to me. But if I was honest, there was a point when I was beginning to doubt my choice of "thai sapphire blue" (although in my defence, I had a pretty limited choice of leftover paints to use). I had no real idea of what I wanted the cover to look like and what would be the right fabric to finish the project off. I just knew that I would "know" when I saw the fabric. I'm not sure this is the most scientific way of getting things done. Or if it will work every time I need it to. It certainly didn't end up where I thought it would.
It was also very interesting looking at everyone else's work. There's always someone who does something which makes you think "damn, I wish I had thought of that". But I guess that is the beauty of it all.
What else did I learn from this? That fabric is awesome. And I want a sewing machine.
In case you are interested, here are some pictures of what went on in between:
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| A lick of paint and some hair |
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| First layer of stuffing all done. Look at how proud and square the corners stand |
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| A couple more layers... |
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| This is not a cake |
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