Project: Re-upholster dining chairs

Status: Complete!!!!

Yep, I just finished them. But it was quite a drama:

Attempt #1: It all started yesterday, I had a bit of a crisis in that a colleague's husband (who's an artist) said he would lend me his staple gun, but when I went round to collect it he couldn't find either of the two he had. Cue a mad dash around every feasible store in Witney.....first we went shopping in Lidl and then Sainsbury's (for food, but also to see if they by chance had a staple gun...), then we went to find the staple gun in Focus. They had sold out of the bog standard ones and only had a really flash electronic version. By this point the children were fed up of me rushing them around shops. I was fed up too - we'd gone from school, to my friends, to Lidl, to Sainsbury's, to Focus.... Ben and Jas ran around the aisles in that store like it was an adventure playground, and I, feeling my dreams of covering the chairs in all that beautiful fabric slowly slipping away, was feeling less than patient.... I'd already rang/texted everyone I knew to see if any of them by chance owned a staple gun, but no luck. Anyway, we're in Focus and I'm shouting for the kids yet again (they'd run off in the direction of the bathroom sets (they like pretending to sit on the toilets etc!), and told them we had less than 15 minutes to get to Screw Fix before it shut. Jasmine moaned, "why you keep dragging us round all the shops! I'm fed up!" A man pushing his well-behaved little baby around in a trolley grinned at me....."well, I can't argue with that" I told him with sigh and he grinned some more.

Next stop was screw fix. I pulled off some formula 1 style driving to get there in the nick of time, only to find that whilst yes, they did have them in stock, they were waaay more money than I wanted to spend on an item I am hardly likely to use again. Still determined, I drove past Argos hoping to dash in there quickly, but saw they were already closing. Let's just say I went home feeling quite deflated.

Attempt #2: Today I went into town with Sienna to have a wander round the shops (and find a staple gun!). I went to Robert Dyas and guess what? Yup, sold out of the cheap ones, only fancy ones in stock. It seems that Witney is in the grip of a major staple gun buying spree. And yet strangely, no-one I know has one (other than the lost one), or knows anyone with one. One person I asked didn't even know what one was! Arrrgghhh, Frustrating!

There was a very helpful sales lady in Robert Dyas who recommended fabric pins, so, two packs in hand I felt much better and went off to the sewing store. And then I saw it, some beeeauuutiful fabric that I just had to have!

Anyway, feeling that all was once more right with the world we went back to mine. And here's how it's done. Re-covering chairs that is.

Step 1:
Have some tea and cake - much needed fuel for crafting

Sienna does not like her picture being taken!

Step 2:
Remove seat pads

Step 3:
Remove ugly, old covers

Step 4:
lay seat pad on new fabric, stretch fabric taught and hammer in pins all around the edges (avoiding thumbs!!!). Make sure that the creases in on the corners are neat and not too 'square'.

I'm not sure what Jasmine was doing....

Step 5:
Pose for a picture with said pad

Step 6:

Screw seat pad back onto chair

Voila!

And below are all the finished chairs - as you can tell from the lighting, I didn't finish until quite late. It would have been so much quicker with a staple gun... I stopped after chair number 3 to finally cook something for the children...much later than usual I might add. (Emma S had stopped by briefly and helped out with chair number 1, Sienna had left after chair number 2 and Nick left for a game of poker whilst I was cooking dinner).

Straight after dinner I got on with the last chair. The poor kids were so tired they took themselves off to bed before I was finished (bad mummy!). Once I get into a project I get so consumed by it I am compelled to see it through, preferably on the same day I start. Patience is not one of my strong points. Must work on that.....

What's that I hear? They don't match? They're not meant to match, I wanted each one to be different. Living in a new build, rented house everything is so bland. I wanted these chairs to make a statement. And if I change my mind or we move and they look out of place? I'll just re-cover them of course! Simples.

Now, ask me, does anyone actually get to sit on my new chairs.....?