Another Chair

I scored an oak armchair with a needlepoint seat at an estate sale.  We went on Sunday when the prices are 50% off and got a pretty good deal.  The only problem that I could see with the chair was that the seat was sagging a bit in the middle.

 

I wanted to fix it even though it still worked.  It just felt kind of weird.  I had to wait until I was heading in to Roanoke so I could go to the fabric store.  I also brought along my coupon for Jo-Ann Fabrics that I get regularly.  More discounts!  I love that kind of shopping.

I bought some one inch foam.  I was worried that the needlepoint would not be big enough to wrap around the seat if I got a thicker cushion.  I didn't want the unfinished fabric to show around the edges of the cushioned seat. 

 

The seat had been recovered in the past.  There was some horrible, sticky vinyl under the needle point. 

Look at all the holes from previous  times when it was recovered.

 

Under the vinyl was some felt.

   

And under THAT was what I at first thought was horse hair.  After closer examination we discovered it was moss.  Including sticks.  Who puts sticks in a chair seat?

The moss was breaking down into dirt and sifting through the webbing to the burlap underneath.  I took everything off but the webbing that had sagged. 

 

Lee removed some nails from one side of the saggiest webbing so we could tighten them.  Once they were tight enough, I placed the chair seat on top of the foam to draw an outline.  Once again, I used my very expensive Cutco serrated knife to cut the foam along the line I had drawn.

 

I had some muslin left over from another project, so I used some to cover and protect the bottom of the chair. 

 

I wrapped the foam seat with some leftover batting to protect the edges and started to assemble the seat. 

 

I did five chairs earlier this year, so it went pretty fast.  A good staple gun is a real help.  It is also important to keep a screwdriver to pull out the staples that didn't go in properly.

The lighting is different on the finished chair because I took a break for dinner and it got dark on me.
But doesn't it look great?
 


What do you mean it doesn't look any better.  It is WAY better.  Wait.  I see what you mean.  Well, it FEELS better.  And that is the important thing.  And would you have wanted all the disgusting filling in your house?  Yeah.  Way better.  Totally worth all the effort!