Hi!
I acquired these four dining room chairs through a small shop in Seattle for a killer price (on clearance for around $20/each) and I have to say they are very comfortable to sit on!
BUT, they are peach and cream, friends, and anyone who knows me, knows my entire cottage is blue & white!
So the stage was/is set for a transformation to fit them into the decor at Elinor Cottage.
I decided to start with a slip cover for each. I will use my own fabric designs I have for sale on Spoonflower under my designer name, "Lilyoake", and each chair will be different as far as fabric. But the same as far as design.
I ordered my design on 2 yards of Spoonflowers linen-cotton blend. Its BEAUTIFUL. Honestly - what a soft but tight weave. Its the perfect weight for slip covers and I might even have some printed up for curtains!
I chose my Jane's Rose Bouquet in blueberry blue for my first chair. Its a big bouquet of roses in blueberry blues, on a lighter baby blue background. The blues tend towards the red side as that is what I decorate Elinor Cottage with.
First step was to make a paper pattern I can than use on all four chairs as I go along. Easy enough. I taped together printer paper and traced the chair top and back. Trim it out and tweak from there.
Once that was done, I cut out my fabric pieces (I was nervous now too - cutting into this precious two yards!! Were my measurements right? Was this going to work!?)
Once I managed to get it cut out and started sewing, it just came together. I decided to add a small drop around the seat and then attach white piping and a more tailored, pleated ruffle (more to my taste).
The back was more of a challenge as I had not planned it as well and I wanted to make sure I was able to remove it easily enough for washing. Since the chair frames will also get a make over with white and light blue chalk paint with details in gold leaf, I wanted parts of the frame to show through the slip cover so I planned accordingly. (stay tuned for another posting of how I paint & gild the frame)
The result at the end of my weekend was a very pretty slip covered chair that now fits into my blue & white color scheme - and best of all, I got to use my own fabric design and the slip cover is machine washable! (I pre-washed the fabric already too, to avoid excess shrinkage later.)
Now I will decide which of my other fabric designs to use next and order the next few yards. (left over fabrics are becoming napkins and tea pot cozies or pillows!!)
