Reupholstering

A week ago I went south to fetch some furniture home.  Namely my paternal grandmother's dining room furniture.  FH and I finally have some grown-up furniture in the house.  Not only are these much loved heirlooms but given our love of entertaining the lack of a large table was becoming irritating.

The latest timesink for me has been fighting with my grandmother's dining room chairs. They have been naught but bare frames and have been this way since I was in high school.  Several things (grandchildren) came up and my mother never got around to actually reupholstering them.  She did however make a lovely book (with photos) showing how the original upholstery was put together and included a pattern for the seat cushions.  She also saved original pieces of fabric to use as patterns.  I finally finished them on Friday evening after about two weeks of stop and go work. The project stopped and started based on availability of materials. Everything was here except for the fabric, which arrived Wednesday. Then the real fun began.

Here is a pictorial step-by-step of the process:

Bare frame.

 Jute buckram webbing.

 New cushion cut to fit.  This replaces the original (and very icky) horsehair.

 Muslin to cover the cushion and make future upholstery easier.

 The gorgeous fabric that Mom picked out for the chairs.

 Simple black fabric to cover the bottom and make things look more finished.

 Close up of the fabric.

 I plan on covering a few 12" pillow forms with some of the leftover fabric.  That way FH can comfortably sit in these chairs for a long meal.  Once the sun is up we are going to spray some Scotchguard on the fabric to hopefully help protect it from spills and dirty cat feet.

If I get a chance during daylight hours I'll get a picture of the dining room set in situ.  I'm off for some much needed sleep.