:: Are you SITTING DOWN? I’ve got something to tell you! ::

::Day 28::
The month is almost over… I’ve been working from ‘TO DO’ to ‘TO DONE’… and now…
TA-DAH!!!



I told you…  the next time you see the picture below… I’d be finished.



Well… guess what?! 
I finished my couch!  I know!   I am JUST. AS. SHOCKED.AS YOU!!! 
I can’t even begin to tell you… so I’ll just let the pictures speak for me.

There are several.




 

-Soft neutral fabric-



--nice trimmed edges--

 

-nail head trim-



-comfy couch-



-two-toned fabrics-



-cushy cushions-

 

- Wood sheen original only freshened up--



--the perfect little pillow-

Everything I could ask for in a 90 year old couch!

I love it. I must say…after having it in the middle of my spare bedroom and up on saw horses for 2 months… I sure thought it was a bigger couch than it is…

My living room seems much larger.  The Ceiling much taller.  The T.V. much farther away.

It only took me 3 1/2 years to get around to doing… all the while, I researched…and watched video after video… I wanted it to be just right, you know?

Thanks for your encouragement…and thanks for being so patient… IT’S FINALLY FINISHED.

…now onto the chair!

 

OTHER 31 DAY BLOGGERS—THE NESTER

*MRL: Catch as Catch Can
*CLH : Tweak it Tuesday
*MMS: Furniture Feature Friday
*FCC: Feathered Nest Friday

 

"Let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season will will reap if we faint not."
~Galatians 6:9

:: Sewing Burlap and Horse-Hair ::

If you're following along with my D.I.Y. Re-Upholstery Story

then you may recognize this picture below. 

If you're new here... WELCOME! and... you can find this picture on my sidebar >>> 

and follow the link to previous posts about my on going project! 

Since showing you the web stretching... 

and HOME MADE STRETCHER...

 I feel like I've made some head way on the couch. 

I've revisted some of the wood issues... 

I wasn't going to DECONSTRUCT the back...but now I'm glad I did...otherwise I wouldn't have seen the split seam. So that was a good thing. 

There was more of this... 

You can read about previous gluing and clamping here...I pretty much used the same method, without the wooden dowel this time. 

Next, after attaching the webbing to the back of the frame... I began the process of rebuilding; attaching burlap to the webbing and adding the Horse Hair Neck Roll. I'm re-using the horse hair. The Burlap, webbing and thread are all new. 

You can see the staple gun there in the lower corner. I just stapled the burlap to the frame.

I used cotton thread  DMC brand SUPER MERCERIZED COTTON (I already had on hand) for crocheting... it is size 10 

 Not the most beautiful sewing job I've ever done... but it's the mechanics of the REMAKE...so it won't be seen. * you may click on the pictures to make them bigger if you need.

 I still have more stitching to do...and then I'm moving onto the springs.  Those are being held in place with stitches too. No clinch tool here due to budget and DIY aspect. If I were going into business... I'd consider buying all the proper tools...but as this is not the case... I'm not.

At this point... I'm usually losing my momentum on projects. This one is taking longer than expected.  I think my expectations of finishing quickly were high. I do have a pretty good concept of time.
But not when it comes to projects...and of course there is the "unexpected happenings" factor. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the progress so far--and I was just telling someone this is a big thing on my BUCKET LIST ...so finishing is PRIORITY. ~LORD willing. 

I bought my burlap at the flea market from a produce vendor...$1 each.  I bought about 6 of them ...waaaaaay back when I began planning the little project. I like the graphic on this one. Too bad it's going to be covered.  

At this stage it sort of reminds me of the Restoration Hardware -phase of 

'De-constructed furniture'

... though I'll be going for something a little bit more cozy and cottage-y. ;)

Linking:: September Edition (month long parties)

Catch as Catch Can

{TH}read

:: WEBBING AND TOOLS- Stretched Beyond my Limits? ::

Sustainability means a lot of things; it means keeping the existing and perfectly usable (but ugly) items and making them over to be more pleasing and it also means doing this makeover on a budget.

~Apartment Therapy

You may have seen the quote above on my sidebar ... I copied it pasted it there a while back... because it pretty much sums up 

ALL THAT IS 

Corn in My Coffee-pot. 

First, In the practical sense; and then of course,  the truth is my coffee-pot doth run over. I'm very blessed. I feel it is exactly how God is with me. He takes the perfectly usable (but ugly...parts of my life and personality) and he makes them over to be more pleasing. Period. 

Anyway... enough about that... this is about having the right tools to do the job.

I thought I better put up a post. 

Man! do you know how difficult it is to Re-Upholster ...while blogging about it? 

Now, I truly know why so many of you...

work, work, work away 

in the back ground and then come along 

and 

BAM! 

Put up a beautiful post with beautiful photos 

...and a beautifully finished project. 

No warning or anything.

I DON'T BLOG LIKE THAT. :) 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This is picture heavy. So I'm going to try and keep all the chit-chat for the comments. 

To Stretch Webbing 

You need a webbing stretcher.  This varies in both style and price...Joann's had them for about $27. 

 

source

source

The one shown below, I only found online and is actually called a webbing strainer...and most of the ones like this I found were in the U.K.- MORE AFFORDABLE but, they'd have to be shipped. Not sure how long ...blah, blah, blah. 

Remember... It's already taken us 3 1/2 years to do this project and we're doing this project on a budget. $27 bucks for a wooden tool... a bit much. So we just made one! 

I wanted to make the one with nails sticking out of it. But... he wanted to make the 'strainer' style. That was T.H.'s department and he got right on it. 

When I say..."MY" webbing strainer... I mean...He made it and I mainly used it. But, T.H. doesn't use a camera...so for demonstration...he is using it and I'm taking pictures. :)

And here is how we used it.

Once the webbing was fastened to one side ...we'd weave it through or pull it to the other side make a loop in the webbing and feed it through the slot. 

The straight edge had a notch in it for wedging it against the furniture piece and of course, I scavenged a piece of dowel off an old bar-stool for tightening up the webbing. (see below) 

After the loop is fed through the slot (see below)

1. You run the dowel through it
2. Gauge the length- begin to tighten
3. Wedge the strainer against the frame (Pressing down on the strainer pulls the webbing nice and tight.)
4. Tack it in place! 

Does this project seem like it's taking a long time?
Like an eternity?
It does to me....
I just keep telling myself "Pretty soon, I'll get to sit on my nice pretty couch."
"Pretty soon, I'll get to fluff it with pillows."  ...and "Pretty soon, I'll get to play around in the living room with my furniture and re-arrange all sorts of things."
And then I remember... "Pretty soon, I'll get to do all this again ...with the matching chair!"

Thanks for sticking with it... "Pretty soon, you'll get to see the finished project." 

:: Coming Apart at the Seams::

Normally, you'd think this has to do with the fabric and sewing portion of the Re-Upholstery process... but no, today I'm here to show you how we corrected the WOOD.

:: Breakdown And Weapons of Mass DE-ConSTRUCTION ::

So I'm in the midst of REupholstering my couch. 

Not Re-Covering. 

Not Slip Covering. 

...but Re-Upholstering. 

I've learned there is indeed a difference...apparently. 

I am not just removing the Old and Ugly and putting new on, instead. 

No. 

I'm going to take it down to wood and take everything out and then put everything back! 

Crazy D.I.Y project? 

Probably.  But I've never done anything like this and so ...it has begun. 

There are I'm sure some really fancy tools out there for every step of the way. 

I'm not a professional and I have the internet and am NOT afraid to use it.  

So, I am using what I have. 

• Scissors: (don't let the size fool you. They are strong and SHARP!) 
• Bent needle nosed pliers: used to grab staples and pry them loose.
• Forked screw driver: for getting the upholstery tacks loosened and prying the tacks out. 
• Long needle nosed pliers: tack and staple removal and also grabbing a hold of tough remnants and yanking like crazy!!! 

 I really like the nail head trim on these two pieces and am going back with it. I was able to salvage most of it; and am only anticipating replacing the actual Tacks when I go back with it. 

I like the patina on it and don't think I'll be painting it. 

I got all the nail head trim (NHT) off the front, back and sides. 

Trim all gone-- Remove staples 

Notice the gap in the wood here... (above) 

OK-- so, I went about this part backwards, I'm sure. I don't know what I was thinking. 

But here we flipped it over onto the saw horses and started cutting the bottom and webbing loose. 

AND!!!! MAN- WAS IT NASTY!!! 

I know it looks orange. That is because, IT IS orange in there; and dusty. The old cushions were orange and disintegrating that orange stuff was everywhere. 

I did not have one of those filter masks...but I did use a bandanna! 

I was NOT looking  Gangsta... but 'gang-ster'!  Like I rode in on a horse and was about to make a withdrawal... of a large amount...in unmarked bills. 

 

All of this went pretty fast. 

I stopped to take pictures

1. for y'all- because you asked 
2. for me--because I'm forgetful. 

Once the webbing was removed... the springs were released. 

We flipped it over.  That is when I started thinking I did this all wrong. 

The springs were hard to handle and hanging out everywhere! 

 I immediately decided I needed to deconstruct the decking (where the seat is) and get all that out. 

Remove the fabric and deck cover.

Remove the cotton batting and pads. 

Remove the muslin and edge roll. (muslin is trashed-- the edge roll will be built-up and re-used) 

I worked until I got the springs out and was down to bare wood
...it wasn't so bad.

T.H. has done some reupholstering in his day...before my time.
Me? I've never done anything like this in my life! 
Narrating to him every single, little step that needs doing and in what order; I started to feel more confident... I think watching all the videos and reading all the information has proved pretty helpful.

Remember I told you to NOTICE the GAP in the wood... 

and I'll tell you what we've done to fix it?  

YES! I'm We're actually farther along that it looks. Can you believe it? 

I'm just now getting to blog about the process and show the pictures. 

No...I'm not finished I know you'd love to see the after already...but YOU KNOW I DON'T BLOG THAT WAY. 

T.H. is really good with wood. What man isn't right? 

They never think it should be painted, covered, etc. 

I'll be back  later  soon ...to show the process of wood repairs and making the couch much sturdier. 

He is the rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgement. A God of truth and without iniquity just and right is he. Deuteronomy 32:4