Seaside Chair

This rather disgraceful looking chair was bought from IKEA about 16 years ago. At first it was the chair that I had in my son's room next to his cot, so I had somewhere comfy to sit and feed him during the night. It has moved around the house, and more recently has become the chair my soon-to-be 95 year old mother likes to sit in when she visits us. It is fairly small, which suits her, and can be moved up really close to the TV. But as you can see it has become very tatty.
 
The covers are removable, so I decided it was time to give it a make over. The first job was to take apart the old covers. This unpicking took me a lot of work, but I thought it was the best way to make sure I had accurate pattern pieces.

The second job, which took me almost as long, was to pick a fabric. After a lot of trips to fabric shops, I decided that the best way to make the job least stressful was to pick something relatively inexpensive. There is nothing worse than having an expensive fabric to cut into, when you are not completely confident that the project is going to work. I also knew that some sections had to be gathered, so didn't want anything too thick. I also wanted something washable, as being realistic we do have quite a few spills.

Work in progress ...

I loved this rather unique seaside fabric. It doesn't really go with the living room, so the chair may live in a bedroom, and just be brought down when Granny comes to visit.

The sewing was much easier than I imagined. A professional upholsterer may have done a better job, but I think it has given the chair a new lease of life. For the seat cushion I used some heavy weight denim that I already had, as I thought it needed something a bit more hardwearing, and the seaside fabric might be a bit much over the whole chair.

Well someone is very happy and is already making herself at home on the new seaside chair!