I often come across dining chairs that I like the shape of but the seats are ruined or covered in horrible, old fabric. Usually, these chairs are very, very cheap but I’ve always walked away in the past because I’ve thought that to re-upholster the seat is a professional’s job and it would cost me a fortune.

However, I recently recovered a Lloyd Loom laundry basket, which isn’t too dissimilar to a seat pad, and I realised how easy it is.  So I want to show you how simple and cheap it can be to transform a good chair.

I have found the perfect fabric to match the chair. Lorna Syson is a designer of contemporary interior accessories, including fabric, wallpapers, lampshades and cushions. I love the retro edge and the influence of the Great British outdoors. I fell in love with one particular print that I decided to use for my chair and I now want a whole room wallpapered in it!

You will need:

Your choice of medium weight fabric. I’m using this gorgeous Lorna Syson fabric, which is called Flock Sunrise.

Webbing, upholstery tacks and a staple gun. I bought the webbing and tacks from Heritage Upholstery Supplies, which is a great online shop with lots of information about each product – perfect for the novice. I bought 50g of the 13mm improved tacks and 5m of the quality elastic webbing 25.

You need foam for the seat pad. I always buy it from efoam as they cut it to measure. I chose a 5cm thick piece as I want my seat well padded but you can choose a thinner base.

Polyester wadding that I buy from eBay.

Spray glue

Hammer

Pliers (or an upholstery tack remover if you have one)

Tutorial:

The ‘before’ shot. Enough to put you off buying the chair?

1. Remove the tacks holding the old fabric in place. Use pliers or an upholstery tack remover if you have it. I have to say this was the most difficult part! Keep the old fabric, as this can be the pattern for your new fabric.

2. Remove all the old webbing and padding.

3. Remove the tacks that held the webbing in place.

4. When your frame is free of tacks you need to begin attaching your new webbing. Cut pieces of webbing to stretch the length and width of the frame and add 10cm so that you can fold back 5cm at each end of the webbing. Lay each piece side by side and make sure they are taut when you tack them with your hammer.

5. Now attach the widthways strips in a similar way, but weaving them in and out of the webbing already in place.

6. Spray the woven base with glue and stick the foam on top of it.

7. Place the frame, foam side down, on the wadding and staple gun it onto the underside of the frame, pulling it as tautly as possible. This helps to smooth the corners and edges of the foam.

8. Place the frame, foam side down, onto your fabric. Make sure you have the pattern facing in the right direction. Begin tacking the fabric onto the underside of the frame, working outwards from the middle. I did one tack in the middle of the front of the seat and then one tack in the middle of the back of the seat and so on. This way your fabric remains taut and in the correct position. Next do the sides, leaving the corners until last. I turned the raw edge over and used enamel pins for a neat finish. However, you can use the staple gun or tacks as you won’t be able to see it when the chair is put back together. If you want to, for a neat finish, you can buy a piece of hessian 5cm bigger than the size of your seat frame. Place it over the underside of the chair, then turn the raw edges and staple or tack close to the folded edge.

9. When you get to the corners you need to pull the fabric over the corner as tautly as possible and secure it with a tack.

10. Fold over one side and tack it.

11. Fold over the other side and add another tack (I’ve used an enamel pin but this is not necessary). The thicker your fabric, the trickier this step is.

12. The most important thing when you are doing the corners is to make sure the fabric is as taut as possible.

Finished! Pop your seat pad back in the chair (with some chairs you will need to screw them in).

I love the combination of the yellow of the fabric and the honey tones of the wood. Perfect!

And look who else likes it…

I hope you all have a go – it really is very easy and the best bit is you can’t see the bottom so if you make any mistakes it doesn’t matter. Such an easy way to transform an old piece of furniture.

Thank you very much to the lovely Lorna Syson for the beautiful fabric. Do have a peek at her website and here are a few of my other faves from her collection:

I love the beautiful greys and angular shapes of this Blizzard fabric.

Modern prints with a retro aesthetic, like these cushions, work really well with vintage furniture.

I really want the Flock Sunrise wallpaper too!

Hope you all have a great weekend x

Hope everyone has had a blissful week in the sun; the weekend was so glorious, spent up on the roof garden and then lunch and tennis with friends and family on Sunday. I loved every minute, apart from Otto digging enormous holes in my mum’s freshly laid turf. Bad dog.

Anyhoo, I was planning on doing some sewing at the weekend (before the sun started to shine) because I recently won a Liberty craft competition. The challenge was to use Liberty Lifestyle fabrics in any creative way and instagram the result. Here are my entries:

I made this magnetic noticeboard from a baking sheet and Liberty’s Woolf print. Find the tutorial here.

I lined this tea light jar with strips of Lytton print. Find the tutorial here.

I made this ‘cheaters’ blind by sticking Cranston print onto a really cheap roller blind. Find the tutorial here.

I customised this child’s apron with Lytton print. Find the tutorial here.

I made a reversible baby blanket with Dorothy and Woolf prints. Find the tutorial here.

I was thrilled to win one of the bundles of Liberty Lifestyle fabric and now I have to decide what to make with it. Any ideas?

P.S. If you want to buy any of the Liberty Lifestyle prints, Fabrics Galore is a great haberdashery that stocks all of the prints and you can order online with ease.

So, I couldn’t resist. I just couldn’t. I have to show you photos of Otto, our ten week old Golden Retriever puppy, although I have combined the photos with a bit of sewing – kind of.

We collected him three weeks ago and the first week was a complete nightmare as he was really sick – let’s just say we may need to replace our carpet. No, seriously. However, he is completely better now and as cute as a button, but as naughty as can be!

On the morning we collected him, asleep in the back of the car. Such an exciting day.

I want to make him lots of things, but at this age, you just know that everything will be eaten in no time at all. However, I am going to make him a cushion and a bed. I bought a maternity ‘V’ shaped cushion as I thought this was the perfect shape so he could nestle into the middle of it (he loves to nestle). The pillow itself was very cheap and comes with its own slip, which can be used as a pattern. I had some beautiful wool (far too nice for a dog) that I decided to use (because I’m a sucker for a puppy).

Just three weeks later and he is twice the size. This is the cushion inner. I used the slip it came with to make a pattern for a new cover.

I tried to sew tough seams to deal with puppy teeth.

The cushion has an envelope end so it can be slipped on and off for washing.

He genuinely loves it.

I can’t bear how sweet he is.

But then he turns around and does this.

And he thinks it’s hilarious.

Next on the list is a dog bed, which will be another excuse for more photos. Sorry!

What are The Amazings?

“They are billed the Amazings: a band of men and women fighting against the idea that older people should go quietly towards the dying of the light.” (The Independent)

Sound interesting? Well, it is.  The Amazings is a company that has been set up to provide classes, courses and wisdom from elders with amazing life experience. What a great concept. You can either go to a very reasonably priced course run by an elder, or you can join an online class that includes video tutorials led by the elder that you can follow from the comfort of your own home. You also have the ability to email questions, if you have any. There are many different crafts to choose from: heirloom quilting, woodwork, photography, French bread making, story-telling, up-cycling, book binding – the list is endless!

”There’s nothing better than learning from someone who has a lifetime of experience, sharing shortcuts that you won’t find in most books or websites, and dropping in little stories that make the learning experience really special.” (Adil Abrar – Co-Founder of The Amazings)

My grandmother was very good at sewing and small upholstery projects; I really wish I had made the most of her experience and learnt from her, but sadly she died before I realised my love of crafts. I think that’s one of the reasons I like the concept so much.

Amazing elder – Josefina

The Amazings team very kindly granted me access to their online classes to try one out. I chose the ‘Make your own mosaics flower pot’ online class with Amazing elder, Josefina. Josefina has been making tile mosaics for nearly thirty years and is a lifelong artist originally from Barcelona, the home of Gaudi, King of mosaics. With so much experience, Josefina was bound to know the tips and techniques that standard instructions don’t give you. The class was broken up into four episodes that lasted for twenty minutes in total. The fact that the class was broken into four clear steps was very helpful as when you are crafting it is important to be able to plan ahead. Josefina’s passion and energy shone through in the videos, which in itself was inspiring and being able to see each step made the project so much easier. She also added humour and stories that made it fun and relaxed.

“…gives over 50s the chance to do something they enjoy while ensuring old traditions and skills don’t die out.” (Daily Mail)

This type of learning suits me down to the ground as beginning new projects or learning new crafts can be a bit daunting; being able to watch the process and someone talking you through the stages with enthusiasm made the process really enjoyable. It is not often that you have access to someone with such vast experience and I love the fact that if you have problems you can contact them and ask questions directly.

I’m in the middle of making my pot – it’s one of those crafts that you can do slowly and in stages if you want to, which I find very relaxing….

Loved the smashing up tiles bit!

I have started to arrange where I want my tile pieces to be. For my first attempt I haven’t chosen a complicated design but once I’ve learnt how to do it properly I will be able to be really creative. The grouting comes next.

I’ve got a long way to go before I reach Josefina’s level – look at this amazing pot she made The Amazings team.

I will share my finished pot next week.

Share and share alike

When you sign up to The Amazings website, you get three classes that you can share with friends and family for free. Check out my Twitter page and Facebook page as I have unlimited classes to share for free with you!

Such an inspiring organisation…make sure you check it out. A big thank you to The Amazings team x