Hand Printed Slipcover for Vintage Settee

All right, let me just tell you, I am THRILLED with the result of my recent slipcover endeavor.  Remember the vintage settee I wrote about here, here and here? Well, I am finally finished and can't wait to show you how it turned out!! I actually finished this back on April 17th, but I took so many pictures, I had to go through them all, decide which ones were best and get them loaded on the laptop. Plus, for every project I write about, there are roughly ten others on the sidelines in various stages of progress. I twirl a lot of plates! I will let the pictures mostly speak for themselves, but I have to say again, this project turned out better than I had expected! I am so, so, so happy with the result. So here is a recap:

Started with this

Inspired by this

and this

via

   Made this stencil

Printed this fabric

(six and a half yards of heavy white canvas)

Most of my fabric pieces had to have a curved shape, either cut on the bias or cut actually curved on the fabric itself.

This is an 'interior' shot of how I put things together. Even though I cut curves into the pieces, some parts still needed a dart here and there to ease the curves along. Here you can see some of those extra seams. This thing has more nips and tucks than Joan Rivers!

And made a slipcover

Not one to shy away from detail, I even printed the underside of the cushion platform.

So there you have it! 

I wish I could give you a step-by-step sewing tutorial, but my methods are a bit in-exact, what I refer to as 'hack and slice.' I really just draped the fabric roughly in it's place, lightly drew the outline for that piece on the settee (back, side piece, backrest, cushion pieces, etc.)cut it out, and pinned it all together before sewing to make sure it fit together properly. Because I printed my own fabric, six yards was enough since I wasn't having to match up the print on any two pieces. Cost breakdown: $40-61/2 yards of white canvas, $8-one quart of interior, flat paint in Grape Jelly by Martha Stewart and $5.99-two packs of stencil vellum. Settee was free. So based on the price of the couch I listed above as an inspiration for this, I saved $5946.01!! Ay, that's a lot of paisley! I will write later about some other changes I made to this area as a result of the slipcover being finished. As they say, one finished project prompts 5 others! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like the settee; I really, really love it!

Sharing at these fab blogs. Go check them out!
Addicted2Decorating
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The Shabby Creek Cottage
DIY by Design 
Someday Crafts 
Beyond the Picket Fence 
Momnivore's Dilemma 
Miss Mustard Seed 
Chic on a Shoestring 
Between Naps on the Porch

Fun at the County Fair

I haven't been to a county fair in about 15 years and never with my kids, so when the Pima County Fair rolled into town, we decided it was high time to get ourselves to it! It's funny, nothing has changed much. It's all the same greasy but good food, same games that are a complete rip off no-one ever wins, and same crazy, vomit inducing rides that I stopped being able to ride waaaay back when I was still a 'kid.' We stuck to the roller coaster type rides, the ferris wheel and a few others. Of course the 13 year old was begging me to go on 'The Zipper.' I had to explain that if I rode the Zipper, I would probably puke in his lap midway through the ride, so he changed him mind about that one. Really the only thing that has changed is the way they accept ride 'tickets.' There are no longer tickets...it's a card loaded up with how ever many ride tickets you purchase, and the ride operators have an electronic reader/scanner that deducts the amount of tickets needed for that particular ride from the card. Pretty easy, but I quickly lost track of how many ticket we had used or were left on the card. Anyway, we had a great time and may go back again before the fair rolls out of town on it's way to a strip of vacant land somewhere near you!

 

Ya gotta have the ice cream with the sprinkles!

Yum

If you like coconut and/or macaroons, try this ice cream!! It's from Haagen Dazs, so you know it's rich and creamy....... Just don't look at the calories!

Seriously, It. Is. So. Good!

Slipcover Progress

Just wanted to keep you guys in the loop as far as the progress I am making on a slipcover for my vintage curved settee...yes, I said Progress! A couple of sneak peeks:

This is the current state of affairs in my living room. It's worse than it looks in this picture....much worse! Loose thread everywhere, straight pins all over the place, several pairs of scissors lying around, but it's a productive mess, so....

This is the stencil I cut specifically for this project. As you can see, I am using purple to print the fabric. I am having to cut the pieces first, print the fabric, then pin it all together before sewing, which is why I haven't finished yet! But it will be done soon......very soon!

My blog friend Michelle told me this would be a challenging piece to slipcover because it has a curved back and seat, and she was right! She would know about re-upholstering tricky curves and tight spots...see her amazing chair makeover here. I felt a bit like an engineering degree would come in handy in figuring out all the curves and angles and how they fit together. Needless to say, I ripped a lot of seams! It's a good learning curve, though.......get it? Learning curve....*cymbal clash*

And it's all coming together. 

I hope **fingers crossed** to have it finished today. I am really excited to have it finished and checked off the to-do list.

Stay Tuned!

Going For It

Remember the vintage curved settee I posted about here?

Well today I am tackling that beast and attempting to make a slipcover for it. You know how you always have a certain minds eye picture of what the finished product will look like? I only hope it comes out looking half as good as it does in my head!

 I got six yards of heavy white canvas for $6 a yard and I am printing the fabric myself using a stencil I cut.....again, in my head it will look fabulous!

This piece is tricky because of the curves and I have never slip-covered such a tailored piece before. It is really well made so just getting the tailored skirt off was a real pain in the arse!

There were about a million upholstery nails in that thing so I had to use my pliers and puuuulll with all my strength to get that skirt off!

It's not the easiest thing to heft around either...awkward shape so it tends to tilt and pivot exactly when you don't want it to.

ANYWAY...I'm going for it. I printed a test of the stencil I cut for this and I think it's going to look soooo good. Well, at least in my head...............

Wish me luck!

Lazy Afternoon

The weather in Tucson is gorgeous today! Nothing better than being outdoors on a day like this.

Inspired by the newest television ad for Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau Fragrance, I took a nap in a lush meadow brimming with wildflowers.........

                                                                                                .......... on horseback.

I woke up so refreshed and my horse was happy too, because he got to munch on all the flowers! I got a *little* sweaty after napping in the blazing sun....on horseback....but not to worry, I had my giant bottle of Daisy Eau with me, 'cause I carry that stuff everywhere....even on horseback....so I just dabbed a little behind my ears....and under my arms.....(it stung a little!) and smelled as fresh as the flowers! Then I rode bareback all the way home feeling like I had just emerged from a dream..............Oh lazy afternoon naps on bareback horses, how I love you!

Sitting Pretty

I am loving this brightly enameled Faux Bois garden chair.........

Via

I would like to upholster the cushion in this fabric

Via

or this

HayesTone Design

And sit here.....

And drink this.....

Care to join me?