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#upholstery

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Yesterday I had hoped to finish the last chair, the fanciest chair, the leather chair. Folly had other things in mind.

First, I forgot the foam. I had precut the forms for all the other chairs, and miscounted, and somehow failed to notice that the bag of Chair Things I bring with me to the maker space had no foam in it. So, an extra trip.

Then. Y’all, this leather was not intended for upholstery, and I knew that. But working damp 5+oz mid-temper leather around curves is a major workout. My arms. They are so wee and baby, and I asked a great deal of them. It took hours to do the seat.

Of course the back wouldn’t go on the normal way, because it had to be damp so it would stretch, and damp things don’t slide, even against slippery plastic. So I had to wrestle the thing inside out (which had taken a half hour when dry; thankfully way easier when wet) and slowly work it down from the corners like turning rouleaux. I wound up building a jig so I could use my entire body weight without the thing tipping over and even then it was excruciatingly slow going. I got maybe two thirds down in an hour, then P came looking for me. He was able to use his superior weight and grip strength to do the rest in about five minutes.

Stapling the back will have to wait for next time. Ideally once my arms have forgiven me.

Current commission: reupholstering ten swivel stools rescued from when TechShop went under, slated to go into a big jewelry workshop across town. These are slightly old pics but I’m now entirely done with the sewing and can focus on stapling the last four chairs. End is in sight!

(I am Not Fast and have been working on them since October)

Made a shoe rack to fit an awkward shape near the door. I’m happy that it is made of mostly spare materials.
It was fun to use a mixture of skills (upholstery and woodworking) and I might even 3D print some wall anchors to secure it into the wall if it bothers me over time.

Yes, the plywood is incredibly bowed, they were previously used as a climbing wall 😅

Replied in thread

@yoboseiyo

I don't want to use synthetics. I want something that is compostable/biodegradable, because I don't want it to wind up in the landfill when I'm done with it. (Yeah, I'm resigned to $$$.)

Cotton wadding! (thank you for the search term!) Is that the same as batting? Or is wadding thicker?

I think I want to minimize the number of layers, because bunching? (I'm currently using folded blankes & towels, which...sorta works? Ish? But is not comfortable.)

#fiber#cotton#wool
Continued thread

I don't think stuffing will work, because it's really hard to get a fill of consistent density (though I could be wrong). But the only felt or batting I'm finding when I search runs to, at most, 1" thick. I could use layers, but I worry that would get bunchy over time with use.

I'm hoping some fiber artists out there have some suggestions.

(Also any additional hashtags to suggest?)

#fiber#cotton#wool

Anybody here speak upholstery?

I need to replace the seat cushion in a custom-built chair. The cushion itself is a very unremarkable rectangle, roughly 4"h x 21"w x 24"l.

What I'm struggling with is the filler. I don't want to use synthetic foams that seem to be the standard for this application. I'd rather go with cotton or wool.

My hope is that I can find something with the consistency of felt that can be cut down to the appropriate dimensions. >

#fiber#cotton#wool