Last week, maybe the week before, I finished recovering our dining room chairs. Here's what one looks like now:
Part of the fun was figuring out how they were put together in the first place, but that's something I've been curious about most of my life (I used to take stuff apart and then put them back together just for fun--I guess in a way I still do, like when I took Melissa's laptop apart to see if I could figure out why the sound wasn't working).
The seats were the easy part--only one piece of fabric plus some piping or cording (the round part around the edge which gives it that "finished" look). I sewed the piping myself, reusing the piping that came off the original covering so it was all the correct length already. I just cut a new piece of fabric the same size as the piece I took off, and then stapled it to the underside of the seat, being sure to stretch the fabric as much as I could in order to give the final seat a nice smooth finish. After that, I just stapled on the piping and then put the seat back on the chair, fastened with four screws on the bottom of the seat.
The backs were much more difficult. There were two pieces of fabric, one for the front of the chair where the padding is, and one for the back. I put the front piece on first, then the piping, then the back. The back of the back was the most difficult, especially with all the folding of the fabric to give the chair a smooth look (instead of ragged material where the cut was made).
The best part of the whole project, though, was that I got to buy a new tool. I got a Rigid stapler, which I have pictured here on the left. It was an invaluable investment! I started this project using my Black and Decker PowerShot stapler, but it just wouldn't cut it.
This stapler has many nice features, like the swivel connector where the air hose connects, and the trigger which is selectable between single shot and multiple shots. My only complaint is that sometimes it is difficult to see when you're out of staples--there is a small area that shows the last 5 or 7 staples, but I was working in an area that didn't have a lot of light and it wasn't always obvious that I was out...until the staples didn't come out any more!
I'm not sure that I'll have a need for the Rigid stapler any time soon, but I have it if I need it, or if my friends need to borrow it!
(NOTE: I tried looking for the PowerShot stapler on the Black and Decker website, but I couldn't find it.)
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