office chair makeover

I'm currently obsessed with sewing - I've always sewn since I was a little girl, but never a lot. One project would leave me feeling finished for a year or so. Something has shifted tho. I think it's mostly that I'm getting more creative and relying much less on patterns. I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from my OCD high school sewing teacher ;) Are all home-ec teachers OCD? That's been my experience so far ;) I really dislike patterns and especially unnecessary pinning :) A rotary cutter and mat has helped with that side of things. I pretty much always have a long long long list of sewing plans in my head - and knitting - to be honest.

My latest project:

My old office chair - ugly huh?

Gross would probably be a better description.

A combination of wear, and busy little fingers picking whenever they were at the computer. Oh and lots of spills and little feet climbing up on it to get the drawing paper ;)

It was on the verge of being beyond hope, sooooooo

something had to be done:)

Here it is :)

For this project I just took an old ripped sheet and used it to guess at my own pattern, holding the fabric over and cutting as I went leaving some extra for seam allowance. The back is Anna Maria Horner fabric. THis time I actually pinned *gasp* - it was necessary, so I didn't really mind ;) I just laid the fabric over and pinned it fairly snugly. THen I came back with my scissors and cut around leaving room for a seam allowance. I realized a little late that I wouldn't be able to pull it over the top to put it on if I sewed the narrow part at the bottom, so I just left the bottom 3-4 inches or so on either side open and finished the seams. Then a quick casing on the bottom bits and it snugs up nicely with a drawstring.

I did a drawstring for the arms too - which are also Anna Maria Horner - easy peasy :)

The seat (Amy Butler fabric) was the first part I attempted - and the hardest actually, but I think only because it was the first part. I was going to do a casing like with the rest, but found it daunting with the strong curves. I ended up pressing under the edge and then stretching elastic while sewing it to the cloth. That worked ok , but wasn't a great fit - too loose. I ended up just taking 4 tucks to make it fit better. Doesn't look wonderful underneath, but it looks fine from the top and doesn't slide off.

The best part? I can take it all off and wash it anytime :)

I swear I could just look at all of Anna Maria Horner's fabrics all day long. In fact many of the projects currently floating around in my head revolve around finding as many ways as I can to do just that ;) I have a nice stack of it waiting for me up in my sewing room :) More projects soon to come :)