Upholstery Class ~ Part 5

Flossie Gets A Skirt ~

Ready class?

Now I will add the banding to the lower edge of the chair.  I like to begin and end the banding near the center back of the chair.  I'm going to place the flange of the cording so that lines up perfectly with the very bottom of the wood frame.  You want the cording to be snug, so pull it nice and tight as you staple every few inches, making your way around the chair.

Now you will want to measure from the seam line on your cording to the floor.  It's important to measure all the way around the chair this way.   The measurement across the front of the chair will be the same, of course, but sometimes the sides of the frame are angled slightly downward.  You can see in the photo that this particular chair frame is 11 inches from the floor at the front edge of the chair.  The back of the chair was only 10 inches from the floor.  So keep that in mind, and check your measurements.

Oh... one more thing...

Any excess fabric that is showing below the cording,

(like in the pic up there) can be trimmed away now, or stapled underneath the chair.



Now let's get a look at that skirt...



You could go with a smooth skirt, with no pleats....

But I think Flossie wants to kick up her heels a bit,

so pleats, it is!

The skirt is applied in sections,

1st - front

2nd - sides

3rd - back

The last thing you apply, are the corners.

8 separate pieces.

Don't let that scare you.

You can do this.

I like to use a nice wide hem, like this....

Temporarily pin your pleats in place, beginning and ending at each corner.  Then secure by adding tack strip and tacks.  But don't tack down the corners just yet.

Hopefully you can see in this next photo...
I have secured the front and side sections, which I've pinned up out of the way.
Each corner will be finished with a section of skirt about 8 inches wide.  You can see that it's folded down in this photo.

I fold it up out of the way with the rest of the skirt, and then tack the corners down.

The last thing you should do, is to add 1 more piece of fabric to the very bottom of the chair, to cover up those burlap straps.

Step back and admire your hard work...

You are done!!!

A star is born!!
Ain't she sweet?

I hope I've encouraged some of you to give it a go. 
Remember how Flossie began?

Find an old chair and give it a new life.  If you need any help, just let me know.  And I want to see some before and after pics....

Otay?