THE Bench.

I found this little beauty on Craigslist about 2 months ago, paid $20 bucks for it. After driving around with it in the back of my VW Golf, I finally brought it inside. Then, I proceeded to stare at it for about a month. I think I was possibly a little overwhelemed with the idea of it... but finally i tackled. Before I go any further, I will state that I have never done anything like this before. I armed myself with an electric staple gun, many staples, a couple different size screwdrivers, needlenose pliers.. and that about it. no fancy upholstery tools.

Flipped the sucker over, and got to work.

I started taking out staples... then I took out some more staples...

This next part is contains one of the few components I reused. It is the metal piece that attaches the sides or backs of chairs and sofas without showing seams.  it has prongs and gets hammered in. Oh well, i will figure out what that is called some other time.

So, here is my advice for this whole process. after taking the whole thing apart, dont wait 3 weeks to put it back together. You will forget the order things need to go back on. I'm just sayin.

First things first, I painted the legs with Rust-oleum Lacquer paint in Black.. I was pretty happy with the finish, except it dripped easily. But I think that just means I have to work on my technique. :)

The fabric I chose to re-cover the bench with was much thicker than the original, so a little compensation had to happen when cutting the pieces. (which were of course cut from the fabric removed as a pattern) I cut the new pieces just a bit bigger than the previous ones.

Starting with the arms, i placed one of the old pieces on to better understand how the folds went. It worked really well!!!

The Buttons for the arms presented a challenge. The fabric was too thick to fit inside the button, so I got creative and sewed and hot glued the fabric on.

The piping on the front and back also created a challenge... I dont currently have a sewing machine, and I was not about to hand sew the piping which i created with some hot glue and a little love, to the attaching piece of fabric. my next idea comes in: Hem tape. This worked well until I had to staple that piece of fabric to the bottom and it started pulling... hence exhibit A:

(I will fix this later.. more to come)

And now, presenting.... my first completed project!!!

Linking to:

http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

http://www.paisleypassions.blogspot.com/
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/