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Remember the chair?

Back in July or so, I blogged a bit about stripping down the “hippo” chair in our living room. It started like this…nice, but in need of clean, un-ripped (and not dog-chewed) fabric:

It took two weeks of stripping and cleaning and removing of nails. Then, the local place I wanted to buy my upholstery supplies was so expensive I saved $60 or so by ordering (and paying shipping) off the internet. That meant the supplies arrived just before we left on our trip, and one thing led to another and I got back to the chair this past week.

Here is the first stage of stripping from back in July…and yep, that dark dusty stuff is horsehair (which you can’t find any more…at least from upholsterers….stables, maybe!):

Then down to the tatty, dusty, disintegrating, groady, nasty burlap:

and to the tattier place underneath where I discovered a lot of dirt and a missing spring….right in the middle of the seat! This is what the springs looked like before,

And here is the nicely 8-way hand-tied sptings

Here is what the “webbing” (such as it was) looked like on the bottom before:

Now here’s what it looks like now:

And finally, the burlapped “seat”:

Next, replace the horsehair and cotton batting on the seat, the start the cutting and sewing. Think I’ll also burlap the back, as the back-springs and horsehair are a nuisance, and at least burlap will keep them in place and not falling all over…

These past three days I’ve also removed another thousand or so nails, tacks and staples from the past 75 years, replacing some (including one I tried to apply through my left index finger…ouch!), and the one I missed and found my thumb with the tack hammer instead (has a nice black/blue dot under the nail now), and many scratches later… this is not a job for the squeamish or hemopheliac!

Doing the cutting / patterning and sewing will be easy. Alas, i think I also need to take steel wool and finish to the wood. Ugh. Oh well, it will be beautiful again when I finish. Back in a few!

6 Responses to “Remember the chair?”

  1. joyce Says:

    What a lot of work! I think it will be beautiful when it’s done.

  2. Caitlin Says:

    HYUUUUUUUGE job! But obviously worthwhile, since most modern furniture seems to be made of appleboxes and air… I look forward to seeing the results! I have big yellow post-it notes sticking out of the pile of Threads magazines with the “How do make new slip covers” articles, but it’s a “one day” project as yet…

  3. Anonymous Says:

    Wow, you’ve really put in the work, but it will be beautiful in the end. I have only redone a couple of old chairs, and it is definitely a chore…but something to be proud of!

  4. Maddie Can Fly Says:

    I admire you for tackling this job. I’ve always wanted to do it myself with some of my furniture. I’ll keep watching and see how you come out. Be sure and post lots of pics!

  5. Deb Says:

    Wow! You’re finding time to tackle that chair. We’ve heard so much about it, it seems part of the family. You sure are industrious! And all of this during the Holiday season as well! Can’t wait to see the finished product! Deb in NC

  6. Karoda Says:

    I’m a wimp…I would never tackle such a task. Have you ever did anything like this before? Can’t wait to see it finished.