Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Reupholstered Bar Stools - With Tutorial!


We are in the process of redecorating the high school room
at my church

And I was excited to be asked to reupholster
four "bar stools".

No, the high school room is not in a "bar",
nor does the church serve alcohol,
even though we are in the world famous wine region of
Sonoma County, CA. 

But these stools needed some new covers!


So the first thing I did was to turn one upside down,
on a large piece of paper.

This way I could draw all the way around the seat
to make a pattern for the top of the stool.

Because of the curve of the side,
it actually added about 1/4" all the way around,
making a seam allowance.


I cut out the circle
and laid it on the wrong side of the fabric.

Then I drew around the circle directly onto the fabric.


I cut out the circle and marked the circle
at the North, South, East and West, 
just like I was looking at a globe.

Actually I clipped at those places but
the clips didn't show in the photo,
so I put pins there so they would be visible.


Next I measured all the way around the edge of the
seat cushion. 
I had to pull the measuring tape tightly,
because the sides stretch out to accommodate
the curve and the foam inside.

This measurement became the length (width) of the band.


Then I measured the depth of the seat cushion
and added 1 inch for seam allowance and
room to staple.

I was unable to get the staples out
that held on the old vinyl cover,
so I decided to just cover it completely.


Using my quilters ruler,
I measured the 4 1/2 inches in depth for the band,
and measured 41 1/2 inches in width and cut the strip.


I sewed the short ends of the strip together, 
using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

I prefer to use upholstery thread,
but heavy duty cotton thread will work fine.


I pressed my seam open and then pressed the seam
to one side. 
I top stitched the seam into place. 
This will add strength to the seam,
which will be under stress because it will fit snugly 
onto the stool.


I pinned the seam of the band to my "North" point 
of the circle.

Then find the halfway point of the band and
I pinned it to my "South" point.

Then I found each halfway point on each side
and pinned it to my "East" and "West" points.


I kept pinning all the way around the circle, 
making sure my pins were in the direction 
so I  could pull them out as I sewed
without poking myself.

Sadly, I learned this after getting poked way too
many times with my super sharp pins!


I stitched around the circle with a 1/4" seam allowance.

(Pardon the ugly sticker on the sewing machine, please.
I am still sewing on India's machine while mine is in the shop,
and she never took the stickers off.)


Sorry this is so blurry. 
But I was trying to show that I 
pressed the seam allowance toward the top
and top stitched right next to the seam.

I did not clip the seam allowance inside,
like I would normally do for a garment.

The reason is that the full seam allowance was 
needed for stability of the seam,
and the foam seat
will fill out any puckering.


This is the cushion cover where the 
seam of the band meets the 
top of the seat cover.


I finished the edge of the 
band with an overlock stitch to prevent fraying.

I put the new cover directly onto the old 
vinyl cover of the seat.

It fit snugly but well.

I pulled the band tightly over the bottom of the 
seat cushion and stapled it in place
using an electric staple gun.

I also have a regular staple gun,
but the electric staple gun is much easier 
to use.

I put staples very close together,
so that the fabric would not tear from stress.


This is how the bottom of the seat looks
on a finished bar stool.


All four of the bar stools
are finished and headed back to the church!

The church provided me with 2 yards of 
this upholstery fabric.

I have enough of the fabric left over
to make 3 throw pillows for the high school room!

Because, you know,
high school students must have pillows to smack
each other with when they are not listening to the
youth pastor teach!

 I am taking the stools with me to 
church in the morning, 
when we go for Vacation Bible School.
FUN!!!!



In other news,
my beloved Janome Memory Craft 9700 
is supposed to be ready to pick up from the 
shop tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

I am so glad!!!!

I have a very important apron order
to complete and it needs to be 
embroidered!!

But I will tell you more about that in a few days!

Happy Sewing!!!!!


 Sivje

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovie, the bar stools turned out perfect. Lets hope the high school students take great care of them and keep them nice. Job better than well done!!!

Bunny said...

Great job, Sivje. They look wonderful and will really brighten up your space.

Julie said...

Sewing is not my cup of tea. I've only done it once in my life! But I'm moving in an apartment next year at college and we will have a breakfast bar. I got some old bar stools and am looking to reupholster them. It's my summer project! Thanks for the "how to". I'll definitely be following this, as I am so new with this. Time to go shopping for some fabric! woohoo!! :)

Nancy Marino said...

Thank you for this post... I am bringing 3 identical stools home from church this evening... used by the choir/band members... the vinyl is very worn. Will shop our brand new hobby lobby for fabric this week. Your tute is the perfect refresher course I needed.