This cute little chair is about 100 years old. I bought it at a garage sale from the original owner's granddaughter. It was a sad little thing, needing some love.
Sorry I did this project several years ago and do not have the pre and post-pictures.
Supplies: (amount of material may differ depending on the size of your chair seat frame. This Chair frame was 12 inches by 15 inches at it’s widest point)
You can use a scrap of any 100% cotton material (non-stretchy material). I used a total of 1 yard of material for this chair. The strips can be mixed and matched with colors &/or patterns. I like to use Waverly bundles found on Amazon or in the fabric department at Walmart. They come in small cut bundles and in many awesome coordinating colors and prints. You can get them in packs of 5 or six coordinating prints and solids, each piece measures 18 x 21 inches. This means you may have to tie two knots per strip. Jo Ann’s has similar bundles as well.
Scissors or a quilting cutter like the one here. I got mine at Hobby Lobby but you can get them at most all craft stores, Walmart, or order on Amazon.
Band-aids or tape for your fingers to prevent blisters 😊
And a wooden ladder back or similar chair. If the chair needs to be painted or stained, do that first and allow plenty of time to dry.
Step one: Cleaned and sand the rough pieces. Paint ( I Sprayed mine with Rust-o-lium Colonial blue)
Step two: pick out your material and figure out your pattern. I went to Walmart to get some inspiration in the fabric department chose the print pictured and some coordinating red and blue. (you can also order coordinating bundles on Amazon, as seen below)
Fabric Bundle
Step three: Measure the seat frame from front to back, multiply the distance times 2, then add at least 6-8 inches. For this chair, I used 24 strips1&1/2 inches wide by 36 inches long. This allows enough to loop around the seat frame and easily tie. Do the same for the side-to-side strips (measure the width at its widest point, multiply x2, and add at least 6-8 inches to the measured number). TIP: trying to save a little material only makes it much harder to tie the ends together appropriately… save yourself some trouble and give yourself the extra!
Step four: Flip the chair upside down, then loop the material around the front and back of the seat frame and tie a square knot (right over left, then left over right). This knot will keep it from slipping loose (test each strip to ensure it will not slip as you go). The loops need to be tight so the frame does not sag. **Special note- you might want to put tape around your fingers where the material slides through as you tie the knots; this will prevent blisters from forming like the ones I had. 😐
You want the knots to be on the bottom of the seat now facing you.
Once you have done the strips all the way across and tied them tight, slide them from side to side, ensuring that no 2 knots are side by side. If all are next to each other, this will leave an uncomfortable bump in your chair seat.
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