Now that the spawn are off on their own, I have been able to claim one of their rooms as my office. I’m especially lucky, I know because I also have a room in the basement dedicated to sewing and crafts. But the upstairs room has the computer, my needlework library, and space to relax.
The office is the room with the hanging tambour carpet, and is largely furnished in mismatched Trash Panda style – a couple of purpose-purchases like my standing desk and an OttLight, plus items reclaimed from local everything-free groups, curbside abandonment, and opportunity shops/consignment/resale stores. These include two low end Arts & Crafts style cabinet bookcases, a barrel chair I’ve been hauling around with me since 1978, and the most recent addition, a reproduction Arts & Crafts reclining chair.
The barrel chair is in acceptable condition except for the horribly worn, stained and snagged cushion, and the little apron just below it. The recliner came as-is, without any cushions at all. Right now I have an old zabuton floor pillow and a couple of throws tossed on it to make it sit-able.
My next project is a massive multipart effort:
- Recover the barrel chair’s seat cushion recycled denim. The denim will be pieced crazy-quilt style with exposed seams. Some of the denim bits will sport sashiko stitching.
- Buy foam and create a thick, resilient seat cushion and backrest cushion for the recliner.
- Cover the recliner cushions with similar pieced and embroidered recycled denim.
- Figure out how to fig-leaf the wear on the barrel chair’s under-cushion apron, again from the used denim, but without embroidery.
To start, I’ve traced the existing cushion onto brown paper (a giant yard waste bag was sacrificed for this), and cut out patterns for the top and bottom. The sides are just a four inch strip wrapped around, so a pattern isn’t needed. I plan to sew random size/shape denim pieces onto the brown paper using my ancient Elna SU sewing machine, employing various wide stitches and exposed edge seams where denim patches overlap. Some of those pieces will be pre-embroidered by hand, taking advantage of some templates to lay out the traditional geometric patterns. And some might be stitched using waste canvas in double running designs. My whim will rule.
Once each of my brown paper mock-up patterns is completely covered with securely stitched denim, I will tear off the paper. The goal is to have the two sides, add a four inch strip running around the edge, winkle in a zipper on back edge, and then stuff the existing pillow, ratty cover and all inside. If necessary I will strip off the old cover and just use the inner foam (probably with a new inner cover I’d have to sew, too.)
I have lots of denim discards in the house, and can always find more if needed. The big cone of thread I’m using is from Webs – their 10/2 Valley Cotton, intended for weaving. Its a matte finish two ply, and coordinates well with the well-worn Haitian cotton of the barrel chair’s back and sides. The back and sides aren’t being touched in this partial re-do. I’m not worried that I’ll have a ton of thread left over. It’s also useful for lace knitting.
I’m using the stencils to mark the BACK of the denim, and am stitching on it upside down. It’s much easier to see the markings on the back, and I don’t have to worry about the marked lines showing.
Right now I’m attempting to stitch without a hoop, in the scooping style that’s traditional for sashiko, but we’ll see how long that lasts. Denim is thick and scooping those tiny bites evenly in a heavy ground with a needle sharp and sturdy enough to penetrate the denim and with a hole large enough for the thick thread is proving to be a challenge. I may end up using my sit-upon or hand-hoop and stabbing vertically as is my habit.
While I have built cushions from scratch and recovered simple upholstered cushion covers before, there’s a lot here that’s new to me. If you are an old hand at this type of upholstery repair, sashiko, quilting (especially crazy quilting), or repurposing denim and you have advice, please chime in. Your hints would be most welcome.
I expect to be working on the barrel chair through the spring and into summer. Building the cushions for the other chair should take me into fall. And covering the cushions for the second chair will probably fill my time up until mid 2025.
Am I daunted by this timeline? No. I’ll get it all done.
Eventually.
String-Or-Nothing 
I love this idea. I need to make seat cushions for my dining chairs, and covers for my love seat seat cushions…because dogs. I may adapt this for the love seat cushions–sturdy denim, with machine embroidery.
Been there. Done that. My advice is instead of sewing on paper, use a light weight linen to stitch the denim on. Check your local outdoor store. I found sale cushions on clearance that I was able to cannibalize, much cheaper than buying foam. As to the sashiko, I had to hoop it. The needles dull quickly.
Would a slip cover trick for the under the cushion area work? If you add a front skirt to cover the worn area and tuckable side and back pieces attached to a panel that sits under the seat cushion. This will also protect your new seat cushion fabric.
An interesting idea, but not my style. I don’t want to camouflage the admittedly distressed woodwork on the chair. And I am not concerned about wear and tear on the replacement cushion cover. I can always make another.