This chair had a few changes, but I am somewhat satisfied with the end result. Here is the simple template I started with.
Here is the seat and back made of foamboard, and a wooden dowel with padding glued on it. Weldbond is my glue of choice for this project.
Since I never throw anything out, all these little strips of foamboard that I cut for a previous project does not go to waste. By layering them to the height I need, the arm rests are made.
Wooden dowels are cut and glued for the armrests. Cardstock template (yellow) are glued on to make it smoother when applying fabric.
The angle of the chair back is pretty severe, and I do change that later in my build.
Some batting and material from an old pair of oven mitts will go on the armrests.
Putting fabric strategically, don't worry, all the cut ends will be covered.
I was excited that this chair had some detail that I could add. Embroidery floss and needle were used. I used chalk to draw the circle and line in order to follow. Trying to make a circle without a line will not produce a circle, I assure you. The chalk seems to magically dissapear.
This is the first attempt and it's ok, but some changes have to be made.
Peeling the fabric back and redoing the dowels.
Saving ice cream sticks seems silly, until you can use them in a situation like this! Perfect size and shape for the sides of this chair.
Trying another liquid glue has resulted in dark staining.
Sorry this photo is a little blurry, but shows the side of the chair that I'm happier with.
Frontal view.
Applying fabric tape to the chair to glue on the fabric.
Redoing the sides.
The long strip of fabric will be folded an glued to make a skirt around the bottom.
The large rectangles are to cover the arm rests and side of chair. This is not the most professional way to do it, but as long as I am satisfied, that's all that matters.
Almost done! I like that the top of the chair is not perfect.
Here the rectangles are glued on. It's not perfect, and an apholsterer would be cringing if they saw it!
You can see some dark staining along the bottom from a liquid glue I tried. Thankfully, there will be a skirt along the bottom that will cover it.
This piece is from a dollhouse runner rug that was purchased on Aliexpress.com. I am still waiting for more to arrive to finish the chair. It is fairly close to the original. The problem is that the material doesn't bleach for the faded look I wanted. All the rugs in the common room are resisting my efforts to be worn!
Another angle of the chair thus far.
Getting the fringe ready. I bought a spool of this fringe at Michaels in white. Various markers were used to get it a little grungy but close in colour to the movie stills.
The chair as far as I can see on my pictures of movie stills and studio tour photos have 4 casters as legs. The problem is the casters I have from dollhouse miniature stores are too small. This is where things get possibly morally corrupt! A toy may have been removed from a child's room, and the wheels may have been removed from said toy. Don't worry, I did get permission. Say goodbye to a perfectly good toy!
Doing some research online, I came up with a cardstock template for the caster. It will wrap around the wheel and hopefully look like metal.
Folding the caster around a piece of wood the thickness that is needed.
Trying Heather Tracy's technique of using superglue to harden cardstock. I hope it will make it strong enough to the hold the weight of the chair.
Multiple coats are applied.
Here are the harvested wheels with the tiny pins.
The wheels attached with a pin cut to size. Very pleased with the size and look of them.
The gold paint looks ok, and a clear coat can be put on to make it look more like metal.
Four casters completed!
Thank goodness I have a good stash of wooden beads. No need to go shopping!
To adhere these beads on flat head nails are used. My technique is to put the bead on the nail with E6000 glue, and pushing the nail into the foamboard. The head of the nail is big enough to keep the bead on.
After glueing the casters on with super glue gel, and putting it upright, the chair falls over! The angle of the chair back and possibly it's weight too makes it unstable! First I try putting a metal weight under the front flap of fabric of the underside of the chair to counter balance. It helps a little, and I use some scrap wood on the middle of the chair to help take the weight off the casters and also stabilize it. Hopefully the fringe will hide it.
Looks a little strange!
After putting it in the common room, I decide that the angle of the back is too severe. Although I don't show you, The fabric was pulled off (thank goodness I used fabric tape) and I cut out the back, reconfigure it, and stick it back together. The chair fits better onto the space, and I can safely remove the metal counterweight.
This chair is almost finished! Just waiting for the runner rugs to come in the mail to make it complete.
They will go on the armrests and seat to complete this chair. Using fabric tape worked the best, and stop fray for the edges I had cut.
Here is the seat and back made of foamboard, and a wooden dowel with padding glued on it. Weldbond is my glue of choice for this project.
Since I never throw anything out, all these little strips of foamboard that I cut for a previous project does not go to waste. By layering them to the height I need, the arm rests are made.
Wooden dowels are cut and glued for the armrests. Cardstock template (yellow) are glued on to make it smoother when applying fabric.
The angle of the chair back is pretty severe, and I do change that later in my build.
Some batting and material from an old pair of oven mitts will go on the armrests.
Putting fabric strategically, don't worry, all the cut ends will be covered.
I was excited that this chair had some detail that I could add. Embroidery floss and needle were used. I used chalk to draw the circle and line in order to follow. Trying to make a circle without a line will not produce a circle, I assure you. The chalk seems to magically dissapear.
This is the first attempt and it's ok, but some changes have to be made.
Peeling the fabric back and redoing the dowels.
Saving ice cream sticks seems silly, until you can use them in a situation like this! Perfect size and shape for the sides of this chair.
Trying another liquid glue has resulted in dark staining.
Sorry this photo is a little blurry, but shows the side of the chair that I'm happier with.
Frontal view.
Applying fabric tape to the chair to glue on the fabric.
Redoing the sides.
The long strip of fabric will be folded an glued to make a skirt around the bottom.
The large rectangles are to cover the arm rests and side of chair. This is not the most professional way to do it, but as long as I am satisfied, that's all that matters.
Almost done! I like that the top of the chair is not perfect.
Here the rectangles are glued on. It's not perfect, and an apholsterer would be cringing if they saw it!
You can see some dark staining along the bottom from a liquid glue I tried. Thankfully, there will be a skirt along the bottom that will cover it.
This piece is from a dollhouse runner rug that was purchased on Aliexpress.com. I am still waiting for more to arrive to finish the chair. It is fairly close to the original. The problem is that the material doesn't bleach for the faded look I wanted. All the rugs in the common room are resisting my efforts to be worn!
Another angle of the chair thus far.
Getting the fringe ready. I bought a spool of this fringe at Michaels in white. Various markers were used to get it a little grungy but close in colour to the movie stills.
The chair as far as I can see on my pictures of movie stills and studio tour photos have 4 casters as legs. The problem is the casters I have from dollhouse miniature stores are too small. This is where things get possibly morally corrupt! A toy may have been removed from a child's room, and the wheels may have been removed from said toy. Don't worry, I did get permission. Say goodbye to a perfectly good toy!
Doing some research online, I came up with a cardstock template for the caster. It will wrap around the wheel and hopefully look like metal.
Folding the caster around a piece of wood the thickness that is needed.
Trying Heather Tracy's technique of using superglue to harden cardstock. I hope it will make it strong enough to the hold the weight of the chair.
Multiple coats are applied.
Here are the harvested wheels with the tiny pins.
The wheels attached with a pin cut to size. Very pleased with the size and look of them.
The gold paint looks ok, and a clear coat can be put on to make it look more like metal.
Four casters completed!
Thank goodness I have a good stash of wooden beads. No need to go shopping!
To adhere these beads on flat head nails are used. My technique is to put the bead on the nail with E6000 glue, and pushing the nail into the foamboard. The head of the nail is big enough to keep the bead on.
After glueing the casters on with super glue gel, and putting it upright, the chair falls over! The angle of the chair back and possibly it's weight too makes it unstable! First I try putting a metal weight under the front flap of fabric of the underside of the chair to counter balance. It helps a little, and I use some scrap wood on the middle of the chair to help take the weight off the casters and also stabilize it. Hopefully the fringe will hide it.
Looks a little strange!
The fringe is glued and pinned in place. As you can see, part of the fringe is loose, just like in the studio tour photos. All the work on the castors, and you can barely see them!
After putting it in the common room, I decide that the angle of the back is too severe. Although I don't show you, The fabric was pulled off (thank goodness I used fabric tape) and I cut out the back, reconfigure it, and stick it back together. The chair fits better onto the space, and I can safely remove the metal counterweight.
This chair is almost finished! Just waiting for the runner rugs to come in the mail to make it complete.
They will go on the armrests and seat to complete this chair. Using fabric tape worked the best, and stop fray for the edges I had cut.
Here is the chair in the common room.
This chair was very challenging, and I am still not 100% satisfied. I may make another just to make it perfect.
Thanks for viewing this project!
Here's a short picture video.
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