success

Bah. Is too hot to care about that post title. If you are in the North East right now I hope you and yours are staying cool and healthy.

I rarely fit into normal adult-sized furniture. We like our new Ikea armchairs because they are not as oversized as so many offerings in America.

However, there was still a minor problem, especially for our library and my preference to sit and read for hours on end.

My feet didn’t touch the floor.

That gets painful quick. I am only 30, but I no longer am game for sitting cross legged for hours.

We didn’t like any of the foot stools in the shops. They were either too big or even bigger with price tags to match.

No problem, E and I are no stranger to making what we need.

First we decided on the size I required and then stopped by home depot and joann’s. Yes, I know, we used big box stores. Does that defeat the purpose? No. Do we wish we had easily available alternatives? Yes. There is a large fabric store near us and I had a negative first experience, which was my fault but I’m still not ready to try them again.. yet. We’re looking for lumber stores that agree with our available shopping hours.

The base came together quickly. It is well constructed. That part we’ve done many times before.

We covered the top with foam, cotton muslin, and a lot of staples. Is it perfect? Definitely not. I became very impatient at this point; the foam was not cut straight. Does it work? Yes. Is it passable? Yes. It just doesn’t have that each corner is evenly balanced look. This part went easier than I expected. I held the fabric taught and E stapled around for me. Even though we own lots of clamps and things I do see this portion as a two person gig. Despite my impatience I am happy with how this part came out.

Then my impatience was almost the end of me. I never fully sketched out on paper what I planned. I had a yard of upholstery fabric. It wasn’t the cheapest, nor was it the most expensive out there. I had a plan in my head about what I would do to cover. I even thought ahead and planned for hem allowance of a sort.

Don’t think it went badly. It didn’t.

I cut a rectangular top and then cut enough for the sides. I sewed the sides together and the bottom hem of the resulting circle. I then eyeballed the pinning of the sides to the top and went at it. Without planning and thinking of the corners; they are something I’m not very experienced sewing.

It works. It definitely covers the frame, very snuggly (thus no photos of the base frame, I am not in the mood to wrestle it off).

I forgot, however, that at the mental design stage of this project, I wanted to incorporate corner pleats so that it would more closely match the style of the arm chair slip covers (which I happily bought ready-made).

Oops. It’s not a big deal and I hope some day soon to try again and this time try to practice sketched plans, sharper corners, and patience. Why? I love using this little stool so much I move it between the library and living room depending upon where I sit. It might even be the perfect height to go with my spinning wheel. I’m spinning more, or at trying to. I’m unofficially attempting to spin 5 minutes each day during Tour de Fleece and through the anniversary of our buying this house. Which is coming up. I can’t believe it’s been a year. We’ve both accomplished more and less than we expected. And that’s okay. We’re happy (and healthier).

In any case, I think that is a clear sign I need to make another one don’t you? Maybe this time I’ll pause to plan a little better and document the process along the way.

p.s. Froggie is Shadow’s other new BFF. I’m apparently not allowed to play with him (froggie) anymore. He’s Shadow’s friend.

• Category: handmade, house
• Tag: sew