Chair Repair

My cat has somehow mistaken my favorite yardsale find for a scratching post. I found this chair in great condition a couple of years ago at a yard sale for $20. It was one of those from Cracker Barrell, so I knew it was worth $100 brand new, and I knew it would last for years to come. Or so I thought.

A few months ago we got a new cat, who instantly believed this chair was for his amusement, so it has not faired well. However, structurally it was still in wonderful shape. I have seen some great ideas in different places using belts or neck ties or ribbon to weave a new seat for chairs. I did not have enough of any of these to create a seat and back cover for my beloved chair though.

I do, however, always have lots of scraps of fabric. I am always finding a great pattern or texture, or maybe even a neutral shade, on clearance or on the $1 table at Walmart. I found these fabrics on clearance and buy a yard or two. So I pulled out my big ole crate o'fabric and dug until I found a great neutral one. I ripped it into strips and then washed it. I took another plain, cream fabric, and wrapped a piece around the current seat and back, leaving it in to give strength. When they came out of the washer, I wove them onto the chair, while they were still wet so I could get them as tight as possible. I put all of one direction on, then wove the other ones. I did the back first, and once I got to the seat I realized that I did not have quite enough to complete it, so I used the last of the cream colored fabric to help fill in the gaps.

I simply tied knots with the strips, leaving the tails showing, since I liked the look of it. This project took a total of about 2 hours. Ripping the strips only took a few minutes, and while they were in the washing machine, I sewed the "slip covers" onto the back and seat. My girls helped me untangle the mess of them and straighten them out.

They really enjoyed this project. I think The Nester would be proud of my "Mistreatment"!