Rocking Chair Reveal

Well ... I can officially say that I didn't get this chair done until the next year! I am linking up to Metamorphis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch and the Before and After party at Thrifty Decor Chic.




  

This rocking roost came from my auction finds this past fall, and is just now taking a place in my baby girl's room. When I found it, the poor thing looked like this, but I only paid a quarter for it!!

So, the TLC treatments began with the help of HR.

Lots of sanding...  and then more sanding...  LOVE power tools! Then I just rubbed in several layers of Tung Oil.

The chair was the easy part...   I enjoy sewing, but am I ever in need of some sewing skills! The cushion was the toughest! I got the high density foam at Surplus City, but wouldn't you know, the edge just seems so harsh, square - not quite what I was looking for.   ... oh yeah, using a very sharp and scary looking knife is the absolute only way to cut that stuff ...  sometimes I just scare myself!

With all fingers intact, I found material at JoAnn's at 40% off. Well, even at reduced cost, that was a mistake - but I didn't yet know that my favoritist store with the best fabric prices and selection had just opened in a town nearby. [Surplus City: Carlisle, PA] Then, there's the other dilemma: what is the right side of the material? Feeling a bit dumb here, but I really wasn't sure!

I picked this one as the right side - it was the side facing up on the bolt at the store - so I am sure it is. I just liked the other side so much too!

The cushion - it took several steps. Did I do it the proper way? No! But, I have not yet attempted making my own piping and putting that all together...  a 2010 resolution: sew and use my own piping in a project.

Now, because the seat I installed using plywood did not sit in as properly as I would have liked, and due to the remaining edges from the previous seating arrangement, something was needed. After seeing some inspiring box pleats on a chair here in the blog world somewhere [sorry, don't remeber where, but if I do stumble on that post again, I will edit and credt that lovely lady here!], I decided to try my own.

Here's how I made them using the last scraps of the material - wanting to get every penny's worth... after some super scientific, mathematical, tricky calculations for length...

After some pinning and hand stitching ...  tada!!

Okay, so the box pleats really look more like ruffles. Since the chair is in a girl's room, that's okay. :-) Next time I'll make some adjustments when sewing box pleats.

I have fond memories of the rocking chair that my mom always had in our home growing up. There is something so comforting about rocking my sweet little girl to sleep in such a pretty chair.