I called Anthropologie to see if they could offer a better discount (no), but they did say that I could still return the chair even after attempting to fix it, so I figured I had nothing to lose by trying. Many of you recommended keeping the orange chair that we already own, and having it reupholstered for a new look. I like the shape of the new chair more though, I love the fabric, and if I sell the orange chair I can essentially swap chairs at no cost. Then if I decided to reupholster the new chair at some point, I’m not out any more money than I would be had I reupholstered the orange one.

[ 1, 2, 3 ]

I went to the fabric store for mending supplies and came home with an embroidery hoop and some fabric to practice on, various liquid stitch adhesives, Fray Check, curved needles, iron-on patches, and several types of thread and embroidery floss.

I stretched my scrap fabric on the hoop and jabbed at it with scissors to recreate the upholstery tear. I frayed the edges too for good measure. Then I got to work trying out various methods, keeping the fabric stretched tight on the hoop to simulate the conditions of the fabric stretched tight across the chair back. Here are the methods that I (a novice) used.

Method 1: Darning Upholstery with a Looped Stitch

First, I applied Fray Check, as recommended by this upholstery darning tutorial. Then I used a heavy-weight thread that matched the fabric, and started with a looped stitch. I’ll let my play-by-play Twitter updates tell the story here.

I'm getting my darning on. I have some scrap fabric stretched on an embroidery hoop to practice with before attempting to tackle the chair.

August 3, 2011 8:35 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@makingitlovely

Nicole Balch

And I am not understanding this looped stitch AT ALL. It looks like Frankenstein stitching.

August 3, 2011 8:46 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@makingitlovely

Nicole Balch

I should practice this stitch on lighter fabric. I can't tell what I'm doing! Though I kind of like the Frankenstein stitch. It's charming.

August 3, 2011 8:58 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@makingitlovely

Nicole Balch

Method 2: Trying to Glue the Fabric Back Together

I thought that I could slip a little fabric under the tear and then glue in back together. I had actually called a local upholsterer for advice and this was the technique that they recommended, so I tried it. Messy and awful. The worst of it was a product I found (that sounded promising!) called Tear Mender. It was a rubber-cement like adhesive that smelled awful and gummed up my fabric. I think it could be great for thicker fabric or leather, but it was terrible for my linen. I tried a few other liquid stitch products, but none with good results.

Method 3: Patching the Fabric

There were two options for patching. One: I could cut out a matching portion of fabric from my chair’s armrest covers, glue it over the tear or iron it on with fusible mending tape, apply Fray Check to the ends, then stitch around the patch to secure. Or option two: slap an iron-on patch over the rip. To my surprise, the easier option worked! The patch fuses completely to the fabric, bonding to the ripped portion and preventing the tear from getting worse. And even better, the edges of the mending patch won’t fray so there’s no need to stitch around the edge (which calls more attention to the repair).

It’s not invisible (and I never expected that it would be), but it looks like it’s just part of the chair’s busy pattern. And as I had mentioned, the tear takes away some of the chair’s preciousness, which isn’t such a bad thing. I could even blend the patch by using fabric paint to match the pattern, but I don’t think that will be necessary.

One Last Option

I can pile on the pillows and a throw blanket. Sure, there’s no room to sit, but look how cute it is.

I kid! The chair’s going to be just fine.

© 2011, published by Making it Lovely as How I Repaired a Tear in My Chair’s Upholstery | 37 comments

I suspect it may have been intended as a tea towel originally. You can sometimes find them on eBay, but if you’re looking for the reissued Tammis Keefe fabrics, I found this print along with several others here.

© 2011, published by Making it Lovely as Tammis Keefe Contented Cats Fabric | 14 comments

The tree print (Modern Meadow Grass Majestic Oak JD38) will be for curtains, and the herringbone (Modern Meadow Grass Grass Herringbone JD36) is for a crib skirt. Both fabrics are from Joel Dewberry’s latest line for Freespirit.

If you google the full fabric names you should be able to find it in stock somewhere. I ordered mine here.

© 2010, published by Making it Lovely as Fabric for Our Boy’s Nursery | 56 comments

© 2009, published by Making it Lovely as Window Treatments | 22 comments

I had been looking online at curtains for the library. I know everyone always says that they love the ones that are up there now, but I don’t. I’m looking for a bold, graphic print that has brown and mustard yellow in it to work with the wall colors, but I didn’t find anything I really loved (these came closest). I had given up for the night and figured I’d look again in a few months when there might be some new options on the market. Then, I had a dream in which the perfect solution presented itself to me: I want curtains made out of Orla Kiely stem print fabric!

Too bad it doesn’t seem to be available. Wah-wah.

© 2009, published by Making it Lovely as Dreaming of Orla Kiely Curtains | 58 comments

I don’t think it looks bad. True, there is no yellow in the fabric, but I think it looks fine next to the stairway color.

© 2009, published by Making it Lovely as Primrose Fabric: Yay or Nay? | 132 comments

(photo by Janet Mesic-Mackie for Home Magazine, September 2008)

The little light in the room is horrible and it doesn’t even fully cover the hole in the ceiling for it, but I’ve had a hard time finding a replacement because our ceilings upstairs are only 7.5′ tall. I had ordered this Jonathan Adler light previously, but it was far too large for the space and we used it in my studio instead. I did see this light recently, and it may work since it’s a bit smaller.

The stairway woodwork has been painted mustard yellow (“Campground” by Behr), which does look nice with our current curtains, but I was never a huge fan of those. They’re okay, but not great. I’ve always loved Amy Butler’s Lime Primrose fabric, and seeing it recently as pillows made me revisit the idea of using it for new library curtains.

I’m just a little worried that the fabric won’t work with the yellow wall. Brandon’s mom gave us a curvy wooden side table recently (and the go-ahead to paint it or do whatever we want to it), so maybe it would be nice if it were painted the same yellow? I also have a neat little side table on the way that could be painted. Or we could keep a dark brown side table to match the legs on the chair and ottoman, and rely on the mustard yellow throw that’s in the room (which was just $1 at goodwill). The Orla Keily pitcher from Target that I’m eagerly awaiting (used as a vase with some pink flowers) would be nice too.

I love the fabric so much, I’m determined to make it work.

© 2009, published by Making it Lovely as Plans for the Library | 35 comments

Do you think it would be too hard to do though? There are a lot of crazy angles.

© 2008, published by Making it Lovely as Slipcovering a Patrik Chair? | 21 comments

It looks good with the pink upholstery fabric I bought on eBay too. I’m going to put white curtains up instead of ivory, and I think the rug could stay (for now at least).

I was going to paint the ceiling the same color as the living room, but I don’t think it will look as good as I thought it would. Maybe white, gray (to match or a little darker), or pink?

© 2008, published by Making it Lovely as The Wallpaper is Here! | 33 comments

The constants throughout all four designs are the ivory curtains (from Crate & Barrel, now discontinued), the lighting fixture (from west elm), the dining table and chairs (vintage, from Jubilee Furniture), and the wood trim and floors in our home. Also, I may edge the curtains with a coordinating solid to pick up on the other elements in each design.
(more…)

© 2008, published by Making it Lovely as Four New Dining Room Ideas | 101 comments