MOVING!!

I have taken the plunge and bought a domain name and hosting services.

Everything from this blog has been moved/copied over to: www.monicagerlach.com

Reupholster a Recliner: DONE!

This might be a record for how quickly I completed a project. Less than one month after sending Jake out to pick up a $20 recliner off of the swap site I am proud to say “it’s done”!

Here’s a look at how our room looked this morning (I didn’t even clean up for pictures or ask Noah to stand still):

Noah loves carrying around bags now like his mom.

This chair is another DIY project.

Noah was busy loading up his baby-purse with board game pieces… Jake finished getting ready and then the boys went grocery shopping so I could use the staple gun without worrying about a toddler running around me. The legs on this chair have to be reattached about halfway through stapling the sides back on (the screws that hold them in place are hidden inside the sides of the chair). I got to the point where I was ready to attach the legs and after several failed attempts realized that I needed Jake’s help.

Once the boys were home I set up Noah with Daniel Tiger (a friend recently recommended it to us) and we had 26 minutes of uninterrupted work time to get the legs reattached. I really am one of those parents who doesn’t let my kid watch TV – I’ve found it works for us because then in those few occasions each month that I need him to stay on the couch, the TV completely holds his attention. Once there’s another kid in the picture I am positive this rule will change but for right now the only regular TV Noah gets is Pandora. So back to the legs, they were much more difficult to put back on, even with two people. After several choice words and lots of pushing, pulling, banging, we got the legs to line up with the screw holes and I was able to complete the side stapling.

Jake reattached the back cushion for me and then we moved it into place. Initially we thought something was wrong because we couldn’t get it to fully close but I realized that you just have to close it from a seated position so that the front and back close at the same time. This is why some of the pictures show the bottom cushion poking out a bit.

And just to remind you of what we started with:

 Total cost for this project:

• Original chair (off of the swap site): $20
• Fabric from Fabric Basement: $88
• Tack strip: $5
• Staple gun, already owned: $0
• Staples: $6
• Polyshades, Tudor Satin: $8
• Brushes: $1.50
• Upholstery thread: $4
• TOTAL COST: $132.50 

While this chair wasn’t cheap, it was a lot less than the $1000 La-Z-Boy is asking for a new one! And I have lots of left over materials for future upholstery projects: I have 2 yards of material, enough tack strip & staples for my next 10 projects, and left over stain.

Already on the look-out for my next upholstery project….

Reupholster a Recliner: Day 7 and Why You Should Buy a Serger

While I have been working for over a week on this chair, I’ve only spent 7 days where I made progress on this project.

Here are the previous 6 work days:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4 & 5
• Day 6

Today I tackled the next big sewing project: the back cushion. This is a challenge because it has piping, extra flaps that attach to a wood frame, and no zipper (so it’s harder to put the cushion back on).

I followed all of the pictures on my cell phone to put the cushion back together and it slowly started to take shape. After everything was put together I serged the inside seams. This past year I invested in a Brother Serger — and it’s amazing. It makes all of my projects look more professional, finished, and provides additional support to make them last. But here’s the biggest reason you should get a serger; in 5 minutes you can turn this:

into this:

 

All of those messy edges are cut and sewn together using an overlock stitch. It prevents fraying and just looks nicer (I know that no one will actually see my inside seams but I know what they look like).

So now the back cushion is complete and ready to be stapled to the frame!

Reupholster a Recliner: Day 6

After spending some time cutting out my fabric pieces, I started the first sewing piece of this project: the seat cushion. I thought this would be a good place to start because it has a couple difficult features (zipper and piping) but it’s small enough to accomplish in one day — or one nap.

I followed the pictures I took when I took the cushion apart and pieced everything back together in reverse order. Once the zipper and fabric portion that wraps all the way around the cushion was complete, it was time to add the piping. Instead of making piping, I followed the manufacturer’s method and sewed it into the end *I am in love with my zipper foot* and then folded it back to give it that polished look. Here’s how it looked when I was putting the piping in:

 

Once the piping in, it was time to add the top and bottom of the cushion (the biggest pieces of fabric). I also serged the edges on the inside so that it neater and will prevent fraying. Once it was complete I put it over the cushion with fingers-crossed and ta-da!! It fits!

 

Next up is the back seat cushion, followed by the two arms!

Dan Dan Noodles

Another night with a surprisingly yummy dinner. I’m a huge fan of new meals, almost every dinner I have made over the past month has been a new recipe. Somehow all the recipes I’ve made have been successes. Tonight I was a little nervous that this could be a fail – Jake and I joked about having a sign that says XX days since last dinner fail on our fridge like a construction site.

Tonight I made Dan Dan noodles and they were super yummy with a very nice heat. If you like spicy food you should make this meal!

 

Here’s my version of the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 22 oz. large udon noodles (from the refrigerated section)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Toppings
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • 3 red thai chilies, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 lb chicken cut into tiny pieces (I would use ground chicken in the future)
  • 1 tbsp Chinese sesame paste
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Garnish
  • 1/8 cup chili oil
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • handful cilantro, chopped
  • 2-3 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles according to their package, drain, toss with sesame oil.
2. Heat peanut oil in a large saucepan over high heat, add the ginger, chilies and garlic. Saute for a minute and then add in the chicken. Cook until the chicken has some color and then add the remaining topping ingredients. Continue over medium-high heat until chicken is completely cooked.
3. Mix the chili oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce for the garnish (I stored it in a clean glass bottle to keep in the fridge).
4. To make a bowl: put some noodles in a bowl, add some chicken, pour as much broth as you like over top and garnish with the oil mixture, scallions, and cilantro.

Who knew that the girl who had never really cooked until a little over a year ago would have made all of this?!

Reupholster a Recliner: Days 4 & 5

And now is when the daily progress of this project is going to slow down … way down. The chair is completely taken apart and the legs have been sanded:

 

I was planning on using some PolyShades in Bombay Mahogany gloss that I used on another project but Jake felt the color was too red for the fabric that I chose for the chair. We went to Lowe’s and pickup up a different color – Tudor in a satin finish. Last night I applied the first coat and was slightly disappointed … it barely changed the wood. By the next day it had gotten a bit darker and looked like this:

 

Today during Noah’s nap I applied a second coat to the arms and legs. This picture is from a few minutes after I finished the second coat so the piece is still wet. I’m hoping the color will darken a little more. At this point I’m planning on at least 1 or 2 more coats to get the color I want — Polyshades recommends using very thin coats so that you have better control and can slowly build up the color.

 

Once I finish the arms and legs, everything is going to sit in the garage for at least 2 weeks to completely cure before I start putting things back together. That gives me two weeks to cut and sew the fabric portions of the chair!

Reupholster a Recliner: Day 3

Check out day 1 and day 2 of this project.

While waiting for my new staple remover I decided to attack the portions of the recliner that were sewn together. The two main cushions of the chair, the seat and the back, are completely sewn and include piping.

If you are throwing out the old upholstery fabric just write directly on it with a sharpie to help you keep track of how it goes back together (I label with both location and number). It’s very important to take lots of pictures here so that you sew things back together the exact same way; seam allowance, hemming, darts, corners, etc. Use a drop cloth to catch all the bits of thread and dust that will fall off of the old slipcover, it will save you a lot of vacuuming time later.

Since the piping is in good shape and already the exact length I needed, I’m going to reuse it with the new cover. The velcro on the other hand is kind of gross and it’s tan so I’ll be buying new velcro for the back.

Slipcover removal pictures:

 

And this is why you should use a sheet or a drop cloth:

Reupholster a Recliner: Day 2

Here’s my first day of staple removal.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the number one gripe on upholstery tutorials is the staples. STAPLES! I am so over staples … and even after two days I’m still not done. Last night I broke down and ordered a staple removal tool. Not only does my hand hurt from using a flat head screw driver but a number of the staples were done really well (so well I have cursed at them when they stay in the chair).

Here’s the tool I purchased off of Amazon: Crain 126 Staple Remover. We have Prime so it will be here tomorrow!

So … while I sit and pick apart the cushion covers, here’s a nice array of pictures from staple removal (day 2) of this project. It is impossible to take too many pictures on a project like this, each picture captures a different angle or detail that will be helpful when putting everything back together.

A couple notes on reupholstering this specific recliner so far:

1. The legs are easy to remove (and must be removed in order to take off the upholstery).
2. There is a lot more sewing involved in this recliner than other’s I have seen (sewing seat and back cushions, and then each arm is made up of 3 pieces).

Pictures from Day 2 (more staple removal):

When did he get so big?

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Reupholster a Recliner: Day 1

Last night I worked on the chair for about an hour and then did another hour this afternoon while Noah was taking his nap. Being pregnant, I can really only squat/bend for short periods of time before I get really achy so I think this is going to be a LONG project!

Somehow I still haven’t removed a piece of fabric from this chair yet … but I have removed about 200 staples! The arms appear to be sew together and then stapled on over foam. The current foam on the chair arm isn’t in terrible condition but I think I’m going to replace everything just to really give it that new feeling! One nice thing about this recliner, the arms come off completely so it makes my idea of staining the arms a darker color more realistic (don’t have to worry about getting stain on the fabric).

Here’s my first batch of pictures from this adventure!

 

And I’ve got my first upholstery injury. Needle-nose pliers and flat-head screw drivers can be really painful if you slip while using them to remove a staple!

 

Hopefully I can get another hour of work done tonight and remove the fabric from one side of the base.