SO proud of my little upholstery project. Nailhead Parsons chairs makeover!

SO proud of my little upholstery project. Nailhead Parsons chairs makeover!

• 11.07.2012

Another pretty cool house project to share with you today--a major makeover I did to these Parsons-esque chairs I got for super super cheap on Craigslist. The fake leather was all scratched up and peeling, so I saw them a great candidates for an ambitious DIY project! Upholstery!

I've never done real upholstery before, although I have big plans... some chairs that need recovering at my house!... but I had a pretty simple job of tearing the old chairs apart at the seams and using the fake leather pieces as my pattern pieces, then sewing, stretching back on, and stapling... plus this inspiration: Nailhead trim. I figured, why not make it interesting? Like these...

Source: West Elm via Suzannah on Pinterest

Source: chairs1000.com via Suzannah on Pinterest

Here's some of the interesting part, the insides...

So when I made the new covers, I duplicated it a little, althogh I didn't use piping--used nailheads instead.

Have you ever tried nailhead trim? OUCH. I used a hammer to push them all the way in, but pushed them in in the beginning with my thumb... it was tingly for a week after, and just now just barely feels normal again... yikes. But, so pretty!

I used some of the basic canvas from JoAnn in the utility fabrics section. It comes in lots of colors and is extra wide, and is easy to work with and 100% cotton (although it's pretty loosely woven). I had THE hardest time deciding on fabric for these. Pretty happy with them now, though! I gave them a coat of scotch guard, too, since they are for the dining room.

After!

Dining chairs done, first sort-of upholstery project success!