I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and that Santa or the fabric fairy were generous to you!
This is the first of the gifts I gave, and to give a slight recap to those that may have missed the first part of the intro from WIP Wednesday a couple of weeks ago, my gran had requested some antimacassars a while ago, but it took me a while to get to this final stage. Gran has a leather sofa and armchair for guests, and an upholstery velvet type covered armchair for herself (one of those ones with foot rests that also stands you up if you press the right buttons). Whilst the guest chairs didn’t really require anything, her own chair was getting rather worn at the head part, however she had initially asked that I use the same fabric I’d used to make her a cushion to sit on earlier in the year, and as it was faux suede I knew it wouldn’t be up to the task due to it’s inability to be washed (which is fine if you sit on something and no-one can see it, but not so good otherwise)
After much pondering I realised I’d been totally overthinking it, and decided that some Essex linen in yarn dyed leather would be the perfect choice for a simple, double sided head rest. That bit was simple, and I cut an appropriate size on the fold, then stiched all the way around, turning through a small gap and finishing with a couple of rows of fancy stitches around it. For the leather ones, that required a bit more thought, but in the end I found some shelf liner that was the perfect grippy stuff to hold on. For the armchair, I simply attached a strip of the grippy stuff to the back, and followed the same principles as for her chair.
Here’s what I did for the sofa:
Using some magic numbers, a little stitch as you go (like QAYG without the quilting part!), and some fancy stitches along each seam for the quilting, I created a front panel:
I added some velcro to the back piece, then with a little light quilting, I bound it and set it aside while I made the grippy bit for the back. I wanted the piece to be washable if required, so I made a section with the other side of the velcro on one side, and the grippy bit on the other so that it could be removed before washing.
Here’s the final piece on mum and dad’s sofa, please excuse the slightly odd lighting courtesy of the Christmas tree and a couple of oddly placed lamps!
Thankfully the recipient seemed pleased, but we shall see if they appear in situ or not ;o)
I see, so you can also make her front parts that are seasonal or in different colours, etc., very clever.
This was an inspired piece of work and so imaginatively executed Gran was thrilled and we were impressed ?
Well done on quite a technical challenge!
I'll oddly place your lamps if you're not careful. 🙂
They are all really lovely and I'm sure your Gran appreciates them.
Dad – he of the oddly placed lamps!
Lovely you rose to the challenge!
Brilliant use of the shelf liner to stop it sliding. I'll have to try that!
what a great idea, it looks fantastic.
Great work! I'm sure your Gran loves the gift. 🙂 I love the detailed stitches.
Looks good and I am sure Gran loved it. We all know how chairs get worn and not necessary need replacing.
You sure nutted it all out.
Happy New Year to you from Wilbur and Granny
Completely adorable, even if they're not made of cheese!! She'll love them and use them constantly!!
And what a brilliant way to be washable!!
also love the bear in the bookcase;)
XX!
You will have to be careful or all Gran' s friends will be wanting these too 🙂
Oh my goodness, your removable grippy bit is brilliant! I love how a quilt looks on the back of my couch but it always falls off and gets smooshed, it might be time to replace it with a headrest using this fab technique!!
What a wonderful present! I like the separate grippy parts and the Cori Dantini panels! 🙂
still laughing at your dads comment…. 🙂 hope gran doesnt keep these "for best"…. lol x
Every couch needs one!!
Aren't you a clever girl! Xxx
Such a creative solution!
Brilliant!