Tuft Love

January 20th, 2011

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Got tufting on your mind? This cold snowy morning makes me want to stay home, stay warm and exercise my manual dexterity with a little button tufting. Tufting styles vary from the very traditional deep fold diamond tufting to the modern, barely-there symmetrical tufting, and everything in between. If you’ve mastered DIY upholstery basics, and are ready to step it up, check out my Diamond Tufting 101 tutorial on AT Chicago.


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Ooh La La, look at this:


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Toning it down with biscuit tufting:

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Why stop at furniture, tuft a door, a wall, a vanity and more.

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Make Oilcloth Slipcovers for Your Ikea Counter Stools

January 13th, 2011

This mom is my kind of girl. Made Blog author Dana is one of those women who is crafty and creative, as well as being quite adept behind the camera. She needed some stools at her kitchen counter. (Now this is the part I like.) She bought two Ikea counter stools and one of the $20.00 slipcovers they make for that style of stool. Then she promptly took the slipcover apart to use as a pattern and made her own slipcovers out of orange and white oilcloth. Dang! I wish I would have thought of that.
Now her kids can wallow all over those stools and she’ll never be embarrassed by that disgusting, grimey kitchen chair upholstery I’ve reupholstered for so many clients.

Here is a summary of Dana’s project.

The front of the cover has a flap that comes down.

You need to attach one side of velcro to the under side of that flap.

The flap then attaches to the velcro that is attached under the seat bottom.

If you’re using oilcloth or some other non-raveling fabric like microfiber, there’s no need to hem the edges that wrap around the legs.

Thank you so much Dana. You must know the closest Ikea to us is in Cincinnati, a two hour drive. However, I do have two vintage green vinyl counter stools that have a very similar size and shape.
See the full post over on MADE.

All images: MADE

Sofa Rescue: Back Cushion Button Repair Part II

January 12th, 2011

Now that you got your fabric graft, you need to get those covered buttons made. I use an upholsterer’s button maker called Button Maker Junior. I love that name. Anyway, you could take your fabric piece to an upholsterer’s shop and have them make you two buttons, or you can buy those kind of cheapy kits at the fabric or craft store.
What you need:
two covered buttons
15″ of twine
long tufting needle
scissors
measuring tape, chalk

Here’s a peek at button making, one of the favorites of my students.


Now all you need to do is loop some twine through one of the button eyes, thread the cut ends through a big tufting needle, mark the exact button location, push the needle all the way through the cushion and tie the second button securely onto the back of the cushion. It’s a good idea to measure and mark the button location on the back side of the cushion so you can flip the cushion over, if needed.
Tie the knot and cut off the excess twine. RESCUED!


Sofa Rescue: Scavengering Fabric to Fix Covered Buttons

January 11th, 2011

Our sofa upholstery is, oh, I’d say about ten years old. Long gone are the arm covers. About a year ago, I found a leftover scrap of sofa fabric so I made enough covered buttons to give the back cushions a mock tufted look. Somewhere along the line, one of pairs of buttons popped off and I’m sure I put them somewhere so I could repair it later, but it beats me where that might be. This may be the answer for a vintage sofa you’ve had your eye on, but haven’t closed the deal due to missing buttons.

Now I want to fix this lopsided, mock tufted center cushion. However, there’s no sofa fabric to be had.
Or is there?

Here’s what you do, my crafty crafty friends. I need two buttons, front and back, that will be tied with tufting twine.

1. Go to the back bottom of your sofa.

2. Remove the staples that are holding about 24″ of the dust cover in place

3. Take a look and see where the last upholsterer left enough excess fabric beyond the staples so that you can cut off a couple of inches to make your covered buttons.

4. Pull the fabric back down, staple in place, replace the welt cord and cardboard tack strip.

5. Close up the wound by reattaching the dust cover.

6. Voila’! You now have enough fabric to cover two buttons and repair that missing tuft and nobody is the wiser.

Next: I’ll show you how to make and attach those buttons.

Make Play Kitchens from Old TV Cabinets

January 11th, 2011

You just have to appreciate the love that went into both of these play kitchens. Here are five good reasons to make one of for your kids or grandkids.
1. Clever reuse of hideous old TV cabinets
2. Create a high quality play kitchen you’ll pass down to family
3. Creative thinking and building exercises the brain and brings a sense of accomplishment
4. The joy it gives the DIY-er as well as the recipients
5. It’s a one of a kind

Read the full post over on my Curbly blog.

Sofa Rescue Workshop

January 10th, 2011

From now to the end of January, we’re running the Sofa Rescue Workshop right here at ModHomeEc. Whether you’ve had it with your worn and torn seat cushions, the saggy, slumpy back cushions, the intolerable frump factor, or you finally just threw a bedspread over the whole ugly mess, there’s a solution.


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You won’t have to go another month with your sofa disaster staring you in the face every morning like this one. Help has arrived.

This week, I’m going to show you how to make and sew all new sofa cushions as well as some other slick sofa rescue techniques. This will include new foam (mine will be delivered today or tomorrow), a dacron wrapping to add softness and much needed loft, fabric layout, cutting, sewing a zipper in the back piece of the boxing and stitching all the pieces together so you have a perfectly aligned cushion.

Oh yeah, as a bonus, when we’re ready to stuff the cushion, I’ll show you a virtual physics demo that you’ll love.
To prime your cushion-making, sofa-saving pump, take a look at this inspiring big cushion making post over at www. icouldmakethat.org.

Here’s what I love about this project, besides the fact they’re fantastic:
1. She just sucked it up and did it, way to take charge!
2. She made all of that tedious cording and was able to stitch it in place beautifully
3. All of those fun pillows on the back of her sofa.
4. The fabric she chose

Read the full post right here.
By the way, my tutorials that she referred to were done a while ago. I’m a much better photographer and teacher now. Here’s a link to the old cushion tutorial, but we’ll be doing an entirely new one this week. If you don’t understand something, ASK! Remember-there are no stupid questions. Personally, I always need more than one explanation when I’m trying to learn how to do something.
So, get your notebooks ready and let’s go rescue your sofa.

I’m Just Sayin’

January 22nd, 2010

grayand yellow

Photo image: Apartment Therapy

Look, I was sporting gray and yellow light years before it was “in”. Shouldn’t there be some reward for those of us who discover an offbeat color scheme before it appeals to the masses? Once the look is all over the blogosphere and on the pages of what’s left of the the design magazines, I feel a real itch to move on. I need to move on, not because it’s everywhere, but because for some reason I like to be different. I know it may be a little kooky, but I genuinely enjoy being different. It’s been a lifelong struggle and I only hope there is at least one other poor schmuck that understands this personality disorder.

StarHeadboard 058a

Photo image: IndyStar.com

Anywho, I’m still loving gray walls with yellow, orange, red or magenta. I’ll give this scheme another year and then maybe I’ll have to ditch it for some new offbeat look. As long as I keep the big things neutral, I can easily change the small stuff. I don’t sweat the small stuff.

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