Tom's Chair

I have just finished this lovely Don chair and it’s looking gorgeous. It’s back home again now, splendid and ready to tackle another 50 years. It’s a very special chair and it’s wonderful to see a new beginning for it.

Tom found it in a local junk shop on one of his weekend wanderings a few years before he died. He bought it for $50; these chairs were not so cherished in those days but it was in perfect condition and would be a comfortable addition to the eclectic mix of furniture in the little beach house. It has remained long after he has gone, comfortable but getting increasingly shabby and worn as the years passed. A mute sentinel.

 Re-upholstering this type of chair is a relatively simple process. There are only three main steps- the back, the seat and the springs cover. All fairly straight sewing and not complicated. The most difficult thing with fabric with writing and one way images on it like this is ensuring you don’t get it upside down!!

 First I made the seat, and somehow, in some type of measuring mis-step, I made it too small. Never mind, draw out something from your tiny bag of patience and do it again. So I did. Then I tackled the back, and ended up with one panel with the image the wrong way up!! But the simple springs cover was easy and perfect -  until I ironed it and melted the synthetic fabric - end of.

It was unbelievable. I have recovered a large number of these chairs now; I would even go as far as to say I’m fairly accomplished, so I still don’t quite understand how it could have gone so haywire.

Was there some resistance from somewhere else? Maybe messing with Tom’s chair was more complicated than it seemed? Or am I just losing my fevered post-lockdown mind? That’s a question we will never know, but I like to think Tom would have been pleased with the result after all- resistance or not.