Ray’s footstool is finished! Many thanks to Cindi Gay not only for the pattern, but step by step instructions on the finishing. They were invaluable.
The taupe background matches the colour of the new chesterfield in the TV room, (after several tries), and it makes an attractive addition to the room, plus a comfie spot for Ray to rest his feet now that the recliners have gone to their “rest”.
Ray built the base, and attached the feet. Then covered it with newspaper and re-attached the feet so they would be easier to stain .
Then I applied about 20 coats of spray laquer (sounds more labour intensive than it actually was….it dries almost instantly)….done outside by the way….it’s really smelly.
Then he added ‘slides’ to the bottom of the legs, so it would move easily on the carpet.
The padding presented some problems.
Cindi gave very specific instructions about what to buy, and the dimensions needed….but as is so often the case….none of it was available in Canada…(at least in my neck of the woods). I am very thankful for the help given by the salesperson at Fabricland. Instead of three pieces of high density foam…I ended up with 1- 3″ block of “something” that was intended as a chair cushon. I literally carved it to the right sizes (although my base piece was 2″ deep rather than 1″ deep) I just crossed my fingers and hoped that I could Squish it down an inch so it would fit. If it didn’t, I could always remove an inch from the bottom section. The whole stool was then wrapped with “craft batting”, and glued down.
I measured the prescribed lines and zigzagged twice on the drawn line, and once halfway to the hooking.
Test fittings happened all the way through, making sure it would fit on the frame, and much to my astonishment, it fit prefectly every time. Cindi said she learned this method of doing the edges from Kim Nixon….and it is wonderful. I must admit I was a bit skeptical until I did it, but it worked like magic.
The edges were loosely folded in, and roughly whipped together….twice…with strong thread.
Another fitting, and you can see the open corners. I then hooked two additional rows of hooking in that space, one on either side of the whipped welt. It was a little fiddley, since it had to be hooked without a frame…but was much easier than I had feared.
Voila! The space is gone.
The hardest part of the assembly turned out to be stapling the bottom edges under. Probably because I had an extra inch of padding….it was tricky to pull it under and staple it evenly. In fact, after these pictures were taken…Ray removed all the staples, and finished it with a groove and spleen…no staples required .
All in all it was a fun project, and a useful addition for the TV room. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to hook something muted?