![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.lemongrass.org.uk\/lemongrass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2009\/05\/dsc_1032-e1402271589447.jpg\")
<\/a>The chair with the solid wooden seat-base fitted<\/p><\/div>\n
I have assumed that the chair seat has a solid base, as mine had.\u00a0 If instead the seat has an empty, rectangular frame, then webbing must be mounted on the frame first.\u00a0 I have not done this myself.\u00a0 Once the webbing is in place, these instructions can be adopted as though the seat had a solid wooden cover.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Underside of the solid base<\/p><\/div>\n
Hessian layer<\/h3>\n
Place the seat frame upside down on top of a sheet of hessian, and fold the hessian around the frame.\u00a0 The hessian should be cut large enough to allow it to fold around the bottom of the frame as shown in the photo.\u00a0 Cutting hessian is not easy.\u00a0 Where possible, try to cut true to the “grain” of the hessian.\u00a0 One might mark the cutting line with a fat permanent marker, or one can remove a single thread of the hessian to create a straight line to cut along.\u00a0 Choosing the right size for the hessian is important.\u00a0 As shown in the photo below, the idea is to have enough material to cover the top and extend around the sides of the seat, finishing quite close to the edge on the bottom of the seat.\u00a0 The material is folded under itself before being tacked, as you can see at the corners in the photo below.\u00a0 The reason for tacking the hessian close to the edge of the seat base is to allow room further from the edge for the additional nails which will hold down the subsequent coverings.<\/p>\n
With the seat frame sitting face down on top of the cut hessian sheet,\u00a0 place one of a pair of parallel frame edges towards you.\u00a0 Fold the nearest edge of the hessian up onto the back of the frame, tuck the edge under and tack in the centre of the side using a 10mm tack.\u00a0 Do the same at the opposite edge, stretching the hessian taut.\u00a0 Then do the same again on the other two edges, placing one tack in the centre of each edge.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Tacking the hessian layer to the solid base<\/p><\/div>\n
Then, add tacks to the left and right of the initial tacks, spaced about 0.5in to 0.75in (15mm, say) apart.\u00a0 Add two tacks on the side nearest to you, two on the opposite side, then two on the left side and two on the right, tightening the hessian as you go.\u00a0 Then work towards the corners, adding two tacks per side at a time.\u00a0 Tidy the corners as best you can without allowing multiple layers to overlap as this would impede fitting the seat back onto the chair.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Finishing a corner of the hessian layer<\/p><\/div>\n
Twine spiral<\/h3>\n
The cushioning of the seat is provided by soft padding called coir, which is made from coconut husks.\u00a0 This padding needs to be held in place so that it doesn’t bunch up or migrate, and loops of twine are used to achieve this.\u00a0 As shown in the second photo below, I used a “square spiral” layout for the twine.\u00a0 Attach the end of the twine to the hessian using a knot close to the one edge and half a hand-width from one corner.\u00a0 Using a curved upholstery kneedle, make a stitch into the hessian one hand-width away from the starting point, parallel to the edge.\u00a0 The size of the loop is governed by the width and height of the four fingers around which you thread the twine, as shown in the photo below.\u00a0 I found this was a good size to allow a suitable amount of coir to be packed beneath it.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Each loop should be about a hand-width wide<\/p><\/div>\n
When forming each loop, take care not to tighten the previous loop\u2014each loop has to have room under it to pack the padding material in the next step.\u00a0 Continue forming loops in a line parallel with the edge of the seat, finishing the last one half a hand-width from the opposite edge.\u00a0 Then, turn parallel with that edge and continue stitching loops until the same distance short of the next edge.\u00a0 Continue in this fashion following a kind-of spiral pattern until the entire surface of the hessian layer is spanned by loops.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The complete twine spiral will allow even distribution of the padding<\/p><\/div>\n
Pack surface with coir<\/h3>\n
Pull a bunch of coir from your stock and feed it under the first loop.\u00a0 Select the quantity of coir for each bunch such that the bunches just overlap each other.\u00a0 Be careful when packing the coir in, not to pull twine from the next loop!\u00a0 Don’t let the coir spill over the edge of the seat.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Pack bunches of coir under the twine, extending to the edge of the seat<\/p><\/div>\n
The bunches away from the edge of the seat can be a little larger than those at the edge, to provide a slightly deeper cushion in the centre of the seat.\u00a0 The corner bunches need to be a little longer than the rest, as they have to gather right around the corner stitches, covering more area.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The seat showing all the coir packed under the twine loops<\/p><\/div>\n
Cover with calico<\/h3>\n
Place the padded seat cover upside-down on a sheet of calico, and fold the material up around the bottom of the seat cover so that it reaches several inches in from the edge of the seat, and cut it off.\u00a0 Don’t cut the material at all close to the edge, because one needs a good length of material to pull on, during this step.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The calico is stretched across the coir padding and tacked inwards of the hessian<\/p><\/div>\n
Calico is fairly thin material and overlaps can be tolerated on the bottom face of the seat, but not at the corners.\u00a0 Using a similar technique to that used when attaching the hessian, tack once at the center of each side, stretching the material to compress the coir padding before knocking in the second and subsequent tacks.\u00a0 Place the tacks just inwards of the folded hessian beneath.\u00a0 Once the first tacks are in place on each side, stretch the material as tight as possible before putting in the next tacks\u2014the firmness of the resulting cushion will be determined by how tightly the calico is stretched, so this is important.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Avoid overlaps at the outer edge on the corners of the seat<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The calico-covered cushion, from above<\/p><\/div>\n
Add skin felt mat (optional)<\/h3>\n
Some cushions are further padded with “skin wadding,” which is applied on top of the calico layer.\u00a0 I did not use this on my seat cover, for fear of fattening the base sideways so much that it would not fit into the chair.\u00a0 It might be particularly appropriate if the final covering is a bit thin\u2014coir is quite wiry and could potentially penetrate a thin covering.<\/p>\n
Planning the folds for the final covering layer<\/h3>\n
Planning the folds at the corners was the most challenging aspect of this project.\u00a0 I made a mock-up of the corner folds using a piece of paper, and I recommend this method before starting to cut your real covering material.<\/p>\n
The next five photographs illustrate the folding method I devised.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Place the seat cushion on a rectangle of paper<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Fold one edge up<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Fold the paper around the corner as shown<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Fold the top back and down<\/p><\/div>\n
The first diagonal fold (above) creates three layers of material.\u00a0 By careful cutting, the two lower layers can be removed to avoid extra thickness.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Fold the material up against the second side and fold onto the bottom of the seat as shown<\/p><\/div>\n
The second diagonal fold (above) also creates three layers of material.\u00a0 The underlying two layers can again be trimmed out.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The same folds with the real covering material<\/p><\/div>\n
Above you can see a trial folding using the real covering material.\u00a0 This demonstrates the extra thickness and the need to trim away the inner layers.<\/p>\n
Applying the final covering<\/h3>\n
I chose a leatherette-style covering, perhaps a little over half a millimeter thick and backed with a fine mesh.\u00a0 It’s important not to choose too thick a material as some overlap at the corners is unavoidable, and the extra thickness was a potentially serious issue for me.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Initial tacking of the final covering material<\/p><\/div>\n
Applying the final covering material starts in the same way as the previous layers did: one tack in the centre of each side, stretching the material strongly before hammering in the tacks.\u00a0 However, before progressing too far outward with the tacks on each side, the corners must be folded and trimmed, following the plan devised above.<\/p>\n
<\/a>It’s much harder to manipulate the covering material than it was the paper<\/p><\/div>\n
First (below), fold the material from the right hand side around the corner, against the front face:<\/p>\n
<\/a>Fold across the front<\/p><\/div>\n
Next (below), fold the excess above the corner back and downwards:<\/p>\n