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| Shortly after moving in 2008 |
The porch furniture came with the house. We had asked the seller to leave the set because we weren't bringing any of our own. We have since changed the arrangement, but the chairs, tables, and ottomans are still in good shape today. I made covers for all of the pillows and cushions in 2009.
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| No cover (left) with cover (right) |
This past summer, we decided the pillow and seat cushion covers needed to be replaced. They were faded from sun exposure, torn from cat claws, and had several food stains on them. The seat cushions had also lost all support and were not comfortable to sit in for more than 5 minutes. T ordered two new foam cushions for the larger chairs. The fabric for new covers was purchased on sale this summer, but I knew that I wouldn't start working on this project until the short winter days kept me inside. The last weekend in January, I started making the green welting that would go on all the cushions and pillows. Originally, I had planned to use my Singer 201-2, but I don't have a working zipper foot for it. Maybe I'll find one this summer? I tried my Necchi Supernova and that worked great. Once the welting was finished I took apart the old pillow covers and used the pieces as patterns for new covers. I also took the zippers out of the old pillows to reuse them when possible. I ended up only having to install one new zipper. Twice, I underestimated how much welting I would need and after one trip back to the store to buy more, I decided to reuse some from the original pillows to finish up the last pillow.
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| I had help attaching the welting |
The four seat cushions all got zippers sewn into the backs so that the covers could be removed for cleaning. The four back pillow covers are not removable. Zippers were inserted into the side pieces first and then the tops and bottoms were clipped to the sides with the welting sandwiched in-between.
When I tried to sew through four layers of fabric on the Necchi, it balked three times. After replacing 3 needles, I moved over to my Pfaff 131 and used the zipper foot on there. It was a bit difficult to maneuver all the fabric within the limited harp space, but I didn't have any broken needles. It sewed right through the multiple fabric layers and even two layers of welting that overlapped in the back.
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| Pillow covers without zippers were finished by hand after the pillows were inserted |
After arranging the pillows on the porch and taking a picture, I realized that I would need to redo one of the seat cushions. I had inserted the zipper on the front side of one cushion instead of the back side. Since the cushions are rounded in the back and a bit wider across the front, I could not just turn it around.
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| The pattern almost camouflages the errant zipper, right? |
Today, I picked up my seam ripper and took the top and bottom off the cushion. The pieces were repositioned and then I sewed them back together again using the Pfaff 131.
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| Hopefully, it goes back together |
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| A new bulb on my machine made visibility noticeably better |
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| And now everything is finished |
Come on over for a little porch sitting any time you're in the neighborhood!
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