Cane Chair Makeover: Update

I've been meaning to write an update on this chair for weeks but have just been too lazy ... I've also been lazy about finishing it up. I basically completed most of the makeover weeks ago and just needed to work on the trim, but then I lost my motivation. I guess all the little imperfections were discouraging me from finishing but that's not how I really roll -- I usually finish what I start. So, this is what the chair looks like right now. I finally made trim and attached it to the back of the chair and around some of the legs.

Trim ... I hate you but I love you. Where to to begin, I spent hours Sunday night trying to make trim out of my fabric but my stupid sewing machine was acting up. Never have I had so much trouble with my Brother ... felt like it was a test of wills and my machine won (note: I did make trim successfully several weeks ago). The darn fabric was too thick and stiff for my walking foot. I had to improvise.  A thought came to me, "Hey, why don't you just double up your single cords and sew a running stitch all the way down? Should be easy." Yeah right! Stupid thing took me like 3.5 hours and I didn't finish. I gave my blood, sweat and tears to this thing ... literally. I poked my finger with the needle a few times and little blood drops got on the fabric but they're on the wrong side, safely hidden.  

Doh! Dumb Idea.

So this morning I was nearly done hand-stitching this stupid thing and starting playing with positioning the trim on the chair ... just to see how it would look. To my big disappointment, the cording was too stiff. It wouldn't bend around corners. Shit. I was so upset. I felt like a fool for wasting precious sleepy time but I had to figure out a solution. I took some white fabric I had just bought for quilting and easily made some trim. The fabric was so thin that it puckered everywhere. It's not smooth like the cording above, but oh well.  For anyone who might be wondering why I didn't just pay someone to make the double welt cording for me? Well, I inquired at this upholstery shop near my house and they quoted me $30 for 2 yards! 

I'm committed to finishing up this chair this week. Besides completing the trim, I have to touch up the paint in some places and even add wood fill to some parts because my staple gun skills are really lacking in accuracy. I'll also be sharing my lessons learned.