Backyard / One Room Challenge

One Room Challenge Week Six – Adventures in Sewing

We’re two weeks away from the end of this One Room Challenge and despite my best efforts to check items off of my relatively short to do list I’m still feeling the pressure to wrap it all up in time for the reveal. Luckily the weather has cleared up and the sun has been shining for the last few days so as long as the clouds stay away I should be able to get everything done just in time to enjoy a relaxing Memorial Day Weekend under the new pergola.

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8

This week I moved inside and dusted off my limited sewing skills to tackle a few ambitious (for me) upholstery projects. I’m far from the best sewer, but I can whip something up if I really need to. I actually used to sew the flags and uniforms for the color guards that I taught while in grad school and they turned out pretty good as long as you didn’t look at them too closely. But I have this dream of getting good enough to start sewing my clothes so I’m trying to challenge myself whenever I get the chance.

First on the list was to re-cover my beloved egg chair cushions. It’s my favorite place to relax on summer nights and unbelievably comfortable….but unfortunately it’s also become my dogs favorite chew toys so a new cover was in order. This seemed like the perfect place to have some fun with the patio and when I found this retro rainbow pattern from Spoonflower it seemed like a perfect match. And to make sure all of the outdoor fabric held up to the elements I went with the Recycled Canvas option which was super easy to work with and I can already tell will deal well with dew, rain, and dirt.

At first I wasn’t sure where to start, but then I realized that I could just take apart the old cushion cover and use that to pattern out the new one so that it fit the seat perfectly. The cushions were much easier as I just needed to figure out the right dimensions and re-use the original stuffing. To make them extra dog-proof I added ties onto each piece so I can secure them to the chair frame…..and just to add some real core memories to this process my littlest assistant, who has been asking me to teach him how to sew for years, helped me sew every single one of them.

Second up, I decided to finally add cushions to the patio storage benches to serve as an extra seating and lounging area. For this fabric I wanted something with more of a boho vibe that also looked good with the rainbow fabric and this dark red Ikat print (also from Spoonflower) fit the bill nicely. I also decided that I wanted to make these removable, which required tackling something I’ve never attempted before and learn how to add a zipper…so I did what any good DIYer does and found this great tutorial from A Beautiful Mess to tell me how to do it.

I also FINALLY broke out the super fancy sewing machine that my husband gave me for Mother’s Day a few years ago that I have been too intimidated to touch! Which was honestly so mis-guided because it’s ridiculously easy to use and made making these cushions a lot more enjoyable. There’s definitely a few things I need to improve on but I got the zippers in, they fit the pre-cut outdoor cushions I found through Home Depot, and they’re nice and comfortable.

Luckily with the sewing done all of my big ToDo’s are done….but unluckily my punch list to finish all of the last minute patio details is a few pages long so I’m afraid there’s no rest for the weary for the next two weeks.

A big thank you to my sponsors this ORC – Kichler Lighting and Toja Grid.

If you’ve been thinking about adding your own DIY Pergola make sure you check out all of the options from TOJA GRID and use my code HILLTOWN to get 10% off. Not only do they have Pergola kits, they also have furniture, tons of cool accessories for your backyard and patio, and some really fun options like hammocks and ice skating rinks!

And don’t forget to check out what all the other featured and guest participants are up to each week on the One Room Challenge blog!