Hazelnut,
I like my Porter-Cable US58 staple gun. The working end is made to get into tight spots and you can load it with one hand (or at least there is no plunger thing that has to be completely removed when loading). And it's not expensive at all--not that much more than a quality electric staple gun.
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-US58-22-Gauge-C-Crown-Upholstery/dp/B...
Kate,
in your novel, if there is a "front of the house" showroom, it's going to smell like Old English and Liquid Gold, (if this shop is set in America) The work room is going to smell like sawdust and polyurethane. And coffee.
If it is Aunt Mark's workroom, it is going to smell like vodka tonics!
Just wondered.
Voyage is beautiful but it has a very strong nap. You will need an industrial sewing machine with a compound needle feed to sew it neatly.
(The texture is formed of very tiny loops of yarn in rows and when the fabric is pressed together, this texture--the nap--shifts the two layers a little. Pinning every 1/2" can't control it completely. Even basting doesn't work very well. You end up with one layer getting very puckered.)
A lot of mills produce the same weave, btw. You will see it in wool and in synthetics. It's great if you have that machine or if your piece doesn't require any sewing, like a chair seat that is wrapped and stapled. I love it but I quit trying to work with it except in no-sew projects.
PS it also has almost no give to it, something else to consider. Not good for stretching around curves.
There is actually very, very...
There is actually very, very little machine stitching a Papa Bear.
The only visiable machine stitching is in the darts on the front and the seat cushion.
All the other seams are hand stitched (ladder stitch, with very heavy thread):
the front "bag" to the wings
the back to the front
the seat sides to the wings
and a couple of very short seams at the front of the seat
Everything else that appears to be a seam is nailed to wood in layers.
So I could pull out the needle and thread and hand stitch the darts, in the worst case. I tend to tension the pieces of fabric when I sew and "help" the machine's feed. It helps decrease the uneven feed with slippery fabric.
But I will try it out with a couple samples I have before I commit.
The question of stretching is concerning. I will take another look at the fabric on top of the arms and see how much it needs to give, and how much it is the shape of the pattern that allows it to conform to the frame.
Thanks!
I know very
little about fabrics, but I want to report that a pillow I have in the living room is covered with some kind of ideal upholstery goods. It might be called suede cloth, or maybe it's a velour of some kind. Very low nap, an almost invisible fine grain; the back shows a weave with a diagonal grain (if that makes sense). I've seen its like on the seats of cars from the 'thirties, or maybe on theater seats ? Anyway, it's wearing like iron and doesn't show soiling. Highly recommended !
Have at it, then!
A hand stitched seam in that fabric has a very different look than a machine-stitched one (as the original chair would have had). But maybe it will appeal to you and you'll enjoy doing it.
SDR, can you take a photo of the right and wrong sides of your pillow fabric? (Pillows don't get nearly the same kind of wear as does an arm rest or the front edge of a seat, though that doesn't mean that your pillow isn't made of hard wearing fabric.)
Here it is
Spanky. The fuzzy knap isn't readily apparent in the photos . . .
I've had this large pillow for 25 years, and for the last 10 have been resting on it every day. Other than collecting stray hairs, it stays remarkably clean and shows no wear at all. I've laundered it a couple of times. Of course the color helps . . .
Looks like it
could be moleskin, which is a densely woven cotton twill (or close to a twill) that is brushed on one side. Or mabye it's wool? If you burn a tiny snip cut from the seam allowance, you can find out. Wool smells like burning hair and leaves a hard, black bead of ash that crushes easily between the fingers. Cotton leaves a soft gray ash (sometimes black) that rubs away to nothing between the fingers. It smells like burning paper.
Always do burn tests with a candle rather than a match because the sulphur from the match will screw up the odor part of the test.
As for the durability--it does sound like it wears well, but still, your head laying on it is not the same as the weight of your entire upper body and seat and thighs bearing down and shifting across it as would happen on a chair seat. It's just a different type of usage.
Why thanks Kate!
I'll send ahead a few bottles. And scents are always "layered"...so the showroom full of unpaid treasures could be layered with the smell's of
~mothballs
~vodka
~money
~anxiety (it has a unique odor)
~anticipation (ditto)
~hopsack
~sweat
~stale limes (from yesterday...misplaced drinks)
And so much more....
Hi there Riki!
Your Aunt M.
(edit) just teasing! Bahahahahha!!~~ Good Morning EamesHead!
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