I finally finished this. It was quite the challenge but I feel really good about it.
As you can maybe see in the photo, I had to squeeze in the last few wraps on the left top and bottom and only managed one final wrap on the bottom left. Also, after a bit, a few splits appeared (photo). I'm not too worried about them (unless someone here says I should be) and I think the nature of the weave will hold everything together and prevent further splitting.
I'm going to make the neck cushion these originally came with soon enough. I'm thinking of using a dark grey felt. Any other suggestions? And what to use for the loops?
Thanks again for all of the help here!
Looks great! I would not worry about those splits. Just mist the back of the cane with water every few months to keep it from getting too dry and it should be fine. Be sure to dry the teak parts off immediately because even a mist can cause water spots to appear.
I think gray felt would look good! Charcoal gray wool with teak is one of my favorite combos. Maharam's Divina Melange in the 180 colorway is really, really nice. I just redid some chair seats in it and it was so easy to work with and looks fab, too.
For loops I usually do glove leather---cut a strip about 3x as wide as you want the loop, fold it lengthwise, and with a leather needle machine stitch two lines down the center about 1/2" apart. Trim the leather close to each stitching line.
Not all home sewing machines will sew leather without skipping stitches; if that's the case with yours, then you can use a single layer of heavier leather with no stitching. I happen to feel that stitching gives it a more finished look but not if the stitching is a mess!
You can also just do strips of felt, maybe doubled, stitched and then trimmed close. It's infinitely easier to cut wide and trim after stitching than it is to stitch neatly very close to the edge.
I think the main thing to do is to keep the loops narrow. I've seen wide ones on a lot of cushions and it just looks amateurish to me.
The most comfortable and best-looking neck cushions in my opinion are curved on the front to fit the space between the back of your skull and your shoulders, and are flat-ish on the back to lie against the chair.
I make these by cutting a rectangle of 1" thick foam in the width and height that I want the finished cushion. Then I cut a piece of 1/2" foam about 2" x the same width as the big rectangle. Center that on the rectangle and fix with a very light mist of spray adhesive. Don't overdue the spray adhesive on very thin foam because it soaks in a bit and when the foam is only 1/2" thick it can end up being soaked nearly half through---then when you compress it later, it sticks to itself an won't bounce back! So the very lightest coat is all you need, if that even. You can also hold it in place with a couple of large hand stitches, just don't pull the thread up tight.
Do another piece of 1/2" foam the same way but about 1" taller than the first one.
Repeat until the last one covers all of the previous 1/2" foam layers and extends to the edges of the bottom 1" foam piece.
In other words, build up a hill of foam. And by starting with a 2" high piece, you ensure that you end up with a smooth curve overall with no need to shape with a razor blade or scissors.
If you don't have any 1/2" foam, you can do the same with 1" foam. You will obviously do fewer layers and you should probably trim the underside of the edges so that the top surface is a clean curve . This is always preferable to trying to trim the top edge to a neat curve.
Does that make sense?
As for batting, it tends to get permanently compressed way before foam does. If you want to use it, go ahead but I recommend getting a good quality bonded batting made for upholstery use, not quilt batting. I think Joann's sells a pretty stiff batting made to use on dining chair seats---i would not use it for seats but I think it's probably fine for a head your purposes.
I think most rocking chairs have a flat-ish head pillow if they have one at all but this is not a permanent alteration of the chair and you should have a pillow that feels comfortable to you! Otherwise, what's the point?
You can sew it shut, just use stitches big enough that you can see to remove them easily if you ever want to get the cover cleaned. (like after Great Uncle Bert who owns stock in Bryl Cream visits.)
Thanks, spanky, that all make perfect sense. I agree that comfort of the main goal here. To add a cushion that does almost nothing to an otherwise extremely comfortable chair would be silly. And no worries about Great Uncle Bert, I make him stand or sit on the floor.
Is it possible/recommended to make this out of two pieces of fabric? Or, because of the shape of the cushion, will there need to be side panels? If you haven't noticed, I have very little upholstery experience.
Sorry, forgot to say that yes you should do side panels for the head cushion if you go with this shape. I just stand it on end on a piece of paper and then draw around it---simple!
You might want to look up how to do a boxed cushion. I usually topstitch the seam allowance for a really finished look, for instance. There's also some clipping and trimming needed as you go---just basic stuff when sewing curves but it makes a huge difference in the appearance of the finished thing.
I think you will might want to do separate pieces for the back and the front, too. It will help a bit to define the shape, especially at the corners when you're placing the hanging loops.
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