Now The Day Is Over

This one has been a Work In Progress for a long time – nearly 3 years. But at last it is finally finished! I blogged in 2010 about Lucienne and Robin Day, the wonderfully talented designers.

They were married for 68 years – and she designed amazing fabrics, and he produced furniture, most memorably the remarkably useful polyprop chair. I blogged again a year later, when we were clearing out some ancient, damaged chairs from a room at the church.

Stripping off the ripped plastic and foam revealed an orange polyprop chair- but sadly the seat was rather damaged and the surface was quite rough in places, and damaged by staples. I left the chair in the corner, where it got things piled onto it, but wasn’t much good for sitting on.

When my very old PVC apron developed a tear at the top, I decided to repurpose it as a cushion pad for the chair. It has the right mix of colours. I made a paper pattern, and fetched out my little vintage tin of sewing machine needles. The ‘leather’ ones are good for sewing PVC. I cut a top and base, and three layers of fabric from an old teeshirt to give just a little bit of padding.     

I stacked the layers and sewed round, then turned it inside out and top stitched. Currently the cushion is held down with some double sided tape. If it proves satisfactory, I’ll use something more permanent.

The stained areas and sharp, rough bits are covered up now.

The chair looks much more cheerful – and the old apron has been creatively re-purposed.

The 52 Projects is becoming increasingly addictive – check out Dreamer’s Blog where you will find a list of other people involved in the challenge – producing some fabulous items!