Before & After: DIY Upholstered Cane-Back Chair

This 'ol gal is probably one of my biggest personal *high-fives* to date. Here she is all done, currently occupying a lonely corner of our guest room. Let's take a journey back to what she used to look like: 

The picture doesn't show it very well, but the caning in all three panels was busted through in different places- hence why it was F-R-E-E on craigslist- SCORE. I loved the silhouette, but I wasn't about to try fixing that caning. I love the look of upholstered panels and parlor chairs, so I figured I'd give it a shot (not using a sewing machine, mind you). 

Here she is primed

Painted 

And Glazed 

Now, for the upholstering. For the back I cut 3 pieces of sturdy poster board to fit inside the back panels and upholstered them using batting and my fabric of choice. I then used a needle and thread and sewed them through the caning, securing the thread on the other side with super glue. And the back will look like this: 

For the front you just need quilt batting, a rotary cutter (HIGHLY recommended) and your fabric/ trim of choice. I cut my pieces of batting and fabric as close to size as I could, and just hot glued the batting directly on top of the caning. Then, using a scissors and a rotary cutter, cut the fabric as close to the shape of the chair as I could. 

I know, the unfinished edges look AWFUL. Never fear, trim covers a multitude of ickyness.

This picture above shows the 3 panels in 3 different stages. The far left has batting and fabric but no trim, the middle is just the batting layer, and the far right is the finished panel with trim. I attached the trim just with hot glue. 

See? That wasn't so bad! And we wind up with....

yay! 

P.S. Don't forget to follow me for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Pottery Barn! You have to follow me publicly by clicking that "follow" button over there on the left. Right above the pretty faces of all your other soon-to-be new friends!

P.P.S. Between me and you, I would REALLY like to get to 100, so come on- you want a $100 gift card, right??  :D

This post linked up to:
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage 
Piece of Work Wednesday @ Primitive and Proper
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed 
Look What I Found Friday @ Vintage Revivals


xo,