Boat Interior Cushions Reupholstered

Boat Cushions After

 

Boat Cushions Before

This was my first opportunity to do interior boat cushions. This project involved fifteen (15) cushions for a 32’ sailboat. The original Spartan fabric was quite dated, like popular in the 1970’s or 1980’s but had seen better days and was ready for something different. 

My customer had wanted sailboat fabric to replace the plaid and chose a very cool fabric with various sizes of sailboats on it on a white background, featuring red, white and blue overall. The fabric was a dream to work with and the cushions turned out great.

Unlike standard cushions, these sailboat cushions were quite challenging because they were not only different shapes, meaning some were wide on one end and narrow on the other end, they also took the shape of the sailboat’s interior with angled sides. This required a very detailed, concise cutting, following the pattern pieces which I created by using the original fabric, very closely. I had developed a system in which I completely removed each old cushion fabric, separated all the pieces then used those for templates to create the new cushion covers. This is one way to insure the new cushions would fit. The other way is the create your own templates by carefully measuring each cushion and making a pattern from material specifically used for pattern making which can be purchased. 

I did this for each cushion, completing it before I tackled the next one. This project took me about 3 weeks to finish. It was a challenging job to be sure but I was very happy with the outcome and more importantly, so was my customer.

Seat Cushion Before

Seat Cushion After

The two cushions below were the one on the end of the corner area (shown above). The curve on this cushion went about a pole on the side of the boat, so this cushion had to be cut to accommodate this curve.  This cushion required the foam to be replaced as it was moldy and quite worn. I use a combination of foam cutting tools to make these cuts, an essential part of working with foam.

Long Galley Cushion After

Long Galley Cushion Before

The long cushion was one of the more difficult cushions I made because it was 77” long and 15” on the narrow side and 24” on the wider side. This cushion was also angled on one end so that its shape is consistent with the natural curve of the boat. The smallest cushions were 17 x 12 and the larger ones varied from 77” x 15 x 24 to 56” x 24”. 

The various sizes of these cushions required a lot of attention to detail as well as measuring many times. I also devised a foolproof way to make sure the pattern faced the right direction when cutting. I marked the original cushion with lots of black markers showing arrows to the top, bottom and zippered edge, which helped a great deal when the time came to put those pieces together. I then transferred these marks to the new fabric with indelible ink, that comes off with an iron or over a period of time on its own. These pens, called “Frixion," are one of my favorite tools for sewing! 

By the time I got to the 15th and last cushion, it was a breeze, but I was ready for a break as it was quite the job. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to add this to my skill set and afterward had gotten a few more cushion jobs (which aren’t posted here) because they were loose cushions with no “before” photos. It’s great when you learn the tricks as you continue to process of upholstery and sewing. It helps to serve you long into the future.

Caned Rocker Repair

 

Rocker After

Rocker Before

This unique rocking chair came from Nicaragua. My customer had been in the air force and brought it back with him on a plane that he flew over to the U.S. after the war. That story was as intriguing as the chair. What made this chair unique was the carvings. The caning on the back and the seat was broken and needed replacing. Other than that, the chair needed nothing.

I always begin my caning process by removing the old caning first, decide on the size for the new caning before I weave it. This one was the first time I came across plastic caning instead of the natural reed cane that use mostly used when caning chairs. This proved to be much more difficult to remove because the snippers I use to remove caning didn’t snip the plastic easily. Usually the snippers work very well, quickly cutting the old caning off so I can remove it completely. I prefer using the snips to a utility knife because you have more control over the cane removal than using a knife. If the knife slips, you can damage the wood as well as cut yourself.

Once the old seat caning was removed, I had another challenge which I had only done one other time. The back of this chair had “hidden” tie-offs, covered with a 1/4” wood channel that hid the woven cane by covering it with four wooden pieces that curved around the back of the finished cane. This means that in order to remove the caning, it was necessary to remove the 1/4” wood channel first, which required steaming through the front openings and gently pushing them through with a punch tool. 

The spline removal process involved shooting steam into several holes then tapping them with the punch tool to loosen the glue, thus pushing the wood out enough to remove it. This process took longer than it did to remove the seat caning. It’s an added step to the caning process and very labor intensive. The last time I did this was with a set of four chairs which took two months to complete. Those were curved chairs so they were definitely harder to do work on than normal caned chairs.

After the back caning was completely removed along with the wood splines, I decided to cane the seat first, which turned out great. The much harder process of doing the back involved repositioning the chair many times during the weaving process because it was so large and hard to access because the back was so long. This was a very large chair, thus making it harder to work on the the average sized chair. And, rocking chairs in general are harder to work on than a straight chair because they move. 

After the chair was complete, I was relieved and very glad to have gotten it put back together again, which is also quite a process because I had to reduce the thickness of the original back spline so that it fits into the pre-cut groove which covers the tied-in caning on the back of the chair. 

1970’s Ottoman Overhaul

Ottoman Before New Fabric

Ottoman with new fabric

In the 1970’s, this plaid fabric was quite popular on furniture. Although still functional and in good condition, it was dated. In December, 2021, I made couch cushions for this same customer using the original fabric to create new cushions for a couch. 

They also had a chair and ottoman which needed new fabric to match the rest of the furniture. They chose a nice gray tweed, which looked great with the oversized, hand carved wood. 

The cushion itself was in good shape and didn’t need replacement as the couch cushions did. This cushion basically sat inside the sides of the ottoman, but was still screwed into the angled brackets in the corners for a safe and secure fit. The new top needed little sewing, just enough to fit the corners, which involved a 90 degree cut and sewn sides to create a box. Then the rest was overlapped and attached to the board on the underside of the cushion and stapled to it. No zipper required! Zippered cushions are a lot more work as you need to include boxing on the sides as well as at the zipper placket, which is always larger than the rest of the boxing. 

I love the simplicity of this nice ottoman as well as its sturdy frame. Fabric upgrading is a relatively inexpensive way to make an old piece of furniture look new again.