One small project

100 years of old webbing

Ancient couch springs

Taking it all apart

Saw horses at work in the living room

Isn’t it funny how you start a project and it suddenly takes on it’s own life? My hubby said it’s not really done until you have been on the roof. Doesn’t matter what you are doing, somehow you will have to climb up to the roof. That is how our “sofa repair” project went.
First we were to just repair the dangling springs….then it was determined that all the jute holding the springs under the sofa was turning to dust. (Last time it had been redone was in the early 1990’s, and it was not totally redone. Old jute and burlap still inside the sofa, just new jute put over the old.)
So, we had the sofa over two saw horses and resting on my camel saddle…and we tore the bottom apart. Oh my the yuck that lives under the sofa when it is 100 years old. By the time we got all the old jute (2 layers) off and vacuumed out the inner most parts I was ready to burn the sofa. Long loud discussions ensued. Finally we decided to re-tie all the springs. Normally this is done ‘top down’ and fancy upholstery guys secure the springs to the bottom jute with metal clips. Well since we were “upside down” we could not do that. Hubby located some nice rope that would not stretch and we ran new cross lines of it. Then I spent 3 days “tying” the springs to the rope. That curved needle I used for tying quilts came in MOST handy. We only had 10 yards of the jute (for the repair) and needed 30, so we had to wait a few days for a new order to arrive. (gave me time to continue tying.) All I can say is thank goodness for the air hose that hubby stretched from the garage to the living room. Once it was all secured, I grabbed a bolt of 90″ wide muslin and cut a yard off to make my own dust cover for the bottom. It is not dark, so it does peak out from across the room, but really, at this point, I don’t care. We were able to get the fabric reattached and the couch turned right side up. Since it is a repair, I will confess that it is not the quality I would want to live with. (The underneath is GREAT). This fabric is not my style, and our discussions go on about how and with what to reupholster it. I want French Country (Yellows and Blues). Hubby wants to save money. Each sofa needs about 20 yards of fabric. (Oh, yes, I have another one……) I have bolts and bolts of decorator fabric I was given 8 years ago. We came to an agreement on 2 bolts. One bolt did not have enough to do both sofa’s. The other bolt I have yet to measure out. Let’s just say it is NOT French Country……but it will suit the victorian look these sofa’s demand.
So, enjoy the pictures and know why I haven’t had a chance to sew much of anything all week.
Someday, when we do reupholster it…it will look great!
Meanwhile, you won’t fall through to the floor, the cat’s won’t get hung up in the springs and the grandkids won’t get poked! 🙂