This 19th Century Prie Dieu needed a new cover. The shape of the chair was rounded, rather than angular as would be expected and this needed to be addressed.
The arrangement of cord trim was also rather unusual and would not be followed for the recovering.
A label indicated that the chair had once been in the ‘smoke room’ at Blackmore End. A nice piece of the history of this 19th century chair.
The fabric on the back and the sides was removed.
The fabric over the top was pulled away. However, even a close look failed to clarify why the chair was the particular shape it was.
The fabric and under layer of padding was freed from the back and folded to the front.
The cord was removed from around the seat and the fabric, along with the underlying padding, was removed.
From the front, the square shape expected at the top actually had a nice, but unwanted curve.
The old fabric covering the back was removed. The stitching holding the fabric to the hair stuffing was also removed.
From the side, the top bulged forward from the back and curved around to the top. Both the back and top need attention.
For the back, the failing hessian support was weak and the aging webbing was sagging. The webbing was removed. New webbing was stretched into place and new hessian secured over it – giving the hair stuffing secure support.
The hair laying over a hessian covered pad at the top of the chair was lifted away. The pad had drooped over to the front. Through ties were made, pulling the front back into place and a new hessian cover was added over the reshaped pad.
The chair was laid on its back and the moved hair was folded back over the reshaped pad at the top of the chair. More hair was added to level up the shape of the back.
Heavy calico was added over the back of the seat. Blind stitches were made into the hair stuffing, pulling the sides in. Blanket stitches were added around the edges, making more tailored and sharp shaping of the back.
Barrier cloth was added over the back and seat, to ensure conformance with current fire safety legislation, followed by the cover fabric was added over the back and seat – lining up the pattern.
At the sides, the fabric stayed straight – except over the lumbar support.
At the back, the cover fabric, barrier cloth and hessian were added over back tack strip along the line of the back. These layers were pulled down and secured in turn to complete the cover.
A new undercloth was tacked into place.
Double piping was added around the top of the back and then around the base completing the project on this now more shapely Prie Dieu.
JBerryUpholstery has many examples of furniture Recovering and Restoration and also Soft Furnishings to add to or complement the finished items. You can see pictures of these in the Galleries – Recovering Gallery, Restoration Gallery, Soft Furnishings Gallery and Transformations.
If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.
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