Guest Post: Chayet from Nothing But the Wax, Part II - DIY

Who has a few pieces of gorgeous pagne/wax fabric laying around that you love but don't have a clue how to use?  (Perhaps Sarah or I even gave you one of those pieces as a gift at some point...) 

If you're hesitant to wear those amazing prints, why not sit on them?

"Pimp My Wax" is Chayet's series of nontraditional wax fabric tutorials. Check out this great DIY that she put together for us as Part II of today's Guest Post series:

Today, I'm going to show you a very orange-y Pimp My Wax.  The idea was to transform a very mundane and damaged chair into something original and colorful.  Here are the stages to do the work at your home:

I found this chair in front of my flat on the trash premises. The seat was damaged but I knew I could make something of it. As for the pillow, a good friend gave it to me because she did not want it any more.

STEP 1: I began by figuring out the size of the pillow. You can just put it on the floor, take a pencil and follow outlines, making them larger than the actual pillow to allow for sewing seams. Then, I cut two pillow shapes from my Vlisco fabric. This fabric, I love it!! Real love at first sight! (Editor's Note:  OH YES! Man, do we love Vlisco at Mama Congo...)

STEP 2: Then, I sewed the outlines of the two pieces of fabrics face-to-face.

STEP 3: I added a zipper that I inserted by hand. It is so much simpler to have a pillow with a ZIP and to be able to change quickly covers or even simply wash them.

STEP 4: Next, I tried to sew and reinforce the seat of the chair. I used plastic thread - you know these threads which one uses to make bracelets in pearls - and I sewed by trying to tighten holes to avoid extensions when one sits down on it.

STEP 5: To give a little of freshness and life to the chair, I painted it in orange. I put several coats of paint, because I wanted something of really eye-catching.  No need to go to buy a big can of paint: a small 50 ml jar is enough. (France readers: I used a small jar of the mark (brand) Colours in the colour "Papaya", bought for 2,90€ at Castorama.)  For the best finish, I advise you to add a coat of varnish to shine and to protect the paint and wood.

STEP 6: To finish, I stuffed my cover with the pillow but also with the inside of another old pillow, so that it was full.  I made sure that the whole chair frame - including the seat - was painted as well.

Here is the finished result:

I am very satisfied with it! It brings a pop of colour and funky feel to my lounge. After having convinced my love that a red sofa in a yellow lounge would be very great, no need to argue to convince him that an orange chair would be very cool in the mix!!

I hope that this Pimp My Wax will also give you ideas, to recycle and give a second life to your furniture and other used objects!

Okay.  I'm going to go find some objects to wax-ify now.  How about you? 

For more Pimp My Wax ideas, go here.

Thank you, Chayet!