Friday, May 11, 2012

I Love My Job


How about some old school garage band punk for a Friday workday in the shop? I watched VH1 It Might Get Loud last night and looked up this old Jack White (The White Stripes) recording from when he was a teenager apprenticing at an upholstery shop in Detroit. I had read an article about this early colaboration, but didn't know they recorded an album. They worked all day, then swept up a place large enough to make some music.


I play lots of music while I work. Well, not personally, but it plays on the stereo computer. 

The White Stripes are a favorite from when I had to borrow all my son Billy's cds to play before internet radio or spotify. 
Funny story about Billy and The White Stripes...My mom got me a guitar for my 46th birthday. I struggled to learn a few chords and practiced until I could haltingly strum through one song. I sucked. Billy picked up the guitar one day and mastered it in like...an hour. (I gave him the guitar.) The first thing he played for me made me think he was a little slow in the head though. Duh da duh duh da duhhhhh duhhhh....
Then I heard this on the radio and had to laugh. He'd figured out the first seven notes of this song:


This post is dedicated to all of my creative upholsterer cohorts everywhere!


Oh, and go kiss your mother.
Happy Mother's Day!


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Friday, May 4, 2012

Welt Cord Tutorial

It's that time of year to update outdoor cushions, change out the sofa pillows, and put on the spring slipcovers! 

When sewing a pillow or cushion with covered welt cord (piping), you can join the ends by simply lapping one side over the other and sewing down, or you can actually sew the ends together for a nice professional finish.



It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. Refer to this post to see how I cut the welt cover in strips and join them.
(for single welt, I cut the strips 1 1/2")


Have you tried this method? How do you sew welted pillow covers? Would love to hear from you!

Have an awesome weekend!

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