Tufting the Cane Chair

I bought this chair and (and 2 like the one peeking out behind it) roughly 4 years ago. I could see the potential for a cute cottage style chair with the cane painted and some great fabric. I had the inspiration but none of the appropriate tools or experience to feel confident taking them on.

So they sat and sat waiting to be "beautified" as my daughter calls it. I even had the fabric I'd use sitting in my sewing room. One day my husband and I decided to start tearing one apart. After about an hour of the two of us pulling staples, it was dismantled....now what?

So it sat some more...

I kept all the pieces I removed and used them as a pattern. It seemed easy enough to piece back together again with only minor sewing. It was the tufting I was afraid of! Lucky for me the buttons were able to be reused. Rather than having to sew them on and try to pull thread through all the layers of foam and board, the buttons have a nifty little brad-like back to secure them in place

Lots of pulling and only a few mis-shot staples later, it looked like this. You definitely need an upholstery stapler to tackle a project like this. A regular staple gun just isn't powerful enough to get through the hard wood and the tip won't allow the staples to get in the recessed area. 

After trimming off all the excess fabric I used an off white gimp to hide the rough edges. 

I had planned on sewing piping but thought this would be the easiest way to finish edges. 

I used a cream matelasse for the body and for a pop of color, a pretty gold and cream damask print on the back and the accent pillow. 

The chair is painted Old White Chalk Paint® with just a touch of distressing. 

I didn't take any photographs throughout the process since I was sort of muddling my way through. Luckily I have 2 similar chairs to recover...though not sure they will keep the tufting or I will do a smooth back. The matelasse is pretty heavy so if I were to redo the tufting I would definitely go with a bit lighter weight fabric. 

I  have a great Bergere style chair that is screaming for a makeover (3 if I count my 2 chairs that desperately need painted and new fabric). Now that I've got the hang of it I don't feel so nervous to take them on. And since we have to use a power tool and the compressor, I know my husband will be on board to help!