Fixing Chairs

 

I wanted to make new seats for some cool, tall outdoor chairs that were given to us when someone moved to a new home.  Our friends and family know that I take in homeless yard furniture, so we have quite a collection of chairs and tables now.  Brandon was skeptical that I would ever fix these chairs, and gave me looks every time we had to move them about.  I could tell he had doubts about my chair repair motivation or abilities, so I was determined to finish this project in time for pool season and the firefly party.  

One of the chairs that needed a new seat is this nice lounger.  I love a good lounger for pool side relaxation, so I hated to see it go to the trash if I could repair it enough for a second life at our house.  

I did some reading on the interweb, and shopping at the amazon, and purchased a roll of lawn chair webbing, and five spools of different colored parachute cord.  

After some experimentation with wrapping techniques, I settled on three long wraps alternating with three short wraps, and used nearly two hundred and fifty feet of para cord for each chair!  The cord is supposed to be strong enough to hold seven hundred and fifty pounds, so unless we all pile up in one chair, it should hold.  The cord is flexible and comfortable to sit on too, so the chairs don't need seat cushions.  

I didn't get as fancy with the lawn chair webbing for the lounger, and just wrapped it around and around until the whole seat was covered, then I tied the end to the chair.  

It works!  

The first chair was a struggle to wrap because I didn't have my technique established.  The second chair was fun because I knew what I was doing.  The third chair was a bit tedious to wrap, and by the fifth chair I was very thankful that it was the last one.  Done! 

Wendigo, don't they look pretty?  

Each chair has about twenty five dollars worth of para chord tied up in it.  I think the cord would last longer if I could find a way to keep the chairs out of the weather when they aren't being used.  We have a tall table given to us because the glass center piece was broken.  Brandon cut a wood replacement and I painted it so it will last longer in the elements.  My newly fixed tall chairs work wonderfully around my newly fixed tall table!