The Creative Imperative: slipcovered barstool

I have been looking for bar stools for our kitchen for almost 5 years now... I finally found some at Goodwill for $6 a piece!

They were green, but the perfect height. I took them.

Our kitchen is teeny so I wanted something that would tuck away completely and almost hide when we had them pushed in. Or so I thought. I spray painted the legs gray, did another coat in white, and then sanded them to distress them. But they were just TOO plain.

If I'm having a bad day or I just feel kind of gross I put a skirt or a dress on. I don't know what it is, there's just something about a skirt that makes me feel a little more special. I think you see where I'm going with this... Little wallflower bar stools, I'm about to upgrade you.

And here they are in all their knife-pleated glory (this was my first attempt at knife pleats, so I'm a little excited)

I love them. I named them Nellie 1 and Nellie 2. Let's be honest, they look a little like the Nellie Olesons of bar stools

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I've had this fabric for a while... I bought it at IKEA in the "you know there's something majorly wrong with this thing we're trying to sell so we'll make it really cheap" room. They were $3.99 curtains that had some holes in them, but I loved the color and texture so I bought them.

I made some piping in white canvas.

Then I pinned the top part of the slipcover inside-out on the bar stool and sewed it, using my zipper foot.

I ironed the pleats into the fabric, using a piece of cardstock (it was actually a coupon) as a template.

Then I pinned the piping and skirt onto the main piece and sewed it with the zipper foot.

I thought I had sworn off the zipper foot and any kind of piping or welting after sewing the slipcover for my sectional. I guess it's been long enough since that project that I forgot how much I struggled with it. These "slipcovers" were actually a lot easier.