DIY Glider

Does the glider on the left look at all familiar to you? Chances are if you were a child of the 80’s or 90’s you spent a great deal of time being rocked in one of these lovelies by your mother. I found one at a thrift store for $15.00 and decided to take the challenge on of making it look beautiful (it was already wonderfully comfortable).

              
                                        Before                                                             After

How To

What you need:

·      Low-grade sandpaper

·      3 cans spray paint

·      At least 2.5 yards fabric

·      Staple gun or small nails

  Sand it.
I didn’t take this too seriously because there were so many parts and it would have taken a long time had I decided to be a perfectionist and get every nook and cranny. I did this by hand with a low-grade sandpaper.

  Paint it. 
     Because there are many parts, I opted for spray paint. The spray paint I used was primer + paint and I ended up using about 3 cans. Whether or not you are an expecting mamma, make sure you are in a well-ventilated room when painting!

  Upholster it.

Unless you absolutely adore the nostalgia of the 90’s fabric, you will probably want to consider re-upholstering the cushions. It’s easy.

·      My cushions were in good shape and clean so instead of buying new foam, I just washed them in the washer after removing the old fabric. The back cushion may require a little unpicking.

·      Purchase a heavy fabric that will wear well with lots of late-night rocking. I found that Hobby Lobby has darling prints in duck fabric (name of fabric) as well as in their specialty home décor fabric. For the back cushion, seat cushion, and ottoman you will need no more then 2 1/2 yards, but check the size of your cushions first before purchasing.

·      For the back cushion and seat cushion:
Place the old fabric on the backside of your new fabric and trace lightly with a marker, giving yourself at least a 1 inch seam allowance. Then cut along your trace mark. Double up the fabric when you do this so you end up with 2 identical pieces.

·      Sew the two pieces together with the front sides of the fabric together and the backside

      of the fabric facing out. Do not sew the back seam yet.

·      Turn right-side in so front of fabric is now facing out and put cushion in.

·      Turn in the raw edges of the remaining side and sew together.

·      For the back cushion, I sewed a ribbon to tie to the glider so it would remain in place.

·      For the ottoman:

Pull fabric tightly over the top of the cushion and nail or staple the fabric to the underside of the seat. I just left the old fabric on and stapled the new fabric over the top.

Total Cost: 40.00 + the bonus of bragging rights and mamma feel-goods