Continuing Quarter Inch Saga....

Yesterday I gave you the patterns that you need for this set. Today I will show you how to finish it.....I still can't find any of the originals and this is not how I did them originally. This is going to have to do. Twenty years is a long time....

You will need a ruled index card, some very thin batting or flannel will do in a pinch, but doesn't work as well because it ravels. You will also need a small piece of cotton fabric. No synthetics please! They don't take to glue and you will just get frustrated! You will also need a pair of very sharp small scissors to trim edges and corners as you go. Oh and you need white glue.

Basically, the dotted lines on the pattern are the fold lines. You will cut a slit between the arms and the back of the pieces to that point. The arms and the back are twice as long, because they fold over on themselves to make them thicker. First fold the arms and back and make sure that they are straight and the bottoms match.

You will cut pieces of the batting to the exact width and not quite to the seat line on all of the arms and backs separately. Glue these to the card as in the first photo. Also cover the balsa seats with a single layer of batting and trim to size.

You will need to cut a small piece of fabric to fit over the fold lines on the rear of the couch/chair. This is to cover the tiny gap that forms between the arms and back at the corners. See the upside down chair back in the first photo.

Always keep in mind that you need to have just one layer of fabric wherever it is glued to the foundation. That will keep things from getting to bulky.

Wrap a piece of fabric around the balsa/batting seats. Trim so that there are no overlaps as you go. See the first photo.

The back and arms are a little more complicated. This is the part that I can't remember how I did long ago...Take a rectangle of fabric about 1/4" larger all around than the center back of the piece. You have to allow for bending and have a tab of fabric to fit around to the underside. Cut a horizontal slit at the place where the arm and back will meet. Glue the bottom front to the index card and then pull the top half around to the back. Miter the upper corners and glue them around to the back. Make sure that the bottoms of the folded piece still meet. This is the chair on the left of the first photo.

Do the same slit for the arms, but this time fold the bottom front back under so that it will be in the corner of the chair. This is the couch, second from the left. You are seeing the back side. The back is folded and glued in place. The right side is the first step. The left side is what the finished inside looks like. The next step will be to glue it down, folded.

When you finish the back and have all of the pieces folded double, wrap the back/side piece around the cushion piece and glue.
After you have them looking like the red sofa and chair, you can run trim up the front where the fold is on either arm front. You can also run trim or ribbon across the front to indicate a cushion edge.

I am going to keep looking. I know that the other version was much easier. When I figure it out, I will let you know.

This will have to do for now....

See you tomorrow.