Patio Swing Recover
/My cousin asked if I could make a new canopy and mattress for her patio swing, and of course, I’m happy to oblige.
This is a large patio swing, and it has a canopy that sits atop the frame to provide shade. The chair can be upright or fully reclined to lay flat. I wish I had room for one of these, this seems like a great way to lounge on the patio in the summer!
A few weeks back we had “first spring,” which meant a few days of nice weather that was followed by “fourth winter,” which is apparently when it gets cold again and then snows for no good reason in late April. Because this project is large (and dirty from years of being outside), this is a garage project, so I started pulling apart the original during “first spring” but then had to wait for “second spring” to continue.
For something like this, where you’d be using the original pieces to pattern from, it’s very important to pay attention to how each piece is put together as you take it apart. I jotted down measurements and notes, and took pictures as I disassembled.
The other critical tip is to label the pieces. I used painter’s tape and a sharpie and before I started pulling anything apart, I labeled each piece and drew arrows to remind myself what piece connected to what. Since I had to set this project aside for a while, this was very helpful because it helped me remember how things went together.
I made a sketch of the cushion and the dimensions of each piece.
As I pulled the cushion apart, I noticed that the cushions were connected by some sort of french seam (I think that’s what it was), so I had to take a lot of notes to wrap my head around how these would go back together.
As I pulled it apart, I also thought that it might be better to install zippers so that the cushion could be removed more easily if needed. Plus, it would be easier to sew since I wouldn’t have to battle the girth of the foam when sewing each section together.
I pulled each of the sections apart so I could get the cushion material out. Then, I fully disassembled two of the channels - the front (labeled 2) and one of the middles (labeled 3). These would be used for my pattern pieces.
Using the dimensions of each piece (for both the cushion and the canopy), I spent some time figuring out the best arrangement for cutting to get the most efficient use of fabric. I ordered all of my supplies from Sailrite, since they had the best price on the fabric (I chose a Phifertex Plus Vinyl Mesh Spring Tweed in Silver). Other supplies I used included Sunbrella 1” binding, #5 YKK zipper chain, and V69 heavy duty UV thread.
I had some extra Dura Skrim pattern material, so I stuck some seam stick basting tape on the original pieces and stuck it to the Dura Skrim to get some good measurements. I didn’t want to use the original pieces as the actual cutting pattern because the seam allowances were creased from being sewn together for years and I was concerned that edges wouldn’t be totally straight, so this step was more about getting my measurements to be more precise. Measure twice, cut once!
For the side gusset pieces and the front/back overhangs, I did stick those original pieces to some Dura Skrim and traced around them with a Sharpie to get new pattern pieces because they had curves on them and I wanted to retain the original shape as best as possible.
That chewed up most of my weekend, so I’ll get to actually sewing something next weekend, weather permitting!