For months now, I have been coveting a wonderful chair swing I saw on Pinterest when I first joined. It stole my heart! After searching for a good hour, I came across the source as hamanica on Etsy, a company in Nicaragua. Hand knit by locals, this lovely thing was ridiculously inexpensive, but after shipping costs would probably cost me an arm and a leg. Anyway, with these being mostly one of a kind, I didn't think I could get the same gorgeous colors and workmanship. I don't like buying and guessing what I will get. So, I have finally gotten started on making one for myself. If I get this one right, I will do it again in these gorgeous greens, purples and blues with the beautiful lacey front border, and even make some incredible pillows to match.
My own attempt is going to be made using some old macrame yarn which I am wrapping with fabric strips. The yarn is a four-ply cotton, which is strong but soft. In yet another lifetime, I did a lot of patchwork, so I have lots of small yardages of fabric to do something with. I have chosen a few of those and have torn them into 1" wide strips. Each strip gets wrapped around the yarn before I stitch it. Using #35 gianormous needles, I get 2 stitches to the inch. It's pretty slow work, but becasue of the size of the needles and lack of stretch, this is a bit hard on the hands. However, because of the size of the stitches, the fabric builds rapidly. Thank goodness! I am just aiming for strong enough to hold and colorful, but I think it will be very cool when finished. I will keep you posted on my progress!
How beautiful these chair swings are! And to make your very own combining expert skills and lovely materials - a project of love and worth your while! Looking forward to seeing it grow...
ReplyDeleteI am doing the support cords now. It is tricky because of the amount of stretch in the seat, and how long to make them. I want it just long enough for a taller person than myself to use it without bumping their head on the supporting "pole."
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