footstool, recovered

When my parents came to meet their first grandchild they brought with them a footstool that was my late Grandma Lillian's. I actually do remember a number of interactions with it as a tiny kid. It was just the right size for play.

It came to me disassembled and in a grocery sack.  The original cover was hooked or needle punched but has not fared well over the last thirty years. Initially I thought I would try making something similar to recover it, but seven months later I just wanted to have the thing covered at all.

I decided to sew a quilted cover from a vintage piece of linen. For the backing I used some quilting cotton.

 There are two layers of batting in the middle.

 I used a blind hem stitch to hold the slightly smaller batting in place to flip the piece right-side out.

Once I made the cover panel, I realized it could use a little more cushion.  So I made a little round cushion with kapok inside.

 This is about the time I remembered my giant sewing breakthrough: if something has an irregular shape, sew it together before cutting out the two layers. It will save the headache of trying to match the pieces up and make for a nicer finish, over all.

 Sewing the edge closed with my favorite thread.  I love using this hand quilting thread for pretty much anything I am sewing by hand.  I sewed my whole wedding dress with this spool. [Ada found it as a puppy and couldn't resist a gnaw on the wood.]

To quilt the cover I decided to use some wool yarn and knotting.

I inserted a cord around the outside and stitched the circumference  to keep it in place. As I was putting it on the stool it was clear that another inch in the diameter would have made life a bit easier, but I got it all together in the end.

It was finished just in time. Glenn has begun to pull himself up and is happy to be able to stand independently. It feels pretty special to have Glenn playing on this newly-declared heirloom.