Refreshed and rested

Home & Garden Completed Projects
1

Hi there crafty buddies!!

So today I’m sharing a project I finished last summer, recreating and re-covering the canopy for my day bed!

IMG_20250410_130049055
IMG_20250410_1300490551920×1440 1.03 MB

Tbh it’s potentially not 100% complete, as I had planned to cover the seat cushions as well, but I haven’t got to that yet (knowing my procrastination it’ll probably be a couple of years yet!) and it may well depend on whether I have enough of the blue fabric left to do it.

Soooo, I got coveted this day bed for my garden for nearly a year after we moved into our new house in 2021… and then finally got it in spring 2022. And putting it together was what triggered my spinal disc issues for the first time, so I then spent nearly a month in bed.

IMG_20220421_144822
IMG_20220421_1448221920×1891 840 KB

On the plus side though, when my beautiful Rosie dog wasn’t nursing me, she was thoroughly enjoying sunbathing on the new day bed, so at least someone was enjoying it.

IMG_20220611_141510_832
IMG_20220611_141510_8321280×1280 199 KB

Unfortunately as you may know if you know me, we lost our precious Rosie not long after I’d recovered, she never let on that she was sick too. But I’m glad to say that our lovely Lady Arwen enjoys the day bed nearly as much as Rosie did, if only to chew things on, and to use as an obstacle to high jump over (even when I’m sat on it…) :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

IMG_20220715_210545_658
IMG_20220715_210545_6581280×1280 239 KB
20221019_152326
20221019_1523261920×1920 1.63 MB

Aaaanyways, so it turns out that beige isn’t a great colour for outside furniture, or for having dogs… My hope was that I could sit and read or sew under cover, my legs enjoying some solar therapy whilst my top half is bathed in cool, buuuuut it was just as bright and just as hot under the beige!! Plus even though I cover it over winter, 2023/4 somehow turned it mouldy and green… ahem… :face_with_peeking_eye:

As chance would have it I came across this post on Reddit, which gave me the inspiration to try a bigger project than I normally tackle, so I got a sharpie out and wrote what the pieces were, and got my stitch ripper and some scissors (I got impatient…), and from those pieces I made a pattern for my new cover :grimacing:

IMG_20240619_123018173
IMG_20240619_1230181731920×1440 666 KB

I washed all the pieces before working with them btw, but they were still pretty disgusting as you can see! I ordered a few fabric samples and ended up getting 6 metres of “Waterproof Outdoor Upholstery Canvas Fabric with UV Resistant and Fire Retardant Coatings” in turquoise, to match the cushions I already had, and some thread and velcro that would be UV stable and strong enough for outside use :grin:

IMG_20240619_122736965
IMG_20240619_1227369651920×1440 626 KB
IMG_20240619_122914035
IMG_20240619_1229140351920×1440 861 KB

IMG_20240619_122712202
IMG_20240619_1227122021920×1440 560 KB

Procrastination got the best of me and after getting most of it sewn together it then ended up in a WiP pile until the beginning of 2025, but then finally I got my arse into gear, sewed it together, did some test try-ons to get the hinge covers in the right place and since I wanted it to be easily removeable (unlike the original which you could only get off by fully unscrewing the mechanism… or with scissors :scissors: ahem) I used quite a bit of velcro instead of having everything fixed in place!

IMG_20250407_134235522
IMG_20250407_1342355221920×1440 813 KB
IMG_20250408_191601501
IMG_20250408_1916015011920×1440 795 KB

And hey presto, I finally got it finished, just in time for Arwen to barf all over the cushions… :laughing:

IMG_20250410_125921013
IMG_20250410_1259210131920×1440 1.28 MB
IMG_20250410_125951200
IMG_20250410_1259512001920×1440 1.32 MB

It’s not perfect, I’m not sure where my pattern was off, but it’s not THE best fit, but hey it does the job!! And yes I did do my back in again not long after I took these pictures, so I was in bed for another month, and the pups again got to enjoy it more than me… typical…

Hope you didn’t fall asleep reading my long arse post!! :yawning_face: :sleeping_face:
Loops x

11 Likes
2

You did a beautiful job replacing that beige cover! Well done. And I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of Rosie. It’s heartbreaking to lose our beloved fur babies.

2 Likes
3

It looks like the type of furniture that would instantly make you more relaxed just by sitting on it. I love your redo. That took a lot of nerve! I would never have the courage to do that! Kudos to you. It looks amazing, and I like the blue better.
PS, love your Rosie pillow. I have one of my beloved Venkman on my couch. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

1 Like
4

What a monumental task! It looks amazing, though. And I hope you’ll be up and around soon to be able to enjoy it!

1 Like
5

Aw thanks, it’s so cute isn’t it, I love a picture pillow. My mum got it for us, I had to hide it for a little while after we lost her as I’d keep seeing it out of the corner of my eye and think it was her until I remembered, but it’s sat on my office sofa now along with my other two mini pillows that a friend got me. Here’s long legs Atlas (otherwise known as Noodles McGee) with them all :wink:

IMG_20260303_141245877
IMG_20260303_1412458771515×1136 477 KB

Fabulous choice for a name btw Venkman :heart_suit:

4 Likes
6

@MistressJennie Aww thank you, even though it’s not perfect I’m still really happy with how it came out, I think I’ll be spending a fair bit of time out there this summer hand sewing up some doggy bow ties ready for Christmas fairs, lol! And I know what you mean, I can see why Mr Loops’ parents went 20 years without getting another dog, the grief is just so intense. But saving more fur babies defo helps the healing I think :mending_heart:

@Bunny1kenobi Well that was last year thankfully, I’ve had a couple of ‘wobbles’ so to speak since then but it’s been about 9 months since I had anything that bad, so hopefully it’ll stay that way!! So fingers xed I do some nice lazing on it with the pups this summer :blush:

3 Likes
7

You’ve done a wonderful job replacing the sunshade on this amazing dog bed! You’re inspiring! This makes me think that I could replace a patio umbrella when the time comes.

1 Like
8

I think the new cover looks fantastic and that color is so striking and cheerful. Beautiful work! I hope you and the pups get to enjoy it a ton this summer…and that Arwen refrains from barfing on the cushions again!

1 Like
9

@TheMistressT Ha ha ha ha it is absolutely a dog bed I have to agree, Rosie was very peeved when I got to use it too! Ooh absolutely give it a try, the biggest issue was just the size of things compared to the stuff I usually sew (trying to avoid making jokey comparisons to my dress size of yesteryear…) but thankfully that outdoor fabric sews really nicely!

@Tapestry Thank you, it does cheer me right up seeing that lovely bright blue, it’s definitely at the top of my list of favourite colours currently. Fingers xed on the cushion barfing… Arwen for some reason has a habit of always barfing on my cushion if she’s gonna, I got up yesterday to find she’d barfed on my side of the living room sofa in fact, gargh!! Atlas on the other hand usually finds us first so there’s a fair chance of catching it :laughing: Omg dogs!!!

2 Likes
10

I"ve worked with some larger things; king size duvet, insulated shades for BIG windows, that kind of thing, but this is next level! Definitely a sew-at-the-dining-table thing for me!

1 Like
11

Ooh those are some pretty sizey projects already, nice!! I think the biggest thing I’d previously tackled was some roman blinds for the bedroom in our old house (they did the job but I struggled with getting straight lines and right angles as I had nothing big enough to cut and measure on!) and a full length massive black wool cloak with purple satin lining I made years ago (I went round the in-laws’ to use their massive dining table for that one!) :wink:

1 Like
12

I dream of having a space for a large cutting table! I work on the floor a lot and thinking back to my childhood, I always have. This is not as easy as it once was. Over the years of having a digital or phone camera I believe I have a fairly comprehensive collection of pics of pets sitting or lying on my projects!

1 Like
13

Oh gosh absolutely, I have a couple of tables in my office/sewing room, but one has my sewing machine and an overlocker on and a bunch of drawers, and the other has my PC on and generally a big pile of fabric and junk from several part-finished projects!! :laughing: I have cutting mats on the PC table, and my monitor is on an arm desk mount, so technically I can have the full length of the table to cut if needed (as long as I can clear the junk off it!) but I still don’t have a huge amount of depth to work with as I have some more drawers at the PC at the back, lol. At least it’s a standing table so I can change the height according to whether I’m typing, cutting, or ironing on it, to save my back!! I love my office, but I’d love to have a room big enough to have a massive dedicated cutting table in the middle :heart_eyes:

1 Like