Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 12.
To upholster this seat, obtain some curled hair from an old mattress, and spread it over the top board, having first tacked a piece of unbleached muslin along one edge of the seat. When a sufficient quantity of the hair is on the board, draw the muslin over it, and tack it down along the other edge and at the ends. Over this the fabric can be drawn and tacked.
The end boards are covered with plain goods of the same color as the seat and flounce, and the edges are bound with gimp an inch wide, held down with large, oval-headed upholsterers’ tacks painted black. Across the back of the seat (the part that goes against the wall or window-base) plain goods can be drawn and tacked, or it may be left open.
The front is provided with a flounce made by shirring the goods on a stout cotton cord and tacking it along the front of the top board, then covering the tacks with gimp and nails, as shown in the drawing. A coat of paint or shellac at the inside will finish the wood-work, and it will then be ready for use.
A Shoe-box Seat
A shoe-box seat is easily made and upholstered, and will be an acceptable addition in any bedroom (see Fig. 11). The sides are eighteen inches wide, thirty-six inches high at the back, and twenty-two inches at the front. The seat and ledge under it are each eighteen inches square, and the boards forming the back extend down to the floor. The parts are put together with screws and glue; then the seat is upholstered with curled hair, as described for the window-seat (Fig. 9).
The framework for this seat could be made from a box with the bottom and one side removed. The arms should be cut from a separate piece of wood and screwed fast, as shown in Fig. 12 by the line along the shaded side.
Plain or figured goods may be used for the covering material. It is drawn and caught with tacks at the edges; then the joints may be hidden with gimp and large-headed tacks. If it is possible to procure some English bellows-nails they will add an artistic effect to the trimming. If they cannot be had, very good imitation heads may be cut from sheet-lead with a pair of old scissors or shears. After beating them about the edge to flatten them and lend a hand-forged effect, these disks should be attached to the wood with long, slim finishing-nails of steel wire, which, when driven into the heads, become imbedded in the lead and are not seen. They should be painted black with a solution of shellac in which some dry lamp-black has been mixed to the consistency of cream. Apply with a soft brush.