Queen Anne settee

This project was again something I made simultaneously with some members of my Chippendale miniature group, and I have lots of step-by-step pictures. It was one of the most difficult kits I made, and we all agreed that the instructions were the worst ever.

 

I started with sanding and staining legs and arms, which was straightforward. I have now become really good at it, and bold too - not anxious to break or damage something.

 

Then I had a proper look at the foam and discovered that one bit was crushed.

 

I didn't have suitable foam, and although I as usual consulted my group, nobody could suggest anything that might work. (As it turned out, I didn't have to worry at all because the foam was to be trimmed anyway, and I could cut off the faulty bits. But we are not there yet). 

The instructions for making the back were definitely inadequate, and it took me some time to figure out what was what and how it should fit together. 

The next steps were also poorly described, but finally I figured out how to glue on the foam and how to trim it.

 

The crushed bit of foam went to the seat, and because the seat was more narrow than the back it worked just fine when I trimmed it. 

Now came the stage I had been trying to avoid. The thing is, I had still not decided what fabric to use. The provided standard blue is horrible. I browsed the web for actual Queen Anne furniture and got some idea about suitable fabrics, but I had nothing at hand. I also searched ebay, both for dollhouse fabrics and for full-size remnants. With a delicate miniature like this, the pattern is crucial. I had a vague idea of what I wanted. If I hadn't been making the sofa together with my group I would have probably put it aside and waited for a fabric to happen. Here were some of my options:

My clear preference was the bottom right one, the flowery one, and the fact is that I have used it for an armchair that I have now given away. However, it is too similar to the fabric I used for the Chippendale sofa. My second choice was the dark red silk, the bottom left. It would make a grand sofa, but I considered where I might put it - likely in the ladies' drawing room, and it has pastel colours so that a red sofa won't match. I didn't want a sofa in any other room - I don't have space for a sofa anywhere else.

Finally, I decided on a fabric that is from a completely wrong period, but I just couldn't go on forever. My competitors were already finishing their projects, with lovely fabrics. I felt compelled to go on.

 

I have only used a tiny bit of it before, for a half-scale four-poster bed, in a house long gone. I really like this fabric, and I decided it didn't really matter it was wrong. I could always refurbish it later.

The secret of neat upholstering is, as I have learned from my group, letting the glue set after each step. And then pulling the fabric really tight over the other edge.

I was quite happy with the result. 

 

Next, I had to do tufting. One day I will compile a glossary of words I have learned through miniature-making. Wonderful words that describe various processes and skills. I have done tufting before, but I didn't know the name for what I was doing.

The next step in the instructions was to cover paper templates with fabric to glue to the back and bottom. However, I had previously used a different technique, which I think was simply caused by short supply of fabric. I photocopied the fabric onto paper - or rather, I had done it before, because by now it would have been too late, and besides my colour printer is broken. But I had saved a sheet with this pattern which I had probably intended to use for wallpaper. I am glad I remembered it, and I am glad I had tested it before. It is so much neater this way.

I cut templates from the paper and glued to the bottom of the seat and the back of the back.

You cannot tell the difference, can you?

Then I glued the seat and back together and left to dry overnight.

The day after I glued on the legs and the arms. The former for easy, the latter... I don't even want to describe it.

Anyway, I finished it, and I believe this is the first Chippendale miniature that I don't like. I mean, I am not happy with it. I like what my friends did with their kits, but I don't like mine. I will have to re-upholster it some time later, but right now I have just stored it away. It's unfair, because it is quite sweet and neatly made, but I am not proud of it. Sometimes that's the way it is.

 

Maybe it will fit in some other project.

Chippendale day bed

I have made two more pieces from my incredible Chippendale bargain. One is called a day bed, which I think is an unglamorous name for this beautiful piece, but if this is the correct term, then that's it. There isn't a lot to show because it was just like making chairs. The only tricky part was aligning the back.

As with the sofa, the fabric provided was incredibly ugly. I cannot imagine how someone making these wonderful kits has so poor taste in fabric. Luckily, I had a bit that matched the chairs.

This piece fits well with the chairs and the whole reception room.


(The floor is still not finished, but progressing).


I am less satisfied with this mirror. For some reason, it comes upside down on this page, and I cannot do anything about it. Turn your device 180 degrees.

It was very difficult to mitre, and half of the trim was broken so I have just glued on what still looked like trim. This is the only x-acto piece so far where the kit was damaged. But then I got what I paid for. Incidentally, the manual says that original Chippendale frames were asymmetrical so I can pretend it's intentional.

Anyway, I now know the difference between a mirror and a looking glass. I had always thought they were synonyms, but apparently not. A mirror is anything reflective (for instance, a bronze mirror) while a looking glass must have glass. So many useful things you learn from miniature-making.

Sofa makeover

You can tell it is Saturday and raining because I am finishing some of the projects I started a while ago. I bought this sofa in a charity shop, together with some other furniture.

I don't need another sofa; in fact, I have no space for another sofa, but I had to buy it of course. It had no legs, and I think the fabric is wrong: far too large pattern for a miniature. So the first thing I did was to strip it off.

I had a piece of fabric that I had bought several years ago in a hobbyshop in Norway. All these years I couldn't find a way to use it, but it was just perfect for this sofa.

Now, I have made several sofas in different techniques. My very first sofa was also one of my very first miniatures, and as I look at it now, I am still pleased with it. I have refurbished a modern sofa by simply glueing fabric onto it. I made a sofa from cardboard (now discarded). I made a wooden kitchen sofa from kit. I pained a plastic sofa to make it look nice. And I also made the Chippendale sofa. You would think that I was well equipped to make another one, but each miniature is unique (unless you mass-produce them of course). Therefore I made all the mistakes I possibly could.

I started by making the seat as the least complicated, but of course I should have started with the arms. I considered making padded arms, but gave up, since by that time I had made both the seat and the back, and there was no room for padded arms. I read my description of the Chippendale sofa carefully, and I had the sofa in front of me, even though it wasn't particularly helpful.

I took no more pictures of the process because it was all straightforward so I will just show the final result. I have nice wooden beads that would make good legs, but I decided that you cannot see the legs anyway so I just took small wooden blocks.

To compare, side by side, before and after:

Collecting

I have repeatedly stated that I am a maker, not a collector, but I have recently succumbed to a number of purchases that have taken me off my maker's trajectory. The interesting thing about buying an unusual piece, such as the Marx clock, is that, if you are curious like me, you learn a lot. Sometimes it is something every miniaturist knows, or should know, but I am, as noted, not a collector, and I really don't know much about dollhouse and toy companies.

Last week in Stockholm, a friend took me on an antique shop round, which we usually do when we meet. I was tempted, and I fell. I could have fallen for more, but I showed character. This is what I bought:

I didn't have any particular project in mind, but I couldn't resist it. I think that by now I recognise an interesting piece when I see it.

In fact, the only piece I recognised was the Arne Jacobsen chair, The Egg.

 

I learned about Jacobsen when I was in Copenhagen some years ago, staying in a hotel that had Jacobsen furniture and folders explaining it. They also sold models in 1:6 scale, which I refrained from buying. I had since then been scouting for the Lundby-scale Egg on ebay, and it turns up every now and then, fetching fancy prices. I paid a fancy price for this one, but somehow it is different when you hold it in your hand. It feels authentic in a way you cannot be certain about a picture on ebay. Of course I know that sellers "age" their merchandise, but I am pretty sure that this chair is a genuine Jacobsen from the late '50s. (And if it isn't, I don't care).

Another piece that needed some research was this sofa:

The piece of paper says "Dollhouse furniture, architect J Udd". The person in the shop could not provide any further information. Web search yielded meagre results. "Architect J Udd produced models of dollhouse furniture of good quality in a nice, period-correct '50s design. Produced in the Gothenburg area". Hmmm... helpful. More search. Picture! Just like mine. "Fantastic sofa by architect J Udd. He produced his furniture during the '40s and 50s outside Leksand". Right, slightly contradictory information, but someone in my miniature group confirmed that John Udd made dollhouse furniture and lived in Dalecarlia, not far from Leksand. My miniature-collecting cousin said she had some furniture by Udd, and yet another virtual friend displayed a whole dollhouse of Udd furniture. So now I know that I have a rare piece, but so far I haven't been able to find any further information about the mysterious architect, not on the web, not in the National Encyclopedia or Who Is Who. Investigation continues.

Plastic sofa makeover

Among the many things I bought at the other, cheap flea market was this plastic sofa. I hate pink, and a combination of pink and plastic makes me sick. But I have already made something pretty from a pink plastic house so I bought the sofa to make something nice.

My first idea was to cover it with fabric. But it has all these complicated curves, and although I tried with an old piece of cloth I soon realised that I would never make it as neat as I want it. So I decided to paint it. I could always make another attempt with the fabric. You cannot see it well in the picture, but the paint brought out a subtle pattern on the surface, and see! - instead of the ugly pink plastic I have expensive-looking cream leather. And I painted the base a darker shade.

I have now put it in my retro house, instead of another sofa that I wasn't happy with and was going to replace anyway. I hadn't at all planned to use this sofa, but I think it looks great. I made two cushions to go with it. I have really enjoyed doing this, so I am looking forward to more plastic makeovers.

More furniture improvements

Now that I have figured out how to make the kit furniture nicer it's just a matter of patience. I made a table for the drawing room

A bookshelf

with book rows cut from a magazine

An armchair

 

After which I gained so much confidence that I decided I could make something that was missing from the kit. I took the side pieces from another armchair and used the empty template to make the seat and the back. I used a cheesebox, and because I don't have any elaborate tools I simply cut it with scissors.

 I don't think my sofa is significantly inferior to the one mising from the kit.

 Of course it still looks more like a park bench than a sofa, but wait...

Here is the whole set. I stained and varnished the furniture, and unfortunately the stain didn't stick where there was some glue left on the sofa: there is an ugly patch that I will do something about. The ceiling lamp is a toy from a Christmas cracker, and the table lamp is a chess piece with a plastic tube cap. The carpet is paper, cut from a catalogue and fringed all round