Underneath the light green fabric that was wrapped around the back of the chair were several pieces of clothing. There were pieces of khaki fabric that were probably from old men's shirts or pants, and then there were these cool vintage ladies' slips!
The slips and pieces of fabric were wrapped around the back to provide padding for the back of the chair. I also discovered that the top rung of the back of the ladder-back chair had been sawed off to make it a vanity chair.
Here is one of the ladies' slips. I can just imagine the lady who put the chair together finding old garments to make up the padding for the chair. Original repurposing! American ingenuity!
So this is what the chair looked like underneath. You can see where the top rung was sawed off. I love the rustic-ness of the chair! I wonder if the roping is original.
And this is what it looks like now. I have been making rag curtains for my Etsy shop, A.C. Junk 'n' Stuff (acoker59), and thought a rag curtain bottom would look cute on this chair. I cut strips of old curtains, burlap tree wrap, sheets, and tulle and tied each strip to jute twine, which was then tied to the chair legs.
I cut and fitted the bottom of a burlap coffee sack over the back, trimmed it to fit, and sewed up the sides and bottom with black embroidery thread. I LOVE how it turned out!
This chair will be adorable in someone's closet or dressing room!
Now with a price tag of $45, it sits in my booth at Uniques & Antiques waiting for the perfect buyer.
Maybe Raggedy Andy will help sell it. Or it will help sell Andy? I wish I had unwrapped those pieces from around the leg. Wait a minute. . .do I really want them to find new owners? Sometimes it's really hard to let treasures go. . .
XOXO