ivar, better
when i saw blair’s yarn-wrapped hangers via readymade, i immediately added them to my mental to-do… but i wanted to go bigger. i knew i had a good stash of bright yarns left over from my felted bowl phase, and i pictured stripes on a stool or small bench.
i went to ikea, and i couldn’t find a stool or bench that i liked. i started nosing around the dining chairs, and i spotted ivar. it’s made of pine and cheap ($19.99). it wasn’t really what i was looking for, but i brought an ivar home anyway. last friday night i poured a big glass of wine, logged into hulu, and went to work.
i put the chair together but left the seat off so i could do the seat “base”. then i wrapped and wrapped, for hours. i wrapped only the horizontal pieces of the chair, as i wanted the wood to continue to be visible — i liked the contrast of smooth and hard to soft and tactile. with the first loop i made a knot, and when i was ready to switch colors, i knotted the new color to the old, and wrapped over the tails. i didn’t use any glue — i wasn’t quite sure i was going to like the outcome, so i wanted the color to be temporary if i hated it.
but i love it.
January 19th, 2011 at 6:59 am
it totally transforms the chair! you are a genius!
January 19th, 2011 at 7:26 am
This is just about the coolest chair I’ve ever seen. I have these old stodgy chairs from my grandfather’s law office, and I might try to do something similar to lighten them up.
January 19th, 2011 at 7:44 am
so fun!
January 19th, 2011 at 7:50 am
I love it too! It’s such a good idea. I’ve never seen anything like this before – I’m sure you could sell them!
January 19th, 2011 at 7:57 am
ivar MUST be much happier!
jen! i LOVE this!
brilliant, friend! xo
January 19th, 2011 at 8:26 am
This is awesome!! Love the colors and the simplicity. A very happy chair.
January 19th, 2011 at 8:34 am
as soon as i saw the first picture i was smitten! it seems tribal/modern/gorgeous!!
January 19th, 2011 at 8:41 am
Love it! You are so, so clever.
January 19th, 2011 at 8:55 am
ooo – i love it too.
January 19th, 2011 at 9:31 am
oooo!
January 19th, 2011 at 10:04 am
oh i love it! it’s so you!
January 19th, 2011 at 11:36 am
amazing
January 19th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
yes, ivar must be so happy and cozy with his new rail warmers. i love it. you’re as brilliant as the chair!
January 19th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
looks great! coincidentally, i’ve been on the lookout for a dining chair to wrap in fabric to use as a bedside table.
January 19th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
this is incredible!!! you are incredible!!! it’s so you! xoxo
January 20th, 2011 at 9:41 am
LOVE this Jen!!!
genius!!!
ox
k
January 20th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
complete and total awesome-ness!
I had earmarked the hangers for a “someday” project too, but you have def upped the cool factor with this!
January 20th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
very, very cool!
January 20th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
This is so incredibly GORGEOUS!
January 20th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
i love it too!
and you are inspiring
January 21st, 2011 at 10:42 am
I love it!!!! Great colors. It turned out absolutely fabulous.
January 22nd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I love this so much. So simple, yet such a wonderful effect. (pinned it!)
January 24th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
still wanting to swipe your chair. great job.
January 31st, 2011 at 8:25 am
I LOVE this!! Love it…..this would be so fun to do on so many things….Thank you for sharing this!!
January 31st, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Jen I really really love this.
What a great splash of colour on these grey and dark days.
xox
February 4th, 2011 at 10:32 am
gorgeous!
July 28th, 2011 at 11:47 am
A beautiful chair and a lovely coincidence! I bought a couple of Ivar chairs last night, with a plan to paint/decoupage them. The square frame under the seat of one of the chairs splintered in transit and I was thinking of a way to fix it. I came up with the same plan, to wrap the frames, including the back horizontal frames with yarn. While googling for inspiration, I found this, perfectly as I had imagined! I will send you a picture of my chairs when complete. Thank you!