Spring porch-sitting is the best. But I felt we needed to really kick back more in our little rocking chairs. Stan has access to these electrical wiring spools at work, so I had him snag a couple for a quick afternoon project. In all honesty, The work was really spread out over a couple days.. But it could easily be finished in an afternoon.
And then, suddenly, we could put our feet up!
In order to have the stools lay flat Stan hack-sawed off the ends of the long bolts that clamp the stool together. Be sure to tighten them a little first so you don't have to hacksaw twice when you find out the spool is loose. The bolts sticking out on top don't matter, they'll be covered with the padding.
I made the cover very simply. It's basically a huge shower cap. (Gosh, I wish I had a picture of when Stan put it on his head it would liven up this entry.)
I traced a circle around the spool top and added about 5-6 inches on all sides to allow for a small rolled hem (to prevent unravelling and increase the longevity of the cover) and then another inch(ish) hem to act as the elastic encasement. I sewed like a maniac when I made this because no one but you and I will ever see the underside of these stools. Why get futzy over the unseen details?
Whenever I do a project where I have to feed elastic, it always feels like the first time I've done it. I never seem to get the hang of it. I always have to redo something atleast once. My only real advice is to tie your elastic to a crochet hook and feed it through the hem backwards. Oh, and always have more elastic than you think you need.
The completed cover will snap over the top of the spool with a few inches clearance to hold it in place- as seen above.
We stuffed our footspool with plastic bags instead of poly-fill stuffing. it should withstand weather well and it's cheap (free!) to replace if it gets gross. I stuffed one bag with a lot of other bags to create the tip cushion, then put on the cover and stuffed the rest while it was already on so I could make it even and good-looking.
I painted the stem and base the green of our bathroom. Lucky find! it should help it last through weather better. And it's cute.
Loving coffee and footspools. And Stan has his eye on some bigger spools at work, now. Oh boy.
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