Third Incarnation

We’ve had this garden swing for about a decade now. It worked wonders getting our little ones to sleep, as I would quietly sing “(Would You Like to) Swing on a Star”… Within the first few years, however, the fabric was shot. The weather and crazy winds in our part of the world blew the the frame right out of it’s brackets, and the roof right off! So, I attached some (ugly but effective) braces to hold the roof frame in place, and set about to do something about the roof and cushions.

Around that time, my husband’s parents were moving and getting rid of their swing. I scavenged their comfy cushions (parts of their swing were missing, so that’s all I could really use), and bought some bold fabric at IKEA and started to revive things…

(Apologies for the pixel-ey image… It’s the only one I could find of this stage…)

I made a plain base for the cushions to sit on. Sewed a roof that held in place with a LOT of Velcro. And constructed some slipcovers to go over the cushions. Of course, the IKEA fabric was not designed to be used outdoors… so within a few more years, that all started to deteriorate as well. =/

This year I got smarter. After selling rid of some of our patio furniture, we were left with some outdoor fabric covered cushions that I added some Velcro attachments to… and viola – new, durable seating! Then I purchased some outdoor fabric on sale (a mere $6 per meter!!!) and constructed a new roof – and armrest pillows!

The base could use a good painting, but we’ll get to that later… I love that the pillows attach right to the armrest – so they don’t move around/fall off AND so you can lay down on the swing like and use it like a hammock! Yay!

I can’t wait for some not-so-wet weather so I can make use of my wonderful swing (and paint it!) once more. Well, that’s what I worked on this week. Aside from the endless garden weeding. 😉 Hope you’re having a wonderful start to your summer, and that you have a swell weekend, ya’ll! =)