Camper Overhaul Introduction- How to Create Your Own Pattern & Giveaway Winner Announced!

The Winner of our Mother's Subway Art Barnwood Photo Holder is.....

Serena Harkless!!! 

Julie Swagger was the initial name drawn by random.org, but I wasn't able to find her in the bunch's Facebook Likes (which is a requirement for entering the giveaway) and was not able to make contact with her.  Julie, if you read this, please get in touch with me and I'll make sure you receive a gift from the bunch as long as you are connected with us on Facebook =)

And now for some other, just as exciting news.....

WE GOT A CAMPER!!!

Kyle has been talking about wanting to get a camper or a trailer for at least two years.... I LOVE sleeping in a tent, but I also LOVE the idea of having a place where all of our camping gear LIVES- not having to have 18 bins of camping gear in our shed sounds GREAT!  

So, Kyle's dad is a general contractor and stays very busy with clients on a word of mouth referral basis.  He was working for a repeat client last month, and she mentioned that her dad had passed away and had a camper that he had hardly used.  She had it stored at a friends house since he died, and its been sitting there unused, and in great condition ever since.  Somehow they worked up a deal, that if we torn down a shed on her property and disposed of the building materials (wooo hooo, free reclaimed wood!), that we could have the camper FOR FREE!  

Of course we took her up on her offer, and Kyle and I have had fun talking about what we want to do to make it ours while cleaning it, and sealing a few small leaks.  Our plans include:

• Re-Upholstering all the Cushions
• New Curtains
• New Wall Paper
• New Laminant on the Table
• Possibly new flooring (but the current linoleum is in good condition, and it isn't ugly)
• New Vinyl Pin Striping and Branding Decals on the Exterior (more details to come, but I would LOVE your help in giving our little camper a brand)

A Great Start

This last Sunday morning, my mom was in town, so Kyle and I got up early and cleaned and cleaned for 2 hours and now the inside and out look sparkly new.
We then got a great start on the Re-Upholstery.  Because the foam inside the cushions is still in great condition (actually the fabric is as well, its just not PRETTY), we are able to re-use the foam and just create new covers.  But, in order to re-cover the foam, we needed patterns for the new fabric.

How to Create Your Own Pattern

I was fortunate to receive a gift of fabric from my good friend Candace.  She had quite a bit of beautiful Home Decor fabric left from different projects that she didn't want sitting around her house anymore- They are perfect for the Camper!!!

Any of you who know me well, know that one of my downfalls in crafting (and why I am a TERRIBLE BAKER) is that I HATE TO MEASURE!!!

I often figure out ways to do things without having to use a tape measure and math.  This was definitely one of those times!  In order to figure out if I had enough of the fabric I wanted to use for the tops of the cushions, I rolled out the fabric and laid out the cushion covers on top of the fabric- AND THERE WAS ENOUGH!

1.  I started by taking off the original cushion covers.  There are zippers but they are corroded so we had to destroy them to get them to open.  Once we had them off, we cut apart the original cushion covers on the seams- this essentially created two halves that will be sewn together leaving a pocket to slide the foam into.  (Zippers are NOT CHEAP- especially the LONG ones I'd need for this project, so I've decided that I will just sew them closed.  By the time the fabric needs washing, I am sure the foam will need replacing anyways.) I also cut on the seams that created the corners so that I ended up with one, flat piece of fabric.

2.  With all the seams cut, I ended up with a flat piece of fabric.  I laid that on top of my new fabric (opposite finish sides facing each other) and cut around it leaving about 3/4 of an inch of extra new fabric around the other for a seam allowance.

On the edges where they will be sewn together to create a corner, I cut diagonally into the corner at the point where the two edges meet all the way to the old fabric- this way I know how far in to sew to make the corner.

3. I ended up with a finished piece for one side of the cushion.  I will be buying flannel backed vinyl for the other side just like the cushions came (the vinyl is heavy duty to withstand being up against the base plywood the cushions sit on).  I will lay the other half of the original cushion (the vinyl side) that I cut apart ontop of the new vinyl just like I did for this side and cut around it to make the other half!

Here is the finished piece!

Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging.  In my next Camper Overhaul Post I will outline how to sew these all together to create the new cushion cover!  

This method can be used for almost anything you want to create as long as you are ok with destroying the original to create the pattern!  

Have you created something using this method?  We'd LOVE to hear about it- please tell us in a comment below, or leave a link to your project if you Pinned it or Blogged about it!