In Search Of Ikat Fabric: A Chair-Upholstery Saga
We have a really sweet, dark blue accent wall in our new one-bedroom pad. Since we’ve upgraded to a new luxury apartment, I’ve been itching to upgrade my poor furniture: if it’s not from Ikea, then it’s a Craigslist, second-hand, or antique item.
Take my favorite accent chair, for example: Unknown in its origins, the chair was purchased in my first or second year of college when my mom and I were passing by the landmark restaurant “The Poodle Dog” in Fife and spotted an antique liquidation sale. At the time, it was comfortable and the dated fabric was perfectly fine to a poor college student as I was.
Still comfortable, my favorite little antique accent chair is begging to be reupholstered.So now to tie-in my title to this chair. Basically, I want to reupholster the chair using a fabric called “Ikat”. It’s a central Asian technique of dying the strands prior to weaving them. I love its ethnic story, and its geometric, [in my opinion] classy, simple, and, well, gorgeous patterns and colors!
The first time I saw it, I thought: Yes, this is the modern, sophisticated, somewhat hippy look that I have been seeking, and I want it in navy or indigo to go with my beautiful blue accent wall!
The problem? All of the fabric and patterns that I’ve found that has suited my discerning tastes (see “A Vision Turned…” blog) has been irretrievable due to uncompromising obstacles. (For more information about this central Asian hand-dyed fabric, you can check out these sites:
www.uzbek-craft.com
www.uzbekalive.com or
http://www.mekongrivertextiles.com/what.html ;
as well as countless blogs- I feel like I’ve Googled ALL of them. The whole world is looking for this elusive fabric!)
Among the obstacles, take this chair from Urban Outfitters, for example:
Absolutely PERFECT fabric- THIS is the color and pattern that I envisioned all along to upholster my dear and trusty accent chair.
Naturally, I called Urban Outfitters’ Customer Service and asked them if it was possible to just order the fabric.
No.
Could I order some extra fabric because I want to make pillows for the chair that I already “purchased” from you?
No.
Would you mind letting me know from whom you purchased your fabric, as I would like to contact them for quotes and shipping.
We do not give out our vendors’ information.
Not even a name?
No.
At this point, I realized that the conversation wasn’t going to move along any further, and I told her that I would just “return” my “purchase”, thank-you-very-much.
My project was duped by Urban Outfitters’ Customer Service.
I found my next “perfect Ikat fabric”- and my next insurmountable obstacle- at the website of Madeline Weinrib Atelier: http://www.madelineweinrib.com/
All of her fabrics are just stunning. She’s been referenced in many blogs and articles concerning Ikat. The obstacle? An email and a reply from a MW representative:
ME:
Hello,
I am interested in the “Blue Collins” fabric. I will need somewhere between 1 and 3 yards, 3 yards being on the very high end, and depends if I want to upholster a matching pillow for my small accent chair. If the fabric is priced differently based on the pattern, I would also like to know about the “Navy Luce” and the “Blue Daphne”, which are my two other choices if “Blue Collins” is unavailable.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
Hello Jill-
The “Blue Collins” is an Ikat fabric as well as “Navy Luce” and “Blue Collins”.
They are all $250/Yard with a 5 yard min. The are 70 Silk and 30 Cotton.
Best-
A
I decided then and there that $1,000 was NOT within my budget for reupholstering my accent chair.
Sheesh.
Next idea: DIY fabric paint and stencils, or iron-on T-shirt transfers onto my own white/cream fabric.
Ok, there isn’t a great “Ikat Stencil” anywhere (it kind of defeats the purpose of Ikat patterns), but I DID find and manipulate this Damask pattern to suit my purpose:
( http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Products/Crafts-&-Scrapbooking/Fabric-Transfers/T_Shirt-Transfer_08938.htm )
The PLAN – Pro’s & Con’s:
PROS: I can make it how I WANT it to look, finally! Cost-effective solution; All work is done “in house”.
CONS: Man, that’s a lot of work for one accent chair; Durability? Can I trust the ink from an inkjet printer to withstand being sat on by people and pets without looking immediately worn? Unknowns still exist- what kind of fabric would be best, and how long is it going to take me to find it (not to mention cost)?
So, after weighing the pro’s and con’s, I decided to keep this DIY option available but was not particularly enthusiastic to tackle it until all other options were exhausted.
New/Alternate plan: considering the potentially high cost of fabric by the yard, maybe I can find alternative uses in the fabric used for bedding, drapes, shower curtains, and anything else with an indigo, Ikat pattern.
But even this attempt left me underwhelmed by the options. I was starting to believe that maybe the pattern that I was looking for really didn’t exist in any practical realms until:
BINGO!Rose Tree Linens ( http://www.rose-tree.com/) listed these items as discontinued/clearance, and I saved a lot of money (read: hundreds of dollars from what the bedding, curtains, etc were originally priced) . FINALLY a fabric that fits my vision AND my wallet!
To boot, their customer service was some of the friendliest I’d ever experienced, and the items were shipped almost immediately after I placed my order. To make all of these discoveries even more delicious, I found a matching throw pillow to match on amazon.com.
Next, I have to hunt down the tools needed to FINALLY begin the actual project. I’ll let you know how the chair turns out (… maybe even post a little “how-to”)!
SUCCESS:
15 days after my original post (“Ikat- a rare insect breed or…”), in which I describe the pains to which I searched for a fabric for reupholstering my chair, I have finished it!!!
The chair before:
I can’t believe the fabric came from a shower curtain… The lengths a person has to go through to achieve such a simple task!
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As an afterthought, I just encountered a site with BEAUTIFUL Ikat fabric called Birmingham & Co.