Transform a box into a footstool

A footstool is always a useful 'extra', and for many people it is an essential part of relaxing comfortably in an easy chair. You can make one very cheaply, simply by upholstering an upturned wooden box. Providing that the wood is at least 2I in. thick, it doesn't have to be anything special because it will be completely covered by the fabric again for covering the first layer of stuffing.
Allow enough to cut one piece the same size as the base, plus 1 in. all round for turnings, and another piece about 6in. larger each way to allow for the depth of the padding. Calico is used for covering the second stuffing; you will need a piece 1 in. larger each way than the second piece of scrim.
Wadding is used over the calico to prevent the stuffing from working through and also to pad the sides of the box. Allow the same amount as for the calico, plus the depth of the box all round.
For the main cover, choose a dark colour in a proper upholstery grade fabric which will wear well and not show the dirt quickly. Patterned fabrics or those with a raised surface, such as moquette, are often better than plain ones. Allow the same amount as for the wadding.

To attach the various fabrics to the stool, you will need enough in. fine tacks to go right round the edge once with them placed 2in. apart, and four times round with them placed 1 in. apart. A proper upholsterer's hammer is the best thing for attaching these, because it is heavy and has a small head, but a small regular carpenter's hammer could be used.

This method of upholstery involves using hair or fibre as the padding. This is a traditional form of stuffing and, although foam rubber could equally well be used, it is possible to achieve a more pleasing shape with hair. The cost involved in both methods is about the same. If, however, you plan at some future time to re-upholster an antique piece of furniture-where it is essential to use traditional methods in order to maintain the value-it is a good idea to have had some practice in the handling of hair on a small item first.

Materials

Horsehair is the traditional stuffing material but, because it is so difficult to obtain today, and is expensive, it is often mixed with hog hair. Old hair mattresses can sometimes be bought cheaply at jumble sales or from junk shops, and if you wash the stuffing it returns to its original springiness.
Alternatively, use Algerian fibre. This comes from the Algerian palm tree and, provided it is teased out properly, it makes a very good, inexpensive stuffing. For a small footstool with about 3in. depth of padding, you will need 1 z Ib-21b of either type of material.
Twine, a very strong, smooth string made from flax and hemp, is used for making bridle threads round the edge of the box which help hold the stuffing in place. It is also used for stitching up the edge, another process which holds the stuffing in place.

For making the bridles you will need a spring needle. This is a heavy needle, about 5in. long, which is curved at one end so that it can be pulled in and out easily. For stitching the edge you will need a 10in. straight upholsterer's needle, which is pointed at both ends.
Another useful implement which helps form the stuffing into a good shape is a regulator. This is a piece of metal about 6in. long, with one pointed end and one flat end. A kitchen skewer could also be used for this, although if you are planning to do a lot of upholstery it is worth investing in the proper tool-it is not expensive.

Scrim, a loosely woven hessian with flat threads, is used for covering the base of the box to make a foundation for the upholstery, and
Preparing the box Sandpaper the outside of the box if necessary to make the wood really smooth. Then turn it upside down so that the base is uppermost, and chamfer the edges of the base, which will now form the top, all the way round at roughly 45°, as shown in Fig.1. This should be done with a rasp or Surform. It provides a ledge on to which the tacks can be driven and also helps prevent the covering fabric from becoming chafed on the corner.

Cut a piece of scrim, on the straight grain, to fit the top of the box (the surface which was the base), plus Zin. turning all round. Turn under the edges, keeping the folds level with the weave of the fabric. Tack the fabric to the box, spacing the tacks about 2in. apart and 2in. from the edge

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The stuffing

To make bridle threads for the stuffing, thread the spring needle with enough twine to go 1,' times round the stool. The stitch used is rather similar to back stitch. Start by making a stitch in the scrim about 1 in. long and 1 in. from the edge. Pull it through, leaving a 3in. tail. Tie the tail in a slip knot to the main length at the point where it emerges from the scrim (Fig.5).
Go forward and insert the needle about 4in. away, but pointing it backwards. Pull it out about 3in. away from the starting point (Fig.5). Leave the stitch on top of the scrim loose enough
for your hand to be inserted easily. Continue round the whole edge in this way, making sure that a 1 in. stitch falls at each corner. You may have to adjust the length of the bridles to do this. Finish off by tying a slip knot.
Take a handful of stuffing and tease it out thoroughly, removing any lumpy pieces. Put it under one of the bridle threads, working it together well to prevent lumps. Do this for all the bridles,then fill the middle with more stuffing, tease it well to make an even shape, and to overhang the edge slightly by the same amount all round.

Covering the stuffing

Cut a piece of scrim large enough to cover the stuffing and reach the chamfered edges all round with 'in. to spare. Fold this allowance under to make a turning along one side. Place the scrim centrally over the stuffing so that the fold is level with the bottom of the chamfered edge. Put a temporary tack-one that is driven only halfway in, so it is easy to adjust if necessary-in the middle.
Smooth the scrim over the stuffing to the opposite side, turn under the edge so that it is level with the bottom of the chamfered edge and place a temporary tack in the middle. Still keeping the weave of the fabric straight, smooth it out to the sides, turn under each edge and insert a temporary tack in the same way.
Go back to the first side and finish tacking it, driving the tacks into the chamfered edge and placing them about 1 in. apart. Stop about 2in. from the corners. Complete the other sides in the same way.
To finish the corners, cut away the excess fabric at the bottom and tuck the remaining corner under the stuffing. Keeping the shape of the stuffing at the corners as square as possible, form any excess fabric into an inverted pleat by pinching the corners together. Tack down.

Regulating the stuffing

During the covering you may have worked the stuffing out of shape, so this should be evened out with the regulator. Poke the sharp end of the regulator through the fabric, and ease the stuffing along to a good shape. Keep feeling it to judge where there is any unevenness. Only when you are completely satisfied should you begin stitching the edge.

Stitching the edge

This is done in two stages. The first, which is called blind stitching, pulls enough stuffing to the sides to enable a solid edge to be built up. The second stage, top stitching, forms a roll from this section of stuffing. The roll has to be really firm because the covering fabric is pulled over it, and any unevenness would spoil the shape.
To do the blind stitching, thread the upholsterer's needle with a good length of twine. Then, starting at a corner and working along the side of the stool from left to right, insert the unthreaded end of the needle into scrim just above the tacks and about 1 2in. from the corner (Fig.1, point A). Insert the needle into the stuffing at an angle of about 45° to the hoi zontal and with the point offset to the left,; that it will emerge on the top of the stool abo, 1 in. in from the edge and 21 in. nearer the corn (pointX).

Pull the needle through, stopping as sooni you see the eye, so that it is not complete withdrawn. Push it back into the stuffing agaii altering the angle so that it emerges through th side on the same level as where it first entere but 1 in. nearer the corner (point B). You have,i effect, made a V-shaped stitch in the stuffing.
Pull the twine through so that there is a tail c about 3in. left at point A. Tie it to the maii length with a slip knot, and pull tight.
Insert the needle about 2in. further along th edge from point A, slanting it in the same ways before and bringing it out on the same level o top as the first stitch. Bring it down again at a angle to emerge on the side about 1 in. bad Before withdrawing the needle, wind the twin which is to the left of the needle round it twio anti-clockwise. Pull the needle througl completely.

Put the unthreaded end of the needle into thi centre of the stool top to anchor it temporarily Hold the edge of the stuffing with your left hant so that your fingers are on the top and you thumb is on the side, wrap the twine round you other hand and pull the stitch really tight pressing down with your left hand at the same time. Continue working round the edge in this way, being careful not to place the twisted section ol a stitch so that it goes round a corner. To finish, knot the twine carefully and tightly.

Correct any unevenness in the stuffing with/ the regulator, then re-thread the upholsterer's needle with a long length of twine.
Top stitching is similar to blind stitching, the main difference being that the needle is completely pulled through on top of the stuffing so that a stitch can be made on the top. This means that the needle should be inserted straight into the scrim, and not inclined to the left as with blind stitching.

Starting at a corner, insert the needle about 12in1 away and about Zin. above the blind stitching (point A, Fig.2). Push it through so that it emerges on the top about 1 in. from the edge. Re-insert the threaded end of the needle about 1 in. to the left of this point, keeping it parallel to the first entry so that it emerges at point B, 1 in. away from point A. Tie the end of~'~ the twine in an upholsterer's knot as before.
Insert the needle again about 1 in. to the right of point A, and complete the stitch, reinserting it about 1 in. to the left as before so that it is just short of the first stitch. Before' withdrawing the needle completely from the second half of the stitch, wind the twine round it and pull tight in the same way as for blind stitching. Continue all round the edge in this way. The stitches on top of the stool should form a continuous line, and following the line of one thread of the scrim.

Second stuffing

Make more bridle threads round the edge and insert a second, thinner layer of stuffing under these and over the scrim. Take it right up I to the roll and dome it slightly in the middle.This layer of stuffing should be covered with calico or scrim. Cut it large enough to cover the top and come 1 in. down on each side. Without turning under the edges, place it centrally over the stuffing and put in a temporary tack on each side, as for the scrim. It should be quite smooth and tight. Tack completely along the edges to within 2in. of each corner, placing
the tacks about 1 in. apart. Finish off the corners in a double pleat as for the main cover of the dining chair in HOME FABRICS 34.

The main cover

Both the wadding and main cover should be applied and finished in the same way as for the dining chair in HOME FABRICS 34, the tacks
being placed on the bottom edge of the sides of the box.
As a final touch to the pleats, it is often a good idea to slipstitch the folds together at the bottom for a couple of inches. For this you should use a curved needle and sewing thread. Alternatively, the main cover can be made like a boxed cushion and tacked on.

in a fairly light cladding such as ,sin. or 5mm ply, or laminate-faced hardboard. The unit is given its strength almost entirely by the frame, but the top panels should also be reasonably strong or they will sag when you sit on them. Flooring grade chipboard or blockboard Qin. or 1 9mm thick would be suitable choices here.

Since this design is not meant to be attached to the wall in any way, it is suitable for rented flats where you are not allowed to make any structural alterations, or for places where the plaster is crumbling, so that no fixings can be made to the walls.
In a property of this type, you might have to build the seat with a back rest, depending o!i the height of the window sill (this problem does not arise with wall-mounted seats, because you can just hang cushions on the wall). A back rest can easily be incorporated in the design by covering the back of the box with thicker plysay qin. or 6mm-and extending this upwards above seat level; the corners of the ply sheets can be joined with drilled metal strips fastened on with small bolts.

The exact shape of the box, and the number of front-to-rear rectangular supporting frames in it, will depend on the shape of your bay. Any number of extra corners can be added to the basic frame shown in Fig.1 by inserting an extra front-to-rear frame and joining the back rails to it at an angle, as shown in Fig.3. Modifications of this kind will mean, however, that you cannot run the lifting lid right to the back; the same illustration shows how to overcome this by inserting an extra shaped piece of flooringgrade chipboard or blockboard at the back.

Order of work

The first stage in making this or any window seat is to make an accurate scale plan of your bay window and work out the size of the seat you will need to fill it. Next, make a scale plan of the seat frame by adapting the design shown in Fig.1 to your own shape and measurements.
If the window is a bow window with a curved back, you can only make a frame thatfits into the space approximately. This can be disguised by later cutting the seat top to the exact shape of the bow and allowing it to overhang the rear edge of the frame-though you can't do this if you are going to have a back rest as described above.

To give the frame the necessary strength, the front-to-rear rectangular frames should not be spaced more than 2ft or 600mm apart, and should preferably be 18in. or 450mm apart. Don't forget to allow for the thickness of the cladding when working out the size of the frame, and for the combined thickness of the front and rear rails when working out the size of the frontto-rear rectangular frames. If you are using 2in. x 1 in. or 50mm x 25mm timber, these frames will be 2in. or 50mm narrower than the front-to-rear depth of the complete frame.
Once you have planned the frame, estimate the amount of timber you will need to build it and buy this, allowing a bit extra for waste. Buy also some hardboard or ply for covering it, some thicker board for the top, and some hinges for the lifting flap. Butt hinges (which should preferably be bolted to chipboard) will do for a small seat; for a larger one, the hinges will giveextra strength.

You will also need plenty of 2in. or 50mm oval wire nails, and upholstery materials as described in HOME FABRICS 16 or 30.
Start the construction by making all the front-to-rear frames, simply nailing them together at the corners. Then cut two pieces of timber for the top and bottom front rails, measure and mark on them where the frames will fit, and nail them on through the rails. It will make this easier if you get someone to hold the frames upright while you drive the nails into them through the rails.
Next, nail on the two shorter centre rear rails. Note that these are going to have their ends planed off at an angle, so keep the nail heads well away from the parts that will be removed.

Cut the diagonal rear rails slightly over length. Lay the partly completed structure on its flat front and rest the end of one of these diagonal rails on the back (at the moment the upper side) of one of the front rails and slightly overlapping it. Rest the other end of the diagonal rail on the appropriate rear centre rail. This will show you the angle at which the end of the rear rail should be planed off. Plane it down until the diagonal rail will rest flat on the planed surface.

Repeat this with the other diagonal rails, then nail them on to the centre rear rails and the front rails. Both ends of the diagonal rails are also going to be planed off at an angle, so again drive in the nails so that they will not get in the way of the plane. The fixing to the front rails will not be at all strong, because the two pieces of wood only touch edge-to-edge, but adding the end upright member later will brace it. Plane off the ends of the diagonal rails now; the angle at the rear corners should continue the line of the rear rails, and that at the front corners should be parallel to the square ends of the front rails.

Complete the frame by cutting the end upright to length, skew-nailing them in place to give the nails holding power in the end grain, and planning their rear edges to the shape shown in Fig.1. If the cladding you are using is at all frail, or the area of the front of the seat is large, nail a few 1 in. or 25mm thick pieces of scrap wood to the front edges of the rectangular frames, which would otherwise not touch the cladding.
Now cover the front, sides and back of the seat with your chosen cladding-and the bottom, too, if you plan to move the seat about with things stored in it. If the front is of a laminate-surfaced board, so that you cannot hide nail holes in it, put it on with contact adhesive reinforced with decorative-headed 'mirror'screws.

Cut the chipboard top to shape in three sections, upholster these if you are going to, and fasten the end ones to the top with nails or joint fasteners as appropriate. Fit the centre section on hinges to complete the seat.

The second design

The second seat is a simpler construction than the first. It is designed to take much of its strength from the wall behind, and the front framing is extremely lightly constructed. Uprights of 2in. x 2in. or 50mm x 50mm timber support the front of the unit. They should be skew-nailed to a wood floor or fastened with angle brackets, plugs and screws to a concrete one.
This seat is suitable for building around large bays, and so is shown in the U shape suitable for this arrangement. The unusual chamfered halving joints, which can be adjusted to any angle, avoid the need for much accurate measurement in building this complicated shape. If you are building a straight-fronted seat in a shallow bay, simply build the ends of the design and omit the shaped part in the middle. One or more central 2in. x 2in. or 50mm x 50mm uprights, with their accompanying 2in. x 2in. or 50mm x 25mm front-to-back braces, can be added.

The design of this seat gives adequate support for the top and bottom edges of the front cladding (the back is, of course, not covered) but not much for the sides. This makes it suitable for covering with tongued-and-grooved boarding set vertically, or with some other rather rigid cladding. If you plan to cover the seat with something thinner, you should add extra 1 in. x 1 in. or 25mm x 25mm uprights to give it extra support. These should be nailed on through the top rails with long nails and skew-nailed on at the bottom, or alternatively fastened on with proprietary screw joints.
The top boards, with the lifting lid (or lids on a large seat), are fastened on as they are on the free-standing seat. There will be no need for a back rest, though, since the fact that you are building a seat of this design at all presupposes thatthe wall can be used to support cushions.

Order of work

Measure your window bay and adapt the design shown in Fig.4 as already described. Note that you will need three different timber sizes for this design : 2in. x 2in., 2in. x 1 in. and 1 in. x 1 in., or 50mm x 50mm, 50mm x 25mm and 25mm x 25mm. You will also need boarding for the top and front, hinges as before, plenty of 22in. or 65mm No. 10 screws and wall plugs to match, nails of various lengths, and a few really large screws, such as 32in. or 90mm No. 1 2s, to fasten the edge-on halving joints at the front corners.
The procedure for assembling the seat is really very simple. Mark the position of the wallmounted battens on the wall, and of the uprights and floor-mounted battens on the floor. Cut strips of 2in. x 1 in. or 50mm x 25mm timber for the walls-no need to angle the ends-and plug and screw them to the walls. Cut the uprights to length, making sure that the lower end of each is absolutely square, and skew-nail them firmly to the floor (or fasten them with angle brackets). Use a large try square to check that they are dead upright. Fasten 1 in. x 1 in. or 25mm x 25mm battens to the floor between them to provide location for the front boarding. Plug and screw more 1 in. x 1 in. or 25mm x 25mm battens in an upright position to the end walls of the bay.

Mark a cross in the dead centre of the end grain of these last two battens, and another one on each of the uprights zin. (13mm) from the front corners (measured along the sides, not diagonally-see Fig.5). These mark the points where the large screws of the halving joints will be inserted. In the case of an upright which the rail runs across without a break, there should
also be a screw inserted centrally 1 in. (25mm) from the front, but don't bother to mark a cross as no measurement will be taken from this point.
Find the length of each 2in. x 1 in. or 50mm x 25mm front rail by measuring from cross to cross between the wall-mounted battens and the uprights. Cut each rail 1 in. (25mm) longer than the measurement and drill carefully the long way through the end of each 12 in. (13mm) from the end, using a drill bill the size of the shank of the screw. If you are doing this with a hand-held drill, there is a danger of splitting the wood, which can be avoided by drilling the holes before you cut the wood to length. You don't have to drill right through the wood as you will be cutting half the width off later.

Now cut notches for the halving joints. These should be 1 in. deep measured across the 2in. or 50mm face of the wood, but about 14in. (32mm) or slightly longer measured along its length. Consult Figs.4 and 5 for details of the shape; you will see that the reason for the extra length is that the joints are a rather imprecise fit. Chamfer the corners at the ends of each length of wood as shown; this will help the fit.
Drill pilot holes through the crosses drawn on the uprights, then use the large screws to assemble the halving joints as shown in Fig.4.
Complete the frame by fitting pieces of 2in. x 1 in. or 50mm x 25mm timber from front to back to brace the uprights. There should be one piece to each upright, fastened to it with one of the large screws and to the wall-mounted batten behind with a proprietary joint fastener.
The cladding and top boards should be applied in exactly the same way as for the freestanding seat.

The third design

The third seat is the simplest of the three. The design involves virtually no framing, and its strength depends partly on the strength of the boards used, and partly on the wall mountings. It is suitable only for a flat-fronted seat in a small bay; anything larger would require extra framing to support it.
Very strong boards must be used ; 1 in. thick blockboard is a minimum requirement, and this includes the top as well as the front. The pieces should be assembled with 2in. or 50mm No. 10 screws, and 22in, or 65mm screws used for the wall mountings. A certain amount of 2in. x 1 in. or 50mm x 25mm and 1 in. x 1 in. or 25mm x 25mm timber is also needed to provide mounting for the boards. This completes the list, apart from some big hinges and upholstery.

Transform a box into a footstool