What I did this summer part 2

Same as the earlier post but this is for the smaller projects I worked on in the last months. I'm taking the time to fix some pieces that didn't end up quire like I had wanted or completing half finished projects. This isn't all I've done just the ones that didn't warrant a post of their own. 

Fixing my trousers 

Some time ago I sewed these breezy summer trousers. I used some nice wooden buttons that I had left over from another project, it looked bohemian. Unfortunately the first time I put them in a washing machine the buttons cracked I assume because of the water. The crack wasn't visible once they dried  but I refuse to have clothes I can't wash and so the buttons need to be changed. I chose some blue plastic ones I had in my jar of buttons (if you are a crafting person you will inevitably end up with various random materials). I then spent an evening sewing them on and expanding the button holes. I like the look slightly less but practicality must take priority. The wooden buttons gets set aside for another project.  

The chair

I've been haunting the local thrift store looking for kitchen chairs for a while now. I got rid of the ones I had before when I moved and have been using folding chairs waiting for one to show up. This has been harder than it sounds like, there is a specific aesthetic I want. Also for some reason most chair-backs end up digging into my spine or shoulder blades after just a few seconds. So during almost half a year I have only found one and that one needed some work. I don't have any before pictures but it was white with slightly peeling paint. The reason it's peeling is that the paint hadn't really stuck to the lacquer beneath. 

I scraped of some of the paint leaving some details white. I plan on getting more chairs and since they will at most look somewhat similar I figure giving them a similar paint job will make them look more cohesive. So the legs and part of the back rest will be with and the seat and the rest of the back will be wooden.

I considered using oil and even bought some but having tried it on a bookshelf I changed my mind. I didn't really like the color want the glossy surface lacquer give. 
Now I've bought a mahogany stain and lacquer I need and it's time to get it done. First sanding of as much of the remaining paint as I could. After an hour and a half and I decide it was done. There is some really diminishing returns to this. 
One question remains will the stain stick to the still lacquered bits? I don't know, but to be one the safe side I'm trying to take as much of it off as I can. The stain does stick to the old lacquer. But I have spent several hours over the last few days to get rid of it. A thing about taking of paint or lacquer is that at almost every point in the process it will look worse than when you started. 

Halfway through staining it I realized that I probably should have done this outside. At least I opened a window. I should also have changed clothes and not worn my only summer dress. 
However I managed not to get any stains on my clothes. I did get some on the white painted bits that I hadn't covered properly. 
I left this to dry and a day later I added a layer of lacquer, this time I did remember to cover the parts that wasn't supposed to get painted before I started, also to open a window before I begun. 
Then sanding some of the uneven spots and a second layer.
Now its just waiting since apparently it takes 10 days to fully harden. Still I was happy with the results.

The stain and lacquer I used were both Herdins, I'm not sure If they can be found outside of Sweden but there are similar stains and lacquers here but I can't vouch for them.

Blue shirt

I originally made this one to test a pattern, then I realized I didn't need two identical shirts so I never made another. The pattern had three-quarter sleeves that I didn't like, wanted bishops sleeves instead. This didn't work they were too short, not by a lot but still, also too tight. The fabric is not elastic at all so the tight cuffs makes it hard to move. Because of this I have barely used it and decided I needed to do Something about it. I'm not sure what yet but seam ripping the cuffs of was a natural first step.
It all made more difficult by the fact that I don't have any more of this fabric. In the end I decided to do it like the pattern had said. Cutting up the cuffs into shorter bands and sewing them back on.

There is a bit of a hack to get pleats even. Put a pin on the seam running down the sleeve, then put another on the opposite side. Divide the part between the pins in two and mark it with another pin. Then keep dividing the distances by two until you have as many pins as the you want pleats. Then take the cuff  and do the same keep dividing in half and marking the centers. It's important that there are the same amount of pins or other marks on both. Then when you attach the pieces simply line up the pins. I used eight so one eight of the sleeve end up on one eighths of the cuff.
Result
The sleeves are good. Though as I said three quarters isn't my preferred length, I get cold easily. That being said I'm still not entirely happy with the shoulders, they are a bit wide. However this is a much bigger fix and setting sleeves is an annoyance and even if I tried I don't know if it would help. So that's for another day. For now hopefully it will see a bit more use I say as if I'm not the one who decides what clothes get used.