Remember this pod chair? It's molded styrofoam. https://gdurl.com/OtcF
I think I've got enough time now. I acquired some billiard cloth, which is like felt with an acylic backing. My hope is that it is stretchy enough to conform to these curves.
The inside back was padded with 1" foam, so I got more of that. I'm going to glue that down as it was.
My plan is to glue the inside back down, and slightly over the edge at the top. Then, hand stitch the OB on. It was sewn before but that's probably out of the question. The rest is straighforward, the cushion and the apron.
Anyone think I'm nuts? I follow some folks on instagram and this is how I've seen it down. Especially for like the swan chair, egg chair, and other insanely curvy projects.
Ian since no one else is replying - I for one think your a little crazy. A job like that takes many decades of experience to do well. If the chair is for yourself I guess the learning experience will be beneficial.
Otherwise there is nothing about that job that is straight forward - but I do wish you luck and admire your enthusiasm
SA
I think you might be crazy for trying to hand-stitch the OB on. I would sew a complete cover like before (you don't necessarily have to top stitch it if you don't want to). I've done a few of those, and they really went a lot easier than I expected.
The key is to have a good stretchy fabric. Silk film will help the installation. The area under that front deck piece is very forgiving, allowing you to make adjustments that will be hidden.
Ok, well thanks for the input. Wonder why these other people handstitch?
Does anyone else use instagram so I can point you to what I see?
One thing to consider with felt is it is very thin and tends to show every imperfection under it. You are replacing the foam and that is probably a good thing. I imagine the old foam was ruined when taking the old fabric off. When applying the new foam on that rounded frame I once again imagine you will have to piece it together in several places. I'm thinking where the foam is pieced it will show through the felt. Also whether machine sewing or hand sewing, the seam salvage may show through the felt. Just saying you might want to stretch the fabric across the foam and see if imperfections show through before you get too involved.
Just thought of one more thing. You're gluing the felt to the foam, right? Test a spot and make sure the glue does not bleed through.