Thread Wrapped Stool

I LOVE WICKER! Phew, I am so glad I got that off my chest…again. A month or so ago I was so excited to find this little bentwood cane foot stool at my local thrift stool for $12.

Everything about it is just so good. I debated using it in Cara’s Office for as long as I could. I mean, I really wanted it. But ultimately my good Samaritan decorating philosophy won out.

I have become a wood purist from the early days of Vintage Revivals when I spray painted everything, just because I could. It is hard for me to change something that I already love. But to keep this table wood and have it by the velvet couch (that is already the darkest part of Cara’s room)  it was just too heavy.

It needed a lighter brighter makeover. I have been super inspired by all of the colorful thread wrapped antlers, for well, years. So that was my jumping off point. Then as I was googling “Thread Wrapped Antlers” for different color combos this picture from Feliz came up and it was EXACTLY like I was picturing. I love/hate when that happens.

When you are spray painting, you first step is to thoroughly clean your piece. If you don’t do this your paint will bubble and crack and look really horrible.

After I wiped everything down I took the top off of the table because I did not want to paint the woven canning on the top.

When you are painting something that is rounded and/or has a lot of dimension you want to make sure that you hit it from every angle,  otherwise you will end up with spots that are unpainted.

To paint the top of the table, I used a piece of cardstock that I bent along the edge of the canning to shield it from the paint.

I didn’t worry so much about the underside of it and just sprayed it lightly to make sure that there were no drips that leaked through to the front.

If you have a few, sandpaper is like an eraser. Use a light grit (like 220) and an even lighter hand to remove any mistakes.

Head to your favorite craft/sewing store for embroidery floss. (They have great color selections at Michaels and Joann’s!)  For the stool we used every bit of this thread, and to be honest could have used more. So I would recommend overbuying and then returning what you don’t need.

Start by tying a knot around your stool. Trim off the excess.

Wrap your string evenly around the wood. This is sort of one of this simple but mind numbing activities. To make it look fantastic you will want to stack the strings as your winding them (instead of going all willy nilly). Use your fingertips to push the threads together.

Add in another color by tying the ends of the 2 different colors together and tucking the knot underneath as you are wrapping.

For a more uniform look you can mirror the thread on both sides of your stool. Or if you want something that is a little different, you can do them totally differently.

This idea is so simple, you can thread wrap anything! Like a lamp,  or a picture frame, or any thing with legs (except your children, because of the whole “cutting off circulation” thing.)

psst! if you have any left over thread, this project is perfect! And if you missed the tutorial for the Plywood Pinwheel Art you can find that here!