Instead of a wood or wallpaper border, use leftover fabric to make a gathered-fabric chair rail. Budget decorating expert Susan Wells shows how to create this unusual chair rail by covering wooden strips with fabric. Sew a fabric sleeve to fit the wooden strip that is to be mounted on the wall. A strip of wood about 4 1/2" wide, fitted with a fabric sleeve, can be mounted on the wall as is (figure A); a narrow fabric-covered strip can be added to the middle of an existing wooden chair rail (figure B). Make the sleeve wider than the wooden strip to allow for easy insertion of the wood. When measuring the fabric, double the length for the wider wood strips; triple the length for the narrow strips to provide the necessary fullness. Sew the fabric sleeve on the right side, and hide the seam and raw edge against the wall when mounting the fabric. Slip the fabric sleeve on the wood strip (figure C), gather the fabric, and attach the chair rail to the wall with finish nails. Gather fabric over the nails to hide them from view.
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