We moved this old chair while cleaning out our boys’ playroom to make room for more bunk beds. The bright yellow flowered fabric didn’t fit with the decor in our home anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to send this chair to the curb. One because it was still in pretty good structural shape and two because I have so many wonderful memories of nursing and cuddling with my boys in this chair when they were babies. So I decided to make a slipcover with fabric that fit our decor. Here is the process I used to revamp this cozy chair.
Step 1: Find an upholstery fabric you like and estimate how many yards you’ll need to cover each section of the chair. This chair took approximately 5 yards with some scraps left over. Buy a matching upholstery thread. I made fabric covered buttons and used piping for this chair. I’ll link the materials I used.
Step 2: Drape the fabric over each section of the chair, follow the existing seams of the chair and cut with a 1 to 2 8 inch seam allowance. When cutting the fabric for the back of the chair, you’ll cut two pieces. Allow them to over lap significantly. This will give you the opening and flexibility to take your slip cover on and off.
Step 3: Lay the fabric right side down and begin pinning two sections together using the existing chair seam as your guide. I like to pin one or two sections at a time and then sew it rather than pinning all of the sections before sewing. This will be easier to handle instead of a mess of fabric and pins. For example, here are three pieces of fabric pinned together. The piece for the front of the chair and the two back pieces. You will also pin and hem the back flaps. This will most likely be your starting place and first seam sewn for your slipcover.
Step 4: Continue pinning and sewing together. After sewing a section together, I turn the fabric right side out and place on the chair to make sure everything is fitting correctly. That way you can make adjustments along the way if needed.
Step 5: If your chair has piping, you’ll want to replicate this same look by adding piping to that section before sewing. Use a foot for your sewing machine that allows you to to sew closely to the piping. This way your piping won’t be floppy.
I decided to add buttons to the back of the chair to keep the back flaps closed. I used the fabric covered piping to make button loops and sewed these on by hand with a large needle to get through the thick fabric. I made the buttons using a button making kit. I added hot glue to the button closure before pushing the button closed to help keep the button together with the thick upholstery fabric.
This was a reclining arm chair, so the cushion you sit on is connected to the whole chair. Therefore, I left the seam where the back of the seat cushion and the bottom of the back cushion meet unsewn and simply tucked the longer seam allowances into the crack of the chair. This allows give in the fabric when someone sits down on the cushion. If this was not a reclining chair. I would recommend sewing the bottom seat cushion separately from the rest of the slip cover. I finished the chair by putting a simple hem around the bottom. Here is the finished product! Follow along our journey @homesteadonlakeside .
