Is your dining chair outdated? How about giving it a stylish makeover? Get crafty because we’ll show you how to make a dining chair slipcover!
If you’ve had your dining chair set for a long time, it might be a good idea to give it a creative re-do. While the chairs’ frames appear to be in decent shape, the microfiber seat cushions might be already stained, watermarked, and challenging to clean in some situations.
Making Your Very Own Slipcover
Dining chairs, let’s face it, aren’t cheap! Furthermore, finding sturdy, high-quality seats without spending a lot of money is becoming extremely difficult.
Here are some easy ways to make dining chair slipcovers to give the chairs a fresh look in the eyes.
Step #1. Measurements
For the first step, measure your chairs to determine how much fabric you’ll require for your slipcover. Do keep in mind that if the fabric has a large pattern (referred to as a “repeat” in design terms), you’ll want to match up the lines as much as possible, which may need you to purchase additional fabric to shift your pattern around.
Begin measuring from the bottom of the chair’s back. Afterward, work your way up, around, and down to the front.
Then, for each side “L” piece, take a measurement. When you’ve finished measuring, you’ll be able to quickly figure out how to fit all of those parts onto one piece of fabric.
Step #2. Choose your fabric
Up next, you must pick a fabric. You can use practically any cloth, but we recommend you to use high durable upholstery fabric if you like it to keep its shape and withstand tearing from the kids and dog.
Pick up a matching spool of thread once you’ve chosen your fabric. If you’re using upholstery fabric, go for heavy-duty.
Step #3. Prep fabric
The fabric should be prewashed and ironed if necessary. Drape fabric over the chair and cut a piece for the seat and both sides of the chair back with sharp scissors. When cutting these pieces later, make sure to leave several inches of overhang so you have plenty of fabric to work.
Step #4. Make the pattern
Creating your pattern doesn’t have to be complicated or technical. It’s simply a method of transferring your measurements to your fabric.
Make a pencil or chalk mark on the backside of the fabric with your measurements. Ensure any lines and designs you wish to meet at the seams are lined accordingly. Remember to leave a few inches along the bottom of the chair to hem the entire thing.
Step #5. Cutting the fabric
Now it’s time to cut out your components. Make sure to leave about an inch around each edge for seam allowance when cutting out your pattern. This is the inside-out edge that prevents the seams from unraveling.
Step #6. Fit & pin
Place the fabric on your chair with the opposite side up. Pin the fabric pieces together around the chair’s edges with straight pins.
Use pins and keep it as close to the chair to create a beautiful tight fit (about every couple of inches). As you follow the contours of the chair, you may need to tuck the fabric a little.
Step #7. Sew & fit
Stitch the entire line you established with your pins with your sewing machine, pulling each pinout as you go. Afterward, try to put the cover on your chair with the right side up. You will need to restitch any locations that appear to be excessively tight or loose.
For the slipcover skirt (optional)
If you like, do make it a little fancier, a ruffled skirt might do the trick!
Step #1. Mark off 6-inch-wide strips of cloth using a clear quilting ruler. Sew two fabric strips together, right sides together, end-to-end. Make sure the raw edges are all facing the same way.
Step #2. Once you have one long strip of cloth, hem one edge by folding it under 1/4-inch, then 1/2-inch and sewing along the fold.
Tip: Before stitching, iron the creases and pin them down to make the hem extra crisp.
Step #3. It’s best to start at the front of the chair and pin the skirt top’s center point to the slipcover seat. Make sure the raw edges are all pointing the same way.
Step #4. Pinch and pleat the skirt fabric with your fingers, following the lines of the chair seat.
Step #5. Cut away any excess fabric and stitch the skirt and seam together.
Tip: To further personalize your slipcover, add piping to the skirt and chair back or ribbon ties or buttons to the back.
Conclusion
Making slipcovers your own for your dining room chairs is so easy. It takes a bit of fussing, measuring, sewing, and the results are elegant.
So, instead of replacing an old-style dining chair set, fill your creativity with this article on how to make a dining chair slipcover. This will probably give you a good time to show off your handy skills!