In this article, we are going to inform you how to make office chair arm covers. You can make office chair arm covers through sewing and embroidery.
Apart from arm covers, we also included a guide on making a cover for an office chair without sewing and making an office chair slipcover. Read until the end so you can learn more about office chair arm covers and slipcovers.
Steps In Making Office Chair Arm Covers
Office chair arm covers both offer style and protection for your armrests. For this DIY arm cover project, you need to have basic sewing skills and an eye for a good arm cover fabric.
Step #1. Trace your armrest
On the flat front of your chair’s arm, lay a piece of paper and trace its outline. This is to get the appropriate curvature.
After tracing, cut along the lines to make a pattern. Then, measure the curve’s length to determine the size of the cover.
Step #2. Clean your fabric
After tracing and making a pattern, wash your fabric. Then, let it dry. After it has dried, iron it before sewing.
Step #3. Cut the fabric
Put the arm cover pattern on top of the fabric, lay both of them flat. Then, trace the template onto the textile. Draw another cutting line with a ¼-inch space around the traced pattern.
After this, measure a square on the fabric that is as long as the curve you measured earlier. Then, draw cutting lines with another ¼-inch on the sides. Then, cut along the drawing lines of both fabrics.
Step #4. Sew
After cutting the pieces of fabric, use a sewing machine to sew a ¼-inch hem on the three sides of the square along with the front curved piece’s bottom edge. Then, attach the square piece’s edge and the front piece’s curved edge with pins.
After connecting them, sew them together. Remove the pins as you sew along with the fabric. Repeat the steps to make a cover for the other arm.
How to make a no-sew office chair cover
After making an arm cover for your chair, we would like to share how to cover an office chair without sewing.
Step #1. Prepare materials
You will need fabric, a piece of ribbon, and safety pins.
Step #2. Fabric, ribbons, and safety pins
After preparing the materials, fit the fabric on the chair. After working the fabric on the chair, take the ends of the cloth and tie it on the chair’s back.
Add a ribbon on the knot you made after tying the chair to serve as a decoration. Then, close the openings of the chair with safety pins.
Put one on top and another at the bottom. Lastly, secure the sides of the slipcover on the chair cushion using safety pins.
This is an easy-to-make slipcover for your office chair if you plan to change your chair’s cover but do not have the time yet. This can be your alternative, and you can test your chair cover’s fabric this way.
How to make an office chair slipcover
After the no-sew technique, we can make an office chair slipcover involving our trusty sewing machine.
Step #1. Prepare materials
For this slipcover, you would need a fabric covering the seat and the back of the chair and an additional ten to twelve inches of width and length. You also need an elastic cord, thread, and paper large enough for a pattern.
Step #2. Trace
First, place the paper on top of the chair’s seat and trace its outlines. Make sure your pattern is symmetrical by folding it in half. Make corrections to your template as needed.
Then, measure your seat pad’s height. Then, decide if you want to cover the whole seat pad and add about ½-inch for your seams. Put cutting lines on your pattern again, but this time with the seams.
Step #3. Cut and sew
After tracing and measuring your seat pad, cut the fabric. Then, sew the right edges of the fabric together.
Leave a ½-inch seam around the fabric. Leave a four to six inches gap at the back edge’s center to make the turning of the material more effortless.
Then, trim the seam allowance up to ¼-inch. After trimming the seam allowance, turn the right side out and press the edges.
Sew another ½-inch seam allowance. This is to contain the elastic cord. After sewing the seam allowance, leave an inch of opening for turning.
Step #4. Thread the elastic
After sewing, you can proceed to thread the elastic through the casing you sewed. After completely threading it through the case, pull it. Then, pin it together and try it on your seat.
You can use a cord lock to keep it in place. If you wish to sew it, sew the ends together with the opening to keep the whole thing neat. Lastly, test your chair covers if they are comfortable.
Conclusion
We hope our article about how to make office chair arm covers has been of help to you. We went beyond and added a guide on slipcovers, too. So if you plan on matching your arm covers with your slipcover, feel free to do so!