I’m sure you’ve seen how many beautiful upholstered chairs are out there. The problem is, how do you afford the expensive price tag? Well, I have a solution for those of you who want to save money and still get that chair with an upholstery finish!
In this blog post, we’ll go over how to slipcover swivel bar chairs. This way you can enjoy the look without breaking the bank!
Steps on Making Slipcover For Bar Chairs
Step One: Gather Your Materials
- Fabric of your choice, at least 54″ wide and 55″ long for a chair with no arms (more fabric is needed if the arms are taller)
- Sewing Machine (or serger), thread, scissors, iron & board
- Zipper about 36 ” long (or more if you have to use a zipper closure)
- Matching thread for sewing machine or serger
- Elastic, about 12″ total length
- Velcro loop and hook strips. One strip of each should do the job just fine!
Step Two: Cut Your Fabric Correctly
Lay your chair on its back with no arms exposed in front of you. The seat is at the top left corner, and the fabric should be folded over so that it’s upside down from how it would normally lay when draped across the chair.
You’ll want to cut your fabric this way so that there can be an overlap seam later on while making upholstery seams around all sides of the seat area.
Subtract the width of your chair’s seat from how wide you want your fabric to be. Half that number is how far back you’ll need to measure and mark on the right side (or whichever one handier for which way it will lay when draped)
Measure how long you want the front panel, subtracting an inch or two for seam allowance. Mark this off at about a third up as well, so there can be an overlap with how much fabric length you’ll have leftover to make upholstery seams around all sides of the seating area.
Step Three: Sew Side Seams
Layout how your fabric looks after being cut down according to how long you want the front panel.
Pin the right side of one edge to the left side of another, matching up how far back your marking is about how wide you’ve trimmed down from how high it was at the start (see diagram below). Take care not to stretch the fabric too much.
Sew across this seam and repeat with all sides until seams are sewn together completely around the edges.
Step Four: Add a Covering Piece – You’re Almost There!
Find or create a piece that will fit over the top of the seat area and overlap accordingly for making upholstery seams on both ends (longer pieces can be cut so as they match height before sewing them onto each other)
Sew around each side of this piece to attach it.
NOTE: how many inches you need will depend on how big your chair is. For example, if the seat area is 13×13 inches then a cover would be cut out in that size and sewn onto sides accordingly. If not then adjust for height or width of fabric as needed.*
Step Five – Final Touches!
Go back and add finishing touches–piping along edges, adding any other embellishments etc.–BEFORE covering the underside with lining material
How do you Redo a Bar Stool Cushion?
Step One – Remove the old cushion. Once you have removed the old one, measure how much fabric you’ll need for your new cushion and cut accordingly. The measurements will depend on how big or small your swivel bar chair is.
Just make sure to account for how deep it needs to be so that it’s not too short (making a pillow effect) but also doesn’t cover up the metal pole at the top of this piece
Step 2. Sew around each side of this piece to attach it. Cut off any excess material if necessary. This should just barely touch all four corners before sewing them together to create an even seam that can get tucked inside itself later when we are done!
How many inches you need to leave for a seam will depend on how much you want to tuck under–it’s always best to have too little than too much, so I usually cut off about an inch or two
Step 3. Now we’re going to sew the back. Again it should just barely touch all four corners before sewing them together. The idea is that this piece of fabric can be tucked inside itself when finished!
Step 4. Double-check your measurements and make sure everything looks good (sometimes seams don’t match up). Do any necessary adjustments as needed and then take out your basting stitches by pulling from the bottom with one hand while holding onto what you’ve sewed in place at the top with the other.
This way you’ll avoid accidentally ripping anything open since you’ll be pulling from the bottom while holding onto it at the top.
I do this for a few reasons: first, because we’re working with fabric that is not very sturdy; second, to reduce how much thread will show on the outside (although you can always tie off and trim threads if they are too long); third, so there’s less bulk in between layers of fabric when finished.