days I consider myself pretty crafty (in the strictly Martha Stewart-y sort-of-way, of course, as opposed to sneaky and diabolical). pillows and futon covers, re-furbish a nasty old secondhand lamp, re-upholster a basic chair � and though admittedly, my techniques may be amateurish, I like to think that the results are generally fairlySo when my boyfriend and I recently snagged 6 nicely-shaped and sturdy dining chairs for the bargain price of $80 total, I didn�t hesitate to declare that the fact that they were covered in a weird vinyl(!) upholstery wouldn�t be a problem: I�d just make slipcovers for all of them. So what if my sewing experience thus far had been limited to pillows and futon covers? Confidence can carry you a long, long way in this world. a lot to be said for having an awareness of one�s limitations � because in some instances, it can save you a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of wasted anger spent cursing at the damn fabric for
bunching up in places that were supposed to lay perfectly flat. the sad, sad story of what went wrong when one overly-assured girl endeavored to take on more than her meager skills could handle � Step One: Making a Pattern Every book I consulted suggested that I should buy cheap muslin fabric and use it to create a pattern for my slipcover. that no matter how cheap the muslin might be, it couldn�t possibly beat the bargain price of $1.25 for a queen-size sheet purchased from my local Value Village thrift shop, I used the sheet instead. making a sketch to determine how many pieces of fabric I�d need (8), and where they�d join together. I�d like to say that I then proceeded to take measurements of the seat back, chair bottom, etc., in order to determine the precise sizes for each piece of fabric I�d be using, but, frankly, I�d be lying. Nope, me being the lazy home decorator that I am, I went with my usual eyeballing method, holding up
the fabric to the chair and roughly cutting out chunks of fabric that seemed approximately the right size and shape.Home & GardenDecoratingHow to Make Slipcovers for Dining Room Chairs How to Make Slipcovers for Dining Room Chairs Making slipcovers for your dining room chairs is so easy. It takes a bit of fussing, but no sewing, and the results are elegant. All you have to do is wrap, drape, tie, pin, and arrange the fabric so it’s perfect to your eye. Watch out — this treatment is so easy you may find yourself making new slipcovers just because your mother-in-law is coming for dinner on a Friday night (well, maybe not . . . ). Most dining room chairs are generally the same size, give or take a few inches. For this project, the chair was 44 inches high x 20 inches wide x about 22 inches deep. You need about 3 yards of 45-inch-wide fabric to cover one standard-size dining room chair. If you have an oversize dining table and chair set and your dining room chair is wider, you may consider using 60-inch-wide fabric to guarantee adequate coverage.
To measure your dining room chair, start with the length. From the back of your chair, measure up and over the seat back, across the cushion and front and down to the floor in front. For the width, measure the entire chair from left side to right, starting on the floor on one side and going over the seat down to the floor on the other side. If you choose wisely, one neutral style of fabric can give you plenty of use, because it can assume many attitudes as you add contrasting, interchangeable ropes, ribbons, twines, and other trims to alter your slipcover’s appearance. Unless you’re a good fabric cutter, when you’re fabric shopping for four chairs, be sure to add an extra half-yard or yard of fabric for each chair, in case you make a mistake. You can always use the extra for some pretty coordinating napkins or placemats. The satin ribbon adds a really festive touch. You may have enough ribbon or comparable trim in your sewing kit already, so dig around a bit. Here are the items you need to make this slipcover for one dining room chair:
Enough fabric to cover each chair Iron and ironing board A box of 2-inch safety pins 3 yards of 1-inch-wide satin ribbon A box of straight pins These few steps couldn’t be simpler: Iron all your fabric well, so that it easily drapes over the chair. Starting at the floor in front of the chair and ending at the floor in the back of the chair, evenly drape the fabric over the chair. Working from behind the chair, take the edges of the fabric that are near the top of the back of the chair and tie them in a knot. Pull the edges of the fabric that hang underneath the knot toward the base of the chair (where the back meets the seat), and pin them into place to create a wall of fabric across the outside chair back. Add the decorative ribbon if and where you want. If you have an open-back chair, you can cut two 1-inch holes in the fabric at the inside back of the chair base (near the chair’s solid, back support area), thread 1-inch-wide ribbons through the holes, and tie them in two bows.