Update your decor with new fabric for your chair pads. Covering your chair pads is a way to update your decor at little expense. Upholstery fabric choices are abundant, ranging from floral designs to stripes. If your chair pad is separate from the chair, you will need enough material to cover the top and bottom. For those pads that sit into the chair, called slip seats, you will need enough fabric to fold to the underside and staple. The type of chair pad you have determines how you figure the yardage. Remove the seat from the chair. Most seats are screwed in, so a screwdriver will work. Unscrew and pop out the seat. For those seats attached with a nut and bold, use the pliers to loosen the bolt. Turn the pliers to the left to loosen the screw. Measure the length of the seat. Using the tape measure, place the tape on the inside of the front of the seat. Guide it to the other side and stop on the inside of the back of the seat. Add 3 to 4 inches to your total. This allows enough fabric to fold under the chair for stapling.
You do not need to measure the width because the width of upholstery fabric is sufficient for the chair. Calculate how much fabric you will need. Fabric is sold by the yard, which is 36 inches. If your seat length is 27 inches, divide 36 into 27. The result is 0.75 or 3/4 of a yard. You will need 3/4 yard for each slip seat. Measure the length of the top of the chair pad from the front to the back of the chair. Add an additional 1 inch for a 3/8-inch seam allowance on each end. Double that number for the top and bottom of the chair. For example, if the chair length is 20 inches, add 1 inch for the seam allowance and then multiply by two. You need 42 inches of length for one chair pad. Measure the depth of the chair. Add an additional 1 inch for a 3/8-inch seam allowance you need to attach the gusset. The gusset is the rectangular strip of material that connects the top and bottom of the chair pad. If the depth is 2 inches, you need 3 inches for the gusset. Measure the perimeter of the chair pad.
Add 1 inch for seam allowance. This is the length of strip needed for the gusset. Calculate how many strips of fabric needed for the gusset. Most upholstery fabric is 54 inches wide, including the selvage or edging. Subtract 1 inch for each side to allow for cutting off the selvage. You now have 52-inch-wide fabric. Divide the 52 inches into your perimeter measurement for the gusset. If your gusset measurement is 65 inches, divide 52 into 65. The result is 1.25. You will need 1.25 yards for the gusset. Therefore, you will need to cut two strips for the gusset. If the gusset strip is 3 inches, you will need to factor in 6 inches. Total your length measurements and gusset measurements. For example, if you need 42 inches for the length of the pad, add that to the 6 inches for two gusset strips. You need 48 inches of material. If you need 48 inches of material, divide 36 into 48. The result is 1.3 yards of material for each chair. Things You Will Need Screwdriver Pliers Tape measure Calculator Tip Warning References Fabric Work Shop: Upholster a Slipseat Photo Credits PhotoObjects.net/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images Suggest a Correction
Today’s project is a little nuts-o. A totally unnecessary, non-functional, can only be used a few-weeks-out-of-the-year, type of project. But don’t you dare Bah-Humbug this. Because every time to take one little step into the kitchen (or dining room)……..you won’t be able to stop that smile from spreading across your face. And you may find yourself humming ‘jingle bells‘ or ‘rudolph‘ as you clean up after meals. And really, sometimes I only make these sorts of things, so that I can see the grins on these little faces. I’m a sucker for memories. And maybe someday overhearing them as adults say, “remember those crazy Santa Hat Chair Covers mom made for us so many years ago??”. These little babies are made from felt (which is on sale right now for $2.50/yd right now at Joann’s)…….so they hold their shape really well. And sewing is minimal since hemming is not needed. Truly, a pretty quick little project. And because they’re polyester felt, they’re washable.
Remember how I have 3 little kids?!! (However, I won’t dry them.) Oh how I wish I would have recorded their little jabbering and squealing when they came downstairs for breakfast this morning, and saw that Santa had exploded all over our kitchen nook area. But just remember, their only real purpose is for holiday cheer. Lots of BRIGHT RED holiday cheer. Nothing wrong with that! First of all, I mentioned above that I purchased my red polyester felt on sale at Joann’s, for $2.50 a yard. I bought 4 yards of the red and 1 yard of the white. However, the amount you need, depends on the size of your chairs. To begin, measure your chair. You need to know how wide it is (at it’s widest) and then how tall the back section is. I didn’t want my cover to reach all the way down to the seat……in case someone sat in the chair and pulled the chair cover down a bit and then sat on the cover. I was worried that would stretch it out all wonky. So mine reach down to about 2 inches above the seat section of the chair.
So, I needed the main rectangle shape of my covers to be about 19 inches wide and 18 inches tall when it was done. But then, I needed the top edge to have a triangle shape (for the santa hat look), which I decided to make about 10 inches tall………..from the top point, down to where the main rectangle shape begins. Then, I cut out 2 of these shapes, but added a 1/2 inch on all sides (except for the bottom). Then I placed them together (with right sides together if you have a fabric with a “right” side) and sewed along all of the edges except for the bottom, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Then I trimmed off the 3 points (read more about clipping corners and curves here)… …then turned it right side out and ironed (not too hot) flat. Then, I sewed a straight line across the top of the chair cover, right where the triangle shape and the rectangle shape meet. This will keep the chair cover in place and will stop the cover from sliding down the chair.
Then, I cut a 2.5 inch wide piece of white felt that is the same width ad the bottom of the chair cover, plus a 1/2 inch at each end, for the seam allowance. Then, I sewed the two ends together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance then turned it right side out and slipped it on around the bottom edge of the seat cover. (Place the side seam of the white strip right on top of one of the side seams of the seat cover.) Then, I matched up the two bottom edges of the white strip and the seat cover and sewed the two layers together, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I sewed another seam along the top edge of the white strip as well. Then, I cut long strips of the white felt, about a 1/3 inch wide. Then I cut those long strips up into about 4 inch long pieces. And I used about 45-50 little strips per pom-pom. (But don’t worry, cutting up those strips goes fast. Don’t worry about making them perfect and don’t actually measure each one. Just eyeball it and start cutting strips.