My Sewing Info

Often when we watch such tv shows as HGTV’s Room by Room or TLC’s Trading Spaces, we see decorators pin fabric over a thrift shop chair and in less than 30 minutes it becomes a brand new chair. What they don’t show are the steps in between. Making a slipcover isn’t as difficult as it may seem, but it does take some planning.

Before you start, you’ll need to determine a few things about your chair, and decide on the type of slipcover that you want. Styles range from fitted to slouchy. For styles in between you’ll need to add a few inches of ease when cutting and allow for a tuck-in at the deck (part of the seat that fits under the cushion).

Study the construction of your chair. Remove any loose pillows and the seat cushion. Explore all the nooks and crannies. These spaces will allow for tuck-ins. Tuck-ins prevent fabric from straining and ripping when the chair is sat in. The tuck-in allowances will be stitched together to form a sort of channel which is pushed into the crevices.

If your chair has lumps and bumps, you can use batting to smooth out these spots. Use batting to fill in spots where there may have been buttons, and to soften corners or arm fronts. Build up the batting in layers, then cover the whole thing in one large piece. Be careful when dressing your chair for the last time so you don’t accidentally curl the edges or bunch up the batting.

Upholstery skirt styles, furniture styles and colors change like fashion, though not as frequently. Lately trends have been toward longer skirts, so you’ll want to raise the top of yours higher than the original upholstery. For a gathered skirt, double the chair circumference measurement. For an extra- full skirt go 2 1/2 times the measurement. For a pleated skirt, first determine the number of pleats. Place pins around the circumference of the chair determining placement.  Count the number of pleats, multiply this by the pleat allowance (the amount of fabric needed for each pleat), and add this to the circumference. Double pleats will take more fabric than single ones. If you only want gathers or pleats at the corners (2 or 4?) add 12-16 inches per corner to the circumference.

For cording, measure the original seams, including the seat cushion and any extra pillows, and add 1/2 yard for ease and overlapping.  

I hope this helps get you started. There are a number of good books out there about upholstery, and also some patterns for making slipcovers. So hit some yard sales. Go antiquing. Start looking at old things in a new light. After all, isn’t that what we crafters do?

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