DIY: Recovering Chair Cushions : Easy Upholstery

Hey! Its my first tutorial. Don't judge me to much and I hope you enjoy!

Recovering chair cushions

If you have children or haven't bought new furniture in a really long time then this one is for you. Reupholstering can be time consuming and a little crazy but this one is easy peasy.

What you'll need:

-Fabric- Measure the length and width of the seat. Add 8" onto the length and the width when measuring out each piece to cut.
-Piping- I cut strips from the extra fabric that was left over- 4" more then the length of the outside perimeter of the chair and 5" wide.
-Staple gun
-Tool to take out staples
-Sewing machine

 I got these cushions to recover from a client who, come to find out, has had these chairs for over 10 years. It was time.

The first and next few steps are finger killers. Must. Remove. Staples. Start by taking the dust cover (black fabric) off of the bottom. If its in good condition you can reuse it. This will finish off the piece covering all the staple work you just did and keep dust and bugs from getting into your furniture.

Must. Remove. Staples. Again. Take off the old piping first. Then more staples to remove. This last layer will take off the covering fabric. The cushion part was still in good condition on these seats so all I had to do was put the new fabric on.

 I kept the piping and just recovered it (a piping tutorial will come at a later date). This is where your sewing machine will step in. Fold your fabric in half over the old piping and sew it on using your zipper foot so you get as close as you can to the piping but not going over the top of it.

Here's what the piping looks like recovered.

Once your cushion is naked lay it upside down on top of the wrong side of the fabric directly in the middle. Start at the corners. Take fabric at the corner a pinch it together, not to tight, not to loose. This will get rid of the slack fabric in-between the corners.

Now you'll slightly twist and fold over till the fabric lays flat. You will see a few creases at the corner which is fine. Just get it as smooth as you can. Once the piping goes on it will cover those small creases. 

It takes a little working with. Once you feel you've got it right staple it a few times. After all corners are done pull the fabric taught and staple the rest of the way around the chair. Next is your piping. Because I forgot to take pictures of this process I took pictures of the piping from another project.

(Like my pants? I'm in LOVE. So comfortable!)

Start one end of your piping in the middle back of the chair. Leave about an inch and then start stapling. Staple all the way around, bending and stapling good around the corners. You want to only see the round of the piping from the top of the seat, none of the excess fabric beyond the round part.

Connect the piping ends. I'm having a hard time explaining this one so hopefully the pictures will do it justice.

Fold over one end

Place opposite end inside

Lay flat and staple

And there you have it! You have a recovered a chair seat. Pat yourself on the back. You only have a few more to go.

This was my first tutorial. Please leave me a comment if I have not explained something right, any suggestions or questions. I'd love your feedback. Thanks! xoxo

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