Thursday, February 17, 2011

Recovering a Seat Cushion

Okay, it's not that hard, but if you've never recovered a seat cushion before, here's how to do it:
When I posted about my dining room transformation, I asked you not to look at the two head chairs with the non-complimentary blue chair cushions.
I was looking for some neutral fabric to recover those chairs. I thought about using a dropcloth because it would match the curtains and would be inexpensive. I kind of wanted fabric with a little more texture, however. I lucked up and found the perfect fabric at Old Time Pottery for about 5 bucks a yard. (They had some great designer fabrics there that pretty much made me want to redo my entire house, but I refrained.)
So, here's how you recover a chair:
1. Cut your fabric. Remember to leave enough room to fold it over the cushion with extra fabric to spare.
2. Start by pulling the fabric taught (but not so tight that the shape of the cushion changes) and put one staple in the middle of each side. Staple top, bottom and then side to side.
3. Staple all around the edges leaving the corners for last.
There are 2 options for corners. You can do a gathered corner or a pleated corner.
I went for the pleated corner. Just make sure which ever way you do it, both corners match.
I gathered the back corners because it was more of a rounded edge and they are less visible.
4. Trim off excess fabric, make sure any screw holes are accessible and reattach to chairs!
Much, much better.
Linking here.

1 comment:

Midnight Creations said...

Great job, hopefully you got some extra fabric for when life happens you can replace. Or, maybe by then you will be ready for new!