A friend of ours gave us a set of chairs a year or two ago and I finally got tired of looking that the worn tops..
So I did something about it.
The first one I did lasted only a few weeks. I took an old T-shirt and slipped it over the cushion and stapled it on. It had a few issues from the start. The shirt had a TINY hole.. and it soon grew and grew! Before long it looked worse then before.
First I took Papa's little drill and removed the cushions from the chair.. 4 easy screws. No problems!
This time I decided to use the shirt doubled up and make sure there were no holes!!
I lay the shirt back side down on the table, put the cushion in the middle right side down. Then I pulled the two layers over the back of the cushion and stapled it to the back of the cushion. You have to make sure you have both layers and that you do it so that it is tight all the way around. These were 100% cotton so they stretched pretty good. I did not have any trouble getting the whole front covered. Fold the corners over in a neat tuck before you staple them. Gives it a nice corner.
Tools of the trade :) I stapled it like crazy!!
When your all done stapling just screw them back on to the chairs!!
I also ran my hands over the staples to get any that were at all loose out.. I don't want the baby finding them. The only thing I will do differently next time is mark the cushion so I know which way is the front of the chair. It would make them easier to put them back on.
Finished!! I'm leaving the backs alone.. they are in good shape yet and I'm not that sure I can do BOTH sides nicely. I did 3 different colors on purpose :) and I'm glad I did!! I love them!! They brighten up the kitchen and the kids love to rotate chairs.
Oh and by the way I just used old shirts of mine. The green ones ribbing on the neck and arms was worn out but the shirt was fine. The blue one had a picture on the front but it was SO worn it didn't look like a picture anymore. And the red one had a couple of burn holes in the front and was a bit too small on me.
The whole project took me about 30 minutes :) a drill, industrial stapler and 3 shirts :) Totally worth it. It's been about 10 days now and they still look great. I can't see these wearing out any time soon!
2 comments:
Good job! I have to reupholster my dh's lazy boy one of these days and make a slipcover for a couch. . . My chairs all are wood but I'd love to paint them or something. They're tired too. I never would have thought of using t-shirts to cover - very smart idea! And when they do wear out will be easy to do again!
Ohh I would not have a clue how to do a recliner! I guess they do come apart some how. I really should make a new cover for our living room 'Papa' chair but I really would not know where to start! That and my sewing machine and I still have battles :)
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