~Author Unknown
It was a year ago that I went a little wacky and decided to make fitted slipcovers for not one, but two different sofas. What was I thinking, or not thinking!! Trust me when I say that making a slipcover for a dining chair or plain wooden chair is as easy as can be and nothing like what I did with the sofas last year. As long as you know basic sewing I'm sure you'll be able to accomplish this sewing project.
I have two very good sewing books that I refer to. My favorite is Slipcover Style by Alison Wormleighton and the other is Simplicity's Simply The Best Home Decorating Book. I've had both of these books for a number of years and I'm sure there's newer and probably better books on the bookshelves, but if you're looking for a good one for slipcovers, the first is excellent.
This is the slipcover that I made...
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For the cover I made above, I purchased 2 yards of a good quality home decor fabric. I chose to make a shorter skirt vs one that would be floor length. Usually I try to match my prints in seaming, but this print was nearly impossible to have done so I ignored it completely. If you have a print that you will need to match, please allow for extra yardage for this as well as more if you choose to make a longer length. If you want to get really fancy and/or formal, you can use piping in the seams, but I'm not going to get into any of that with this slipcover.
MEASURING
Always measure each section at it's WIDEST point. As you measure, write down the section numbers with their measurements so you'll know exactly what you'll be cutting. This is the one I made up for mine...
Inside Back (A) - Width, the distance from one back post, across the post, across inside back, and across other post to its back edge, PLUS 4 inches. See where the seam is in the photo below and this is where you will start measuring from, going to the inside back of the chair...
OUTSIDE BACK (B) - Width, measure the width of the chair back between the outside of the posts, PLUS 4 inches HOWEVER, IF YOU CHOOSE TO MAKE THE SLIT BACK WITH BUTTONS AND BUTTONHOLES LIKE I DID, ADD AN ADDITIONAL 8 INCHES TO THE WIDTH TOTAL.
SEAT (C) - Width, measure across the seat, PLUS 4 inches. Length, distance from inside back to the front of the chair seat, PLUS 4 inches. You'll notice that the seat on this chair doesn't have straight corners in the front...
SKIRT FRONT (D) - Width, measure the distance between outside of front posts (legs), PLUS 4 inches. Length, measure distance from top of the seat to desired height from the floor, PLUS 3 inches.
SKIRT BACK (E) - Width, distance between outside of the back posts (legs), PLUS 12 inches. Length, the same as the skirt front.
SKIRT SIDE (F) - Width, distance between the outside of front and back posts (legs), PLUS 6 inches. Length, the same as the skirt front and back.
PLEAT UNDERLAY (G) - Width 7 1/2 inches, Length, same as the other skirt lengths.
TIE (H) - Width, 2 1/2 inches, Length 15 inches
Cut the following: 1 x A, 1 x B, 1 x C, 1 x D, 1 x E, 2 x F, 2 x G, 4 x H. As you cut each piece, mark the wrong side using tailors chalk with the section and if necessary, indicate with an arrow which end should be the top...
If the chair you're covering doesn't have an upholstered back, will have have to make a SLEEVE to slide over the wooden back so you'll have something to pin your fabric to as you fit it to make the slipcover. To make a sleeve, you'll need two large rectangular scrap fabric pieces. Place one on the front of the inside back and the other on the outside back. Use pins to fit it tightly. Slide off, sew and turn right-side out. Slide the sleeve on the chair back.
Tomorrow will be Step 2
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