Choose a new fabric and cover your old favorite arm chairs for a new fresh look.
For this project, we wanted to update two arm chairs that were passed down from the grandparents and were a bit abused from the resident cats. We also created a removable cover for the ottoman so that the ottoman matched one of the chairs but could be removed when the linen fabric gets dirty.
The first chair was in pretty good condition but the removable cover was not. It was discolored and scratched and ripped by the resident cats. The cushions were also warped out of shape from years of use. We could have opted to make another cover but we really wanted to upholster it to make it look tighter and thus smaller than before.
The second chair was not as lucky. There was a tear right under the seat which the cats started to take the stuffing out of and was patched with a mix matched material. For this chair, we didn't remove the existing fabric and opted to sew the new fabric onto the existing covering.
Tools used for this project:
Staple Gun
Heavy Duty Curved Needles (a small one and a slightly bigger one)
Heavy Duty Needle
A yard of fabric per side and a yard for the cushion (A total of 5 yards per chair and 3 yards for the ottoman)
Heavy Duty Thread
Fabric Pen or Pencil
Sewing Machine
Fabric Measuring Tape
Please note, I have basic sewing skills and measured twice and traced before cutting the pieces. The first thing was to measure and cut all the pieces in the directions that I wanted the lines to go. I traced each side and cut about an inch around all the edges. I stapled the pieces to the bottom of the chairs first and then folded the fabric over the back and arms and sewed them into place with the curved needle.
To get the fabric tight under the outside of the arms, I used Velcro along the length of the arms under the fabric. Since the fabric for this chair is a canvas material it stuck to the Velcro pretty well. I then pleated and pinned the fabric on the front of the arms to get the fabric neat and tight. For the inside of the seat I tucked the fabric deep under the creases and tried to sew it in place as close inside as I could. In retrospect, it may have been easier and faster to use the staple gun.
I traced the shape of the faces of the arms and used the sewing machine to create a quarter inch edge. You can opt for piping to give it a really professional look. After my front pieces were sewed together I stitched them on by hand into place. I traced the cushions from foam insides to make a tighter cover and skipped the zipper and instead used stylish black buttons to close the ends.
I did a similar strategy for the second chair, mostly stitching the pieces on by hand. I didn't tuft the back or side of the chair as the fabric we chose had a pattern that we could get away with.
It made a great accent chair and really pulled the blue out of the area rug.
And lastly we made a matching cover of the ottoman by simply tracing the top and measuring the sides and sewing the pieces together on a sewing machine taking into account the direction of the lines on the fabric.
And Voila! Two new arm chairs and ottoman for your living space.
Please feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have about how I upholstered these arm chairs!
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