You make a dining chair slipcover by taking a paper or calico pattern directly from the chair, cutting the fabric with a 1.5cm seam allowance, pinning the pieces inside out on the chair itself, then sewing the seams and hemming the skirt. A simple seat and back cover takes around two hours per chair for a first attempt, and considerably less once the pattern exists.
Slipcovers are the most flexible way to change a dining room. They wash, they come off for guests, and they turn a mismatched set into something coherent without any permanent commitment. The work is dressmaking rather than upholstery, so a basic sewing machine is all the equipment required.
Measure five things: the seat width, the seat depth, the back height from seat to top rail, the back width at its widest point, and the drop from the seat to wherever you want the skirt to finish.
For a standard dining chair with a full skirt to the floor, allow around 2 metres of 140cm wide fabric per chair. A short skirt finishing just below the seat needs closer to 1.2 metres. Add a pattern repeat for every two chairs if the fabric is patterned.
Choose a washable mid weight fabric. Cotton drill, linen blends and heavy cotton all hold their shape and press well. Very lightweight fabrics cling and crease, and upholstery weight cloth is too stiff to sew into neat corners on a domestic machine.
The most reliable method is to make a pattern from the chair rather than from measurements. Use pattern paper, an old bed sheet or cheap calico.
Lay a piece over the seat and mark the outline with a pen, following the shape around the back uprights. Do the same for the outer back, inner back and, if you want one, the skirt panels. Add 1.5cm all round for seams and 4cm at the hem.
Label every piece as you cut it: outer back, inner back, seat, front skirt, side skirt. It sounds unnecessary until you have six similar looking shapes on the table and cannot tell the sides from the front.
Press the fabric before cutting so no creases distort the shape. Lay it flat, check the grain runs straight, and position the pattern pieces so the design centres on the seat and the outer back, which are the two most visible panels.
If you are using velvet or corduroy, mark the nap direction with chalk arrows and keep every piece running the same way. A single reversed panel will read as a different colour.
Cut with sharp fabric scissors or a rotary cutter and mark the seam allowance on the wrong side. Notching the centre point of each edge with a small snip makes matching the pieces far quicker at the pinning stage.
This is the step that produces a good fit and the one most people rush. Place the fabric pieces on the chair inside out, so the wrong side faces you, and pin along the lines where the seams will run.
Work from the centre of each panel outwards, smoothing as you go. Keep the fit close but not tight: a slipcover that is stretched over the frame will strain at the seams and be difficult to fit and remove.
Where the back uprights meet the seat, you will need a small opening or a pleat to let the cover pass around them. Mark these points clearly with a double pin so you remember to leave them unsewn.
Sew the inner back to the outer back first, along the top and both sides. Press the seams open, turn it the right way out and try it on the chair before going further. Adjustments are easy now and painful later.
Attach the seat panel next, matching your notches. Then join the skirt panels to the seat edge, adding pleats at the corners if you want structure or gathers if you want softness. Box pleats at the front corners give a tailored look that suits a formal room.
Finish the hem with a double fold, pressed and stitched. A weighted hem hangs better: a length of curtain weight tape sewn inside the fold stops the skirt lifting when someone walks past.
A well cut cover stays put largely by its own shape, but ties help. Sew fabric ties at the two back corners and knot them around the rear legs. They are more attractive than elastic and adjust as the fabric relaxes with washing.
For the seat, a strip of elastic sewn under the front and back edges pulls the cover snug beneath the frame. Non slip matting cut to the seat size and placed underneath the cover stops the fabric creeping forward as people sit down.
Avoid hook and loop fastening on anything that will be washed regularly. It catches on other items in the machine and eventually pulls threads from the cover itself.
Not every chair needs a full tailored cover. A square of fabric tied at each back corner makes a convincing loose cover for a straight backed chair. A no sew seat cover can be made by wrapping fabric around a pad and securing it underneath with an elastic drawstring.
Ready made stretch covers are the other option and work well on standard shapes. They cost less than a metre of good fabric in many cases, and they fit reliably provided you measure the seat and back before ordering.
If the chairs underneath are past helping, covering them may only postpone the decision. The fabric dining chairs UK sale range is worth comparing against the cost of fabric and hours, particularly across a set of six.
Wash covers separately and at a low temperature to limit shrinkage, and refit them while very slightly damp. They dry to the shape of the chair, which removes most creasing without ironing.
Make two sets if the chairs are used daily. Rotating them doubles the life of each, and there is always a clean set available when something is spilt.
We supply dining furniture to homes across the country at Furniture in Fashion, and slipcovers are a common way customers extend the life of a set while they save for a new one. If you are working towards a full refresh, the modern dining table and chairs sets UK collection gives a sense of what a coordinated room looks like.
Slipcovers feel like the economical option, and for one or two chairs they usually are. Across a full set the arithmetic deserves a second look.
Six chairs with a full length skirt need around 12 metres of fabric. Even at a modest price per metre that is a meaningful sum, and it does not include thread, weights, lining or the twelve hours or so of sewing that follows.
Making one cover first is the sensible approach. It tells you how long the job really takes, produces a pattern that speeds up the remaining five, and lets you see the fabric on the actual chair before committing the rest of the roll.
Consider covering only some chairs. Two carvers dressed in a tailored cover and four side chairs left plain reads as deliberate and reduces both cost and effort considerably.
If the chairs beneath are worn rather than simply dated, the covers may be solving the wrong problem. It is worth comparing your fabric list against the dining chairs UK sale range, and the velvet dining chairs UK options in particular deliver the soft, dressed look that most people are attempting to achieve with a cover.
Around 2 metres of 140cm wide fabric for a full length skirt, or roughly 1.2 metres for a short skirt finishing just below the seat.
A washable mid weight cotton, linen blend or cotton drill. Very light fabrics crease and cling, while upholstery weight cloth is too stiff to sew neatly.
You can make a simple tied cover from a square of fabric, or a no sew seat cover secured underneath with elastic. Tailored covers with skirts need stitching.
Sew ties at the back corners and knot them around the rear legs, add elastic under the seat edges, and place non slip matting beneath the seat panel.
Yes, prewash the fabric before cutting so any shrinkage happens before the pieces are sized. It prevents a cover that fits perfectly until its first wash.
Reupholstering a dining room chair with leather gives you a hard wearing, wipe clean seat…
The space between a kitchen island and a dining table should be at least 100cm,…
Indoor dining chairs can go outside for an afternoon in dry weather, but they will…
Covering a dining chair seat can mean three quite different jobs, and choosing the right…
A standard dining table is 74cm to 76cm high, but the number that actually determines…
A custom dining table in the UK generally costs between £900 and £4,000, with the…
This website uses cookies.