How Do You Make Dining Chair Covers?

To make dining chair covers, measure the seat, back and skirt of your chair, create a paper or calico pattern from those measurements, cut the pieces with 1.5cm seam allowance, then sew them together with the seat panel first, followed by the back and the skirt. Add ties or elastic at the back legs so the cover holds its shape. A simple seat only cover takes about an hour per chair, while a full length cover with a skirt takes closer to three.

Deciding on the Style of Cover

Chair covers fall into three broad categories, and choosing between them determines everything that follows.

A seat pad cover is the simplest: a fitted square with elasticated corners or ties that sits over the seat only. It protects the area that takes the most punishment and can be made in an afternoon for a whole set. This is the practical choice for households with young children.

A full slipcover wraps the entire chair, including the back, and usually finishes with a skirt at or near floor level. It transforms the look of a room completely and hides tired upholstery, though it demands more fabric and more patience. A tailored cover sits between the two, following the chair’s lines closely with minimal drape, and is the most demanding to draft but the most refined in appearance.

Look honestly at your sewing experience before deciding. A well made seat cover beats a poorly fitted slipcover every time.

Taking Accurate Measurements

Measure the chair rather than a similar chair, because dining chairs vary more than they appear to. Even within a set, small differences in seat depth exist.

For the seat, measure the width at the widest point and the depth from the front edge to where the seat meets the back. For the back, measure the height from the top of the seat to the highest point, and the width at both the top and the bottom, since most chair backs taper. For the skirt, measure from the seat edge down to your chosen finishing point, which is usually either 2cm above the floor or just below the seat rail.

Note the position of the back legs where the cover will need to open or tie. Sketch the chair roughly and write your figures directly onto the sketch. Loose measurements on a scrap of paper become confusing once you have four or five to keep track of.

Making a Pattern

Skipping the pattern stage is tempting and almost always regretted. A pattern in cheap calico or even newspaper lets you test the fit before cutting into good fabric.

Drape the calico over the chair section by section, pinning it to follow the shape. Mark the seam lines with a pencil directly on the calico while it is on the chair. Take it off, lay it flat, and add 1.5cm seam allowance around every marked line. Cut, then reassemble the calico pieces with pins and try the whole thing on the chair.

This is where you discover that the back tapers more than you thought, or that the seat needs a small dart at the rear corners. Adjust the calico, unpick, and use the corrected pieces as your final pattern. Label each piece clearly with its name and which way up it goes.

Selecting Suitable Fabric

Chair covers need fabric that holds a shape without being stiff, and that washes without shrinking dramatically.

Cotton canvas, linen blends and cotton twill are the reliable choices. They press well, take a crisp seam and soften attractively with laundering. Pure linen looks lovely and drapes beautifully but creases readily, which suits a relaxed room and frustrates anyone wanting a tailored finish.

Avoid anything with significant stretch unless you are making deliberately fitted stretch covers, and avoid heavy upholstery fabric, which is difficult to sew through multiple layers on a domestic machine. Wash and dry your fabric before cutting. Natural fibres shrink on their first wash, and a cover made from unwashed fabric will not fit after its first clean.

Consider the room as a whole. A pale linen cover looks composed against a solid timber table and works particularly well with the clean lines of modern wooden dining tables UK designs, where the texture contrast does the decorative work.

Cutting and Assembling

Lay your fabric flat with the grain running vertically down the chair. Pin the pattern pieces, checking the direction arrows, and cut with sharp shears in long strokes.

Start construction with the seat panel. Sew any darts first, press them flat, then attach the back panel to the seat along the rear seam. Press every seam as you complete it. Pressing is what separates a homemade look from a made one, and it is impossible to do properly once the cover is assembled.

Attach the side panels next, then the skirt if you are making one. Leave the back seam or one back corner open until last so you can test the fit on the chair. Once you are satisfied, finish the raw edges with a zigzag stitch or overlocker, and hem the bottom edge.

Fastenings and Fit

A cover that shifts every time someone stands up is a daily irritation, so the fastening deserves proper thought.

Fabric ties at the back legs are the most forgiving option and add a soft decorative detail. Cut strips 5cm wide and 40cm long, fold and stitch into ties, then attach them at the rear corners so they can be tied around the leg. Velcro sewn into the back seam gives a cleaner, closer finish but wears over time and can catch on knitwear.

Elastic threaded through a channel around the underside of the seat is the neatest solution for seat only covers. It pulls the cover snug under the seat and is invisible in use. Use 1cm wide elastic and pull it to about 80 percent of the seat circumference before securing.

Covers for Different Chair Shapes

Straight backed chairs are the easiest. The back is essentially a flat rectangle and the seat a square, so the pattern is simple and the fit predictable.

Curved and shaped backs need darts or a shaped seam at the top to follow the contour. Take extra time at the calico stage here, as the difference between a cover that sits smoothly over a curve and one that bags is a matter of a centimetre or two in the dart.

Chairs with arms require openings at the arm joints, which is genuinely advanced work. If your chairs have arms, consider a seat only cover instead. Chairs with open frames or slatted backs often look better left uncovered on the back, with just a seat cover, since covering the back hides the detail that makes the chair interesting in the first place.

Caring for Finished Covers

Wash covers on a cool cycle and remove them while slightly damp. Put them back on the chairs to dry, which allows the fabric to shape itself to the chair and removes the need for ironing.

If the covers are heavily creased, press them inside out on a medium heat with a pressing cloth over any decorative detail. Cotton and linen take heat well but the seams can shine if pressed directly on a high setting.

Make a second set if the chairs see heavy use. Having a spare set means one can be in the wash without the chairs sitting bare, and alternating between two sets doubles the life of both. This is the same principle that makes slipcovers appealing on fabric dining chairs UK sale purchases, where a washable layer over the original upholstery preserves what is underneath.

When Covers Are the Wrong Answer

Covers hide worn fabric but they do not fix a chair that is uncomfortable, wobbly or the wrong height for the table. Adding fabric over a failing frame simply postpones a decision.

They also add bulk, which matters in small dining spaces. A full slipcover with a skirt makes a chair visually larger and can make a compact room feel crowded. In tight spaces a seat pad cover keeps the chair’s slim profile intact.

If you find yourself making covers to disguise chairs you no longer like, it is worth considering whether the effort is better spent choosing something you actually want to look at. Comparing a current dining chairs UK sale range against the cost of fabric and a weekend of sewing is a useful reality check, and our full collection at Furniture in Fashion includes free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much fabric do I need for one dining chair cover?

A seat only cover needs around 0.6 metres of 140cm fabric. A full slipcover with a skirt typically needs 1.5 to 2 metres per chair, depending on the chair height and skirt length.

Can I make chair covers without a sewing machine?

Simple tie on seat covers can be made with hand stitching and fabric glue for hems, though the result will be less durable. Anything with structured seams really needs a machine to withstand regular use and washing.

Should I wash the fabric before making covers?

Yes, always. Cotton and linen shrink on the first wash, and a cover cut from unwashed fabric will no longer fit the chair after it has been laundered once.

What is the best fabric for washable dining chair covers?

Cotton twill and cotton linen blends offer the best balance. They hold a tailored shape, take repeated washing well and press cleanly without the heavy creasing of pure linen.

How do I stop chair covers slipping?

Elastic threaded through a channel under the seat gives the neatest hold for seat covers. For full slipcovers, fabric ties at the back legs are the most reliable and are easy to adjust as the fabric relaxes.