To sew dining chair covers, make a paper or calico pattern from each surface of the chair, cut your fabric with a 1.5cm seam allowance on every edge, pin the pieces together with the right sides facing inwards, then stitch the seams and finish with elastic, ties or a hem to hold the cover in place. A simple seat cover takes around an hour, while a full chair cover with a fitted back takes two to three.
Sewing your own covers gives you control over fabric, fit and cost, and it lets you change the look of a dining set without replacing it. It also means the covers can come off and go into the machine, which no fixed upholstery allows.
Cover fabric needs to be washable, reasonably heavy and dimensionally stable. Cotton drill, cotton canvas, polyester blends and linen unions all work well. Avoid anything with significant stretch unless you are deliberately making a stretch cover, since woven patterns assume the fabric holds its shape.
Pre wash everything before cutting. Natural fibres shrink on their first wash, sometimes by as much as five per cent, and a cover that fitted beautifully before washing will be tight and short afterwards. Wash at the temperature you intend to use going forward, then dry and press before you cut.
If you are choosing fabric to complement existing seating rather than disguise it, looking at the tones across our modern fabric dining chairs UK gives a useful sense of which shades sit comfortably in a dining setting.
There are three broad approaches. A simple seat cover fits over the seat pad only and ties or elasticates underneath. It is the easiest to make and suits chairs where the frame and back are attractive enough to leave exposed.
A full fitted cover encloses the seat, the back and often the legs, giving a tailored look close to real upholstery. It requires the most pattern work but produces the most polished result.
A loose or draped cover skims the chair with deliberate fullness, often with a skirt or pleated corners. It is forgiving of imprecise patterning and suits a softer, more relaxed room.
Pattern making is where the accuracy comes from, so do not rush it. Work surface by surface: the seat top, the seat front, each side, the inside back and the outside back.
Pin calico or pattern paper directly to the chair, smoothing it flat against each surface, and mark the edges with a pencil where the surfaces meet. Add register marks across each seam line so you can align the pieces correctly when you come to sew.
Remove the pattern pieces and lay them flat. Add 1.5cm seam allowance around every edge, plus a hem allowance of 3cm to 5cm at the bottom. Label each piece clearly and note which way is up, since several pieces will be similar shapes.
Lay the fabric flat with the grain running vertically down the chair, which means the selvedge runs from front to back on the seat and top to bottom on the back panel. Consistent grain direction stops the cover twisting after washing.
If the fabric has a pattern, plan the layout so any motif centres on the seat and the inside back. Match pattern across seams where the pieces meet at a visible join. This uses more fabric but is what separates a homemade look from a considered one.
Cut with sharp shears or a rotary cutter, and mark your register notches into the seam allowance as you go.
Pin the pieces right sides together, matching register marks first and easing the fabric between them. Tack by hand if the shapes are complex, since pins can shift on curved seams.
Stitch with a medium length straight stitch, around 2.5mm to 3mm. Reduce speed on curves and clip into the seam allowance around inside curves so they sit flat when turned. Notch outside curves by cutting small wedges from the allowance to remove bulk.
Press each seam as you complete it. Pressing at every stage rather than at the end makes a substantial difference to the finished shape, particularly around the seat corners.
Piping gives a cover definition and protects the seams from wear. Cut bias strips at forty five degrees to the grain, 4cm wide, and join them into a continuous length. Wrap around piping cord and stitch close using a zipper foot.
Sandwich the piping between the two fabric layers with the cord facing inwards, then stitch as close to the cord as the foot allows. Contrast piping in a darker tone sharpens the outline of the chair. Self piping in the same fabric gives a quieter, more tailored effect.
How the cover stays on matters as much as how it is cut. Elastic threaded through a channel hem under the seat is the simplest solution and works well for seat only covers. Use 1cm wide elastic and leave it slightly loose, since over tightening pulls the cover out of shape.
Fabric ties at the back corners suit a softer aesthetic and allow adjustment. Cut ties 5cm wide and around 35cm long, fold and stitch, then attach at the seam line so they sit neatly against the chair posts.
Velcro or a zip along the back seam gives the closest fit for a fully fitted cover. Insert the zip into the outside back seam where it is least visible. This is the most professional finish and worth the extra effort on covers you intend to keep for years.
Chairs with open backs, cut outs or curved rails need the cover to split and rejoin around the obstruction. Mark the openings on your pattern and add a facing or a bound edge around each one.
Chairs with arms need a separate arm piece patterned on both the inner and outer faces, joined at the top. Take particular care with the join where the arm meets the back, which is the most visible seam on the whole cover.
If the chair legs splay outwards, the cover needs a slight flare at the hem or it will ride up. Add 2cm to 3cm of extra width at the bottom of each side panel and taper it into the seam line.
When making covers for six chairs, complete one entirely first and check the fit before cutting the rest. Adjustments made after the first cover save five repetitions of the same error.
Cut all remaining pieces in one session using the corrected pattern so any fabric variation across the roll is distributed evenly rather than concentrated in one chair. Keep the thread and tension settings consistent throughout.
Covers make sense when the chair frames are sound, when you want washability, or when you want to change a scheme without replacing furniture. They are less useful when the chairs are uncomfortable, the frames are loose, or the shape itself is the problem, since a cover cannot fix any of those.
Where the seating itself is tired, replacement is often the more sensible route. We list a broad range of options at Furniture in Fashion, including complete dining table and chairs sets UK sale if the table is due an update too. For a mixed approach, adding a modern dining bench UK along one side reduces the number of covers needed while opening up a narrow room.
How much fabric do I need to make a dining chair cover?
A seat only cover needs around half a metre per chair. A full fitted cover including the back and sides typically needs two to two and a half metres, more if you are matching a pattern.
Do I need to pre wash the fabric?
Yes. Cotton and linen shrink on the first wash, and a cover cut from unwashed fabric will no longer fit after cleaning.
Can I make chair covers without a sewing machine?
Simple tie on seat covers can be hand stitched or made with hemming tape, but fitted covers with piping and zips really need a machine to hold up to repeated washing.
What is the easiest chair cover for a beginner?
A seat pad cover with elastic underneath. It involves straight seams, no fitting around the back, and mistakes are barely visible once the cover is on.
How do I stop chair covers slipping?
Elastic or ties underneath the seat hold most covers in place. For persistent slipping, add small strips of non slip matting between the cover and the seat surface.
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