Slipcover Style Saving Dad’s Chair

Slipcover Style is taking an old worn dated piece of furniture and dressing it up with new fabric. Sometimes the piece is faded or soiled or maybe even wearing a few rips. A slipcover can transform these pieces of furniture and give you many years of future enjoyment at the same time-saving lots of money. I’ve been sewing slipcovers for more than 20 years and it still amazes me how they can transform a piece of sad worn furniture to an updated focal point. Slipcover Style can look like the furniture has been re-upholstered or it can look like an oversized T-Shirt or “Shabby Chic” limited only by the seamstress’ imagination.

Dad’s Chair

Today we’re gonna talk about saving Dad’s chair. You know the one that he sits in all the time while watching TV, snacking and napping. The one he won’t part with because it is “Oh so comfortable”. “Yes That one!” I have one in my living room but it is a navy blue leather wing chair recliner so it really blends in! Maybe a recliner or maybe an easy chair but you know who’s chair it is just by the way it looks.

Such was the case with the big red velour chair. The wife in the household wanted it taken to Goodwill and the husband just wouldn’t part with it. I was called in to give and estimate on big red for upholstery and you can imagine the cost was way beyond what the chair was worth or what they wanted to pay. A few days later and we were talking again and this time about  how to save the chair for less money. Come to find out the chair had belonged to the husband’s father and you can’t put a price on sentimental value. He was going to save his chair!

Solution to Saving Dad’s Chair- Slipcover Style

These were the pictures of the before of big red. I was throwing in a new cushion on this job so we threw the old one out before we took it into the workshop. You can see the chair has been well used but no tears or damage and the frame was sturdy and well-built. A perfect candidate for slipcover style! He chose an upholstery fabric from Greenhouse Fabrics so it couldn’t be washed but it is super sturdy and stain resistant.

When I make a slipcover I start with the inside back and then make the covers for the arms and sew these three pieces together. Next I sew the seat to these and my inside chair is done. I make the outside as one piece and then sew the inside to the outside. Finishing the bottom; in this case there is no skirt to sew so we attach the slipcover to the bottom of the chair with velcro. Lastly I cover the cushion and my slipcover is all done.

We saved Dad’s chair and he will have many happy years of watching the game in his new “old” chair! He’s a happy camper.

This post is more an overview about just what a slipcover can do to an old chair. This chair  would really require an experienced sewer to make a slip for it. In the future I will post a complete tutorial that would work for a beginner.

Have a great day,

Peggy.