How to Upholster Seat Covers

Whether you have indoor or outdoor chair seats that require upholstering, doing it yourself is relatively basic. You require only basic sewing skills and the ability to cut and measure to complete the project. Doing the job yourself is an inexpensive alternative to purchasing newly upholstered cushions, or paying someone to do the job for you. With so many upholstery fabrics to choose from, making your own gives you the ability to match your own design preference.

Measuring tape
Foam rubber
Marking pen
Utility knife
Pins
Chalk
Scissors
Sewing machine
Needle
Thread

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the cushions from the chair, if reupholstering the old cushions. Reuse the old cushions if they are in good shape and cover them with new fabric.
- 2
  Measure the area of the seat, or the old cushions, if replacing them. Measure the length, width and depth of the old cushion. This gives you the desired measurements to cut out the new foam.
- 3
  Mark the width and length measurements on the new piece of foam using a marking pen. Use a utility knife and cut out the new cushion. Keep the edges straight and clean as you make your cuts.
- 4
  Add the cushion's depth measurement to the width and length measurement and add an additional 2 inches to allow for seams. For example, if the length and width are 12 inches and the depth is 4 inches, add 4 inches to the length and width, ending up with 16 inches for each measurement. Add an additional 2 inches to those measurements, ending up with a final measurement of 18-by-18 inches.
- 5
  Double your fabric and lay it on a flat surface. Pin the two pieces of fabric together.
- 6
  Mark off the width and length measurements with chalk. Each seat cover requires two fabric panels of the same size for the bottom and top of the seat.
- 7
  Cut out the fabric cushion panels. Remove the pins. Place the fabric panel's right sides together and pin the pieces together.
- 8
  Sew a ½-inch seam around three edges of the cushion panel, leaving the forth side open. Remove the pins. Turn the cushion casing right side out.
- 9
  Place the cushion casing over the cushion. Turn the open side seam toward the inside and pin the edge together.
- 10
  Sew the remaining seam closed using a needle and thread. Triple stitch your first and last stitch to hold the seam together and keep the thread from unraveling. Sew the seam together using 1/8-inch stitches.

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