• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sew Fearless

overcome your fear of needles

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • About
  • Contact
  • Cart
You are here: Home / Home Goods / The Nursing Chair Makeover

The Nursing Chair Makeover

November 14, 2013 by Jodi 25 Comments

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

Folks, I’ve got plans for 2014. Plans for switching the direction of my projects on this blog. I want to get back to the heart of why I decided to learn to sew in the first place. (Bonus points if you have been reading long enough to know what that reason is!) To prepare for this shift, I am clearing out my old unfinished projects. This is a prime example. I bought fabric two years ago to recover my favorite chair – The Nursing Chair. I finally finished it this week.

chair before slipcover - sewfearless.com

I spend hours and hours sitting in this chair every day (and, as of late, long parts of the night as well). It is the chair equivalent of your favorite broken in pair of tennis shoes – ugly, worn, but oh so ridiculously comfortable. I will cry if/when this chair ever breaks. Originally, I had planned to legit re-upholster my Chair o’ Comfort, but after a recent stomach bug passed through the house, I decided this time in my life calls for slipcovers.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

I can’t really give a straight up tutorial on how to do this, because every chair is different. However, I will share a general overview of how I tackled it. I hope this can help you if you want to attempt it.

1. Fabric

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

I purchased 9 yards of home decorating fabric (58″ wide) from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I used all but maybe a half yard of it.

2. Back and Seat Cushions

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

I covered the back and seat cushions first. The shape of the seat cushion was easy enough to trace off for a pattern, but the back cushion needed a different strategy.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

To make the pattern, I laid a piece of craft paper over the cushion. I traced along the pins to draw out the pattern, added seam allowances to finish the pattern. Here it is folded in half along the center and the seam line smoothed out.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

Then, I repeated this pinning-tracing technique for every fabric section of the original cushion.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

I inserted piping on the slipcover wherever it was used on the original cushion. This piping is made with a 5/32″ cord. (See this tutorial for how to make your own piping.) Besides giving a project more visual oopmph, piping gives more structure to the shape of the cushions and hides stitching at the seams.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

3. Chair Arms

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

Next, I tackled the body of the chair, starting with the chair arms. Once again, I pinned and traced to make the pattern pieces.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

4. Chair Seat and Back

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

After the chair arms/sides where sewn,  I abandoned the careful pattern piece drafting and started pin fitting draped fabric to the chair. With the fabric inside out, I pinned the fabric to fit, traced the seam lines and then sewed. I found it helpful to work in sections at a time. Rechecking the fit after every seam was sewn.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

The order that worked for me was:

  • seat (khaki rectangle) to the inner charm arms
  • bottom front
  • bottom front to chair arms side
  • back to chair arm side
  • inner back to inner chair arms
  • back to seat

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

All the fitting and refitting was time-consuming to be sure, but it is mostly the fault of the shape of the chair. A simpler shape would have come together much more easily. Watch out for  chair fronts that jut out from the arms (like the picture above), and have chair arms extending past the back of the chair (pictured below), that H seam junction was a doozy. (I found it interesting to compare the shape of this chair to the shape of Ikea slipcover chairs and couches. Ikea’s are definitely designed with the slipcover in mind.)

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

5. Hemming

Lastly, I pinned up the hem of the chair, pressed, and slip-stitched it in place.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

And that’s that. My favorite chair is all glammed up and ready for its usual duties.

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

Custom Slipcover for Upholstered Chair - SewFearless.com

My vacuum is broken! I swear!

Red Lipstick Dare

(This photo brought to you by The Red Lipstick Dare 2013.)

Filed Under: Home Goods Tagged With: chair, decor, diy, home dec, re-upholstery, slipcover, upholstery

Previous Post: « Experiments in Waxing Canvas
Next Post: The “Manly Poppins” – a DIY Camera Bag »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natalie says

    November 14, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    Jodi it looks amazing, I love the fabric. 1/2 a yard you say…………can we say tote bag!

    Reply
  2. Karen says

    November 14, 2013 at 8:24 pm

    Ok – that is gorgeous-love the fabric choice! I am inspired.

    Reply
  3. Jackie says

    November 14, 2013 at 9:05 pm

    It looks great!! Well done!! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Jess @ if only they would nap says

    November 14, 2013 at 11:01 pm

    Wow wow wow!! This is so awesome Jodi. Kinda gives me hope that maybe I could actually do this. Also, the before fabric looks just like my nursing chair!

    Reply
  5. carly r says

    November 15, 2013 at 12:49 am

    Your chair looks great. Congrats! I really like the fabric you chose. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Mary Kay Reynolds says

    November 15, 2013 at 1:14 am

    So very nice. Love the bright colors.

    Reply
  7. Mary Tizedes says

    November 15, 2013 at 11:13 am

    Jodi …..you are incredible……the chair us beautiful!!

    Reply
  8. carmen Johnson says

    November 15, 2013 at 11:45 am

    what a fabulous job. The color of the chair is breath taking. I would love to do that.

    Reply
  9. Reenie says

    November 15, 2013 at 12:34 pm

    LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! It looks incredible! I’ve slipcovered chairs (not very well) but never thought to pin the paper to the chair for drawing a pattern! Fabulous. The chair looks incredible and I love that its all washable. 😀 You are brilliant.

    Reply
  10. Michelle says

    November 15, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    It looks gorgeous! Slip covering the couch is in my 2014 plan. Our sofa is like a beloved member of the family. 😉 Thanks for sharing your process!

    Reply
  11. Laura says

    November 15, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    The chair is gorgeous! I love that a simple (but not really so simple) slipcover can revive furniture.

    Reply
  12. Tracey Wirth says

    November 16, 2013 at 12:17 am

    WOWEE!!!! Great chair… I don’t know how you find the time to…. sleep? You really did a remarkable job Jodi!

    Reply
  13. Charity says

    November 16, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    Beautifully done! I actually do have a chair that I want to either recover or slipcover… but I keep putting it off in favor of other projects.

    Reply
  14. Laurinda says

    November 16, 2013 at 9:17 pm

    I usually just lurk, but that chair looks so amazing! Very nicely done (applause)

    Reply
  15. Tracy A. says

    November 17, 2013 at 9:47 am

    Wow! This is just spectacular! I took a reupholstery class years ago; did one chair and said never again. I know that this is different, but your result is just wonderful!

    Reply
  16. Sue S. says

    November 17, 2013 at 3:39 pm

    OMG You did a great job on that chair. I would love to do that too. Don’t know if I have it in me to do such a great job. I really need to do something. My living room has been the same for far too long. HAHA.

    Reply
  17. marsi says

    November 21, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    so glad i found your site! great great job on the chair cover. I made pillows for my sofa with that same fabric. & I’ve been wanting to re-upholster my tot’s chair which is similar to yours but tot size, but i’ve been a little intimidated by it…don’t know why because I have been sewing for many years. But I think it’s really because i am lazy & have a lot of unfinished projects lately. But this will most definitely be on my new year’s resolution list. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  18. Stephanie says

    December 6, 2013 at 9:54 pm

    It looks totally professional, awesome job!

    Reply
  19. Jessica says

    January 16, 2014 at 4:17 pm

    This is spectacular! I’d love to tackle a job like this for our sofa… I’ll have to go home and have a look at the cushions tonight. Beautiful makeover!

    Reply
  20. Karen says

    January 28, 2014 at 3:41 pm

    That is beautiful really amazing. Looks like it came from a home store. Great job

    Reply
  21. Kim Hamilton says

    July 22, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    Any idea what the name or maker of the fabric is? I love it and can’t find anything that is quite as colorful and classy as it is!

    Reply
  22. charmaine says

    September 5, 2015 at 3:31 pm

    just seen your transformation of your nursing chair. just wanted to say from a south african point of view. welldone!!!!! a rags to riches. a long walk to sucess. determination.m

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hello, 2014 says:
    January 3, 2014 at 9:41 am

    […] The beginning of the year I was settling into my sewing room and preparing for my fifth child. I released the Mommy Poppins bag pattern and went to Sewing Summit in the fall. I started two quilts and finished neither of them.  I experimented with leather and made a rad slipcover. […]

    Reply
  2. The project that took a year to finish… or actually an afternoon. | If Only They Would Nap... says:
    February 25, 2014 at 12:06 pm

    […] only helped a little. I’d love to paint the walls and slipcover our couches [did you see what Jodi did to the exact.same.chair? gorgeous!], but I don’t think I have the patience to make […]

    Reply
  3. DIY Upholstery Leather Ottoman Makeover - Sew Fearless says:
    April 25, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    […] my nursing chair slipcover makeover? That ugly chair had a matching equally ugly and yet equally comfortable ottoman. Covering it with […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Jodi

Jodi - Sewing Advocate - Mother of 7 - Lover of Swings and Deadlifts - Catholic

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Top Posts & Pages

How To Finish A Shaped Quilt Edge Without Binding
Miniature Vestments
Stretch Yourself: Working With Stretch Lace
Convert A Bra Into A Nursing Bra

Subscribe to The Newsletter!


Categories

  • Announcements & Site Updates
  • Baby
  • Bags
  • Blog Crush
  • Children's Clothing
  • Clothing
  • Crafts for Kids
  • Embroidery
  • Featured Fearless Sewists
  • Home Goods
  • Knitting
  • Maternity
  • Non-Sewing Crafts
  • Quilting
  • Round Ups
  • Sew Fearless Original Patterns
  • Sew-Along
  • Sewing Books
  • Sewing Tools
  • Tutorials
  • Updates & Project Progress
  • Vintage (very old posts)
  • Women's Clothing

Footer

Connect

Sew Fearless is about a reckless pursuit of the sewing craft. It is about not letting your fears talk you out of your dreams. It is a place to go for encouragement, information, and sewing camaraderie. It’s a place where “done” is better than “perfect”, and where saying “I didn’t try” is worse than “I failed”. Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

ABOUT

CONTACT

SHOP

DISCLOSURE

Sharing Policy

I am glad to have you here and happy to have you share my posts and ideas with your friends. However, please respect my content and do not repost it, except for maybe 1 or 2 photos as a teaser. If you do use my photo, give credit to Sew Fearless and link to the original blog post. Please do not use photos of my children.
Copyright © 2023 Sew Fearless · Site developed by Autumn Street