How to Make Sewn Slipcovers for Chippendale Chairs

Whether you want to update your dining room, decorate for the holidays or disguise the hideous paint job on a yard sale find, slipcovers provide a frugal way to keep your Chippendale chairs’ look fresh. The hardest part of the project is the pattern, and your elementary school measurement skills will see you through that task easily. Show off your personal style with bold fabric choices or whimsical embellishments and wow your guests with your creativity.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Tissue or tracing paper
• Fabric
• Dressmaker pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Measure the height of the chair back, from the seat to the top of the chair.

2. Measure the width of the chair back at the widest part.

3. Draw a pattern on the tissue paper, using the measurements taken. These lines will be your stitching lines when assembling the slipcover.

4. Draw a line 1 inch outside the pattern you’ve drawn. These lines will be the cutting lines.

5. Match the selvage edges of the fabric to fold it in half with the right sides of the fabric together.

6. Pin the pattern to the fabric and cut around the cutting lines to make two slipcover pieces.

7. Remove the pattern, replacing the pins as you go.

8. Stitch around three sides of the fabric, using a 1-inch seam allowance.

9. Trim the seams to 1/4 inch.

10. Fold the open end up 1 inch toward the wrong side of the fabric. Fold the raw edge back, sandwiching it between the larger piece and the folded edge.

11. Stitch around the opening of the slipcover, running the stitch line along the two folded edges.

12. Turn the slipcover right side out and slide it over the back of your chair.

Tips & Warnings

• If the back of your chair tapers significantly, place the tissue paper against it and trace the outer edges to make your pattern. Add the extra seam allowance and proceed in the same manner to make a more fitted cover.

• You can use nearly any kind of fabric for these slipcovers. If your fabric choice contains a lot of cotton, preshrink it before cutting and sewing the covers so that they will still fit the chairs after their first laundering. For long-term use, denim, twill and upholstery fabrics hold up well, while cotton or cotton-polyester blends offer a wide selection for holiday decorating.

• Dress up your slipcovers by adding lace, braided trim, ruffles or even buttons and appliques to the finished cover. If you like changing the look often, but you don’t want to make new covers each time, consider solid-colored fabric for the covers and add appliques and other embellishments with hook-and-loop tabs for quick changes.