How to Sew Slipcovers for Chair Cushions

Sew a slipcover for a chair cushion to give the chair a new look.

Slipcovers hide muddy dog prints and kids' jelly stains and give your chairs a fresh new look. They're also an easy way to update your decor without the expense of reupholstering the chair or buying new cushions. You can use almost any fabric to make slipcovers, including old bedspreads or sheets, or cotton remnants. Choose a nonstretchy fabric for best results. Adding a zipper makes it easy to remove the cover to clean it. If you choose a washable fabric, you can simply toss the cover in the wash.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Zipper
• Zipper foot
• Iron
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Remove the old cover from your chair cushion. You can use this cover as a pattern or discard it. If the cover is thin and light-colored, you can leave it in place and put the new slipcover over it, but fabric that is heavily textured or that features a dark pattern will show through the new cover.

2. Measure the length, width and thickness of your cushion. Add 1 inch to each of these measurements. This will allow for a ½-inch seam allowance on all sides when you sew the new slipcover. Purchase a zipper that is approximately 1 inch shorter than the width of your cushion.

3. Cut out a top and bottom piece for your slipcover. These pieces should be the length of your cushion by the width of the cushion, plus the 1-inch seam allowance. If your chair cushion measures 20 inches by 18 inches, cut out a top and bottom that measure 21 inches by 19 inches.

4. Cut out the gusset. This is the piece that goes around the middle of the cushion to accommodate the thickness of the cushion. This gusset should be as wide as the thickness of your cushion plus 1 inch. Multiply the length of your cushion times two and add the width of your cushion plus 1 inch. Cut a second gusset piece that is the same width as the first gusset piece and as long as the width of your cushion plus 2 inches. For a 20-by-18-inch cushion that's 4 inches thick, cut one gusset piece 57 inches by 5 inches and a second gusset piece 21 inches by 6 inches.

5. Sew the zipper. Fold the shorter gusset piece in half lengthwise and press. Cut along this line, dividing the piece in half. Place right sides together and sew a ½-inch seam using a long basting stitch. Open the piece and press the seam flat. Lay your closed zipper facedown on the seam allowance with the opening of the zipper on the seam line. Using the zipper foot on your sewing machine, sew a seam 1/4 inch from the zipper opening on each side of the zipper. Remove the basting stitches from the zipper pull to the zipper stop.

6. Pin the longer gusset piece to your cushion top, with the right sides of the fabric together. Start at one side of the cushion and pin all the way around to the other side of the top. Sew a ½-inch seam, removing the pins as you sew.

7. Sew the gusset to the bottom of your slipcover the same way you attached the top. Now you have a box of fabric, open at one side. This will be the back of your cushion cover.

8. Open the zipper on the shorter gusset piece. Pin the shorter gusset piece to the opening of the cushion, with the right sides of the fabric together. Sew a ½-inch seam all the way around, removing the pins as you sew. Turn the cover right side out, pulling the fabric through the zipper opening.

9. Pull the completed cover over the cushion through the zipper opening. Smooth the cover, tugging all the corners in place. Close the zipper.

Tips & Warnings

• If your old cushion covers included zippers, you can cut these zippers out of the old covers and use them in the new covers.

• Pin cording along the seam line on the top of your cushion cover for a decorative look.

• Make slipcovers from plain canvas duck cloth for an inexpensive, casual slipcover. You also can paint duck cloth with fabric paints for a custom look.

References

• Alternative Windows: Box Cushion Instructions

Resources

• All Free Crafts: Slipcover Tutorial