How to Make a Chair Cushion Cover with a Zipper

This chair and ottoman can be given new life with new zippered seat cushion covers.

Reupholstering furniture can be simultaneously challenging and rewarding. Making new or updated chair cushion covers is an easy way to change or update your decor. It can also be a cost-effective way to replace damaged or worn-out pieces without having to purchase a complete set of new chairs. Adding a zipper to your cushion cover allows you to easily clean and change covers to make a beautiful accent chair more functional. Make one to create an interesting accent piece, or reupholster an entire matching set. The zippered-seat cushion cover is suitable for both indoor and outdoor chairs, and also works for seat backs.

Things You'll Need

• Heavy-weight or upholstery fabric
• Sewing machine
• Sewing machine needles for heavy weight fabrics
• Bobbin
• Heavy-duty or upholstery thread
• Non-separating zipper
• Zipper presser foot
• Regular scissors
• Fabric scissors or pinking shears
• Tape measure or ruler
• Pencil or pen
• Newsprint or tissue paper
• Straight pins
• Tailor's chalk
• Scotch guard/fabric protector (optional)
• Seam ripper (optional)
• Iron and ironing board

Instructions

Make and Cut Pattern

1. Remove existing covering from foam cushions if possible and set aside. Measure the lengths and widths of the top, bottom and all four sides of each cushion you want to cover with a ruler or tape measure. Transfer the measurements to newsprint or tissue paper with a straight-edge ruler and pencil or pen to make your pattern. Add 1/2-inch seam allowance in all directions to the outside of lines drawn in previous step.

2. Cut out the pattern with scissors. Mark each pattern part with name of corresponding cushion side and set aside.

3. Multiply the length and width of each piece. Add the results together to determine how much fabric you will need. Be sure to include seam allowances and multiply by the number of cushions being worked. Add an extra yard to allow for mistakes. Look for upholstery fabric, microsuede, tweeds or heavier cottons. These are more durable than other fabrics and will stand up to daily use.

4. Wash and dry fabric according to type of material. Iron the prewashed fabric flat and unfolded.

5. Place fabric on large flat surface, wrong side up. Place patterns on fabric and pin them down. Cut fabric with pinking shears and remove pins. Use tailor's chalk to transfer the markings from patterns onto fabric.

Sewing the Zipper

1. Unpack the zipper from its packaging and open it to its full length, still zipped. Iron flat if necessary.

2. Fold the back cushion fabric piece in half lengthwise and iron. Cut along the ironed fold. You should now have two skinny strips. Mark them "A" and "B."

3. Place A wrong side up and fold the long edge up 1/4 inch. Iron edge flat. You should see a 1/4-inch strip of the right side. Repeat for B.

4. Lay A and B right sides up with the folded, pressed edges alongside each other as if you were going to reunite them. Place zipper between A and B, zipper facing up and sliding it underneath the pressed, folded edges of each. Let the folded edges touch.

5. Pin zipper in place, opening it little by little as you go along. Close the zipper. Hand-baste the zipper in place and remove pins. Attach the zipper foot to machine and top-stitch the zipper in place. Turn fabric over and close seams above and below the zipper. Press each seam open and flat. Set the cushion aside.

Sewing the Cushion

1. Remove zipper foot from machine and replace with the regular presser foot.

2. Place cushion top right-side-up on flat surface. Align front of cushion to top front, right sides together. Pin in place 1/2-inch from the raw edges. Hand baste. Align each side of cushion top to each cushion side, pin them in place 1/2-inch from the raw edges and hand baste. Repeat aligning, pinning and hand-basting for the back of the cushion.

3. Machine stitch sides to top.

4. Place new piece on seat cushion with wrong side out. Using seat cushion as guide to ensure proper fit, pin fabric front to fabric left side at the corner along the thickness of the cushion. Repeat for remaining corners.

5. Remove fabric from seat cushion and hand-baste. Remove pins and machine stitch.

6. Place new piece on seat cushion, wrong side up. Turn cushion over so that fabric top is on the bottom. Open zipper on back piece slightly.

7. Align cushion bottom to new piece, wrong side up. Using seat cushion as guide to ensure proper fit, pin fabric bottom to all four sides. Hand baste while fabric is on cushion. Remove pins.

8. Open zipper completely and remove cushion without disrupting basting. Machine stitch bottom in place.

9. Trim all seams. Turn cover right side out. Insert cushion and zip shut. Apply protective coating/waterproofing spray in well-ventilated area. Return covered seat cushion to chair when protective coating is completely dry.

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Tips & Warnings

• Instead of making your pattern from scratch, use the old cover removed in the first step as a guide for your new pattern. Open the seams with a seam ripper. Mark wrong sides of each with the name of corresponding cushion side. Iron the fabric flat, then pin to newsprint or tissue paper. Cut 1/2-inch (for seam allowance) around fabric template.

• When purchasing the fabric, check the fabric information on the bolt card and write it down or take a photo of it so that you can wash, dry and iron it at the correct settings.

• If working with patterned fabrics, try to align the patterns at the seams so that the pattern is continuous. You may need to buy even more fabric than is recommended in the steps in the event that you need to cut fabric on the bias (an angle) rather than from whole cloth.

• Get creative and add piping on the top of the cushion by inserting the piping into the seams between the top and sides during top-to-side construction.

• Apply protective coatings to all covered cushions at once.

• For outdoor seat cushions use weather-safe fabric such as vinyl.

• Do not fold fabric and try to cut more than one seat cover at a time--cutting will be less accurate.

• Always use the same thread for your bobbin as for your main thread to avoid thread breaking and tension problems.

• Use the appropriate thread weight for the type of fabric that you choose.

References

• Alternative Windows: Seat Cushion Ideas
• Upholster: How to Install Zippers in Pillows
• Denver Fabrics: About Outdoor Cushions

Resources

• HGTV: Window Seat Sewing Projects
• Sewing: Sew-lutions Guidelines
• Elle Decor: How to Make Box Chair Cushions