Upholstery Quick-Fix for Lazy People: A Tutorial
So, I have this vintage chair that's seen better days. Observe exhibit A: Pandora and her handiwork.
"The Voices tell me the chair must DIE!"
Now, I don't want to do a full reupholster job because A) it's super expensive, B) I love the original nubby orange tweed, and C) I'm lazy.
After puzzling for months and coming up with all sorts of ridiculously impractical ideas, my brilliant and sensible mother rolled her eyes and gave me the perfect solution: Arm Covers! Well, Ma, I'm finally getting around to it... one year later.
So here is what you'll need:
- About 1 yard of fabric. (You should probably measure beforehand to find out how much you'll need. Or you can use the Anna Method, which involves randomly deciding to hit up JoAnn's one day while grocery shopping, therefore being forced to guestimate yardage.)
- Thread, a similar-ish color.
- Sewing machine
- Tailor's chalk
- Measuring tape (a ruler is fine too.)
- Math ability equal to or greater than my own, which is about 4th grade level.
- Pins
Instructions:
Measure the dimensions of the chair's arms. For round arms, you'll need only two pieces: one to go over the top and sides, and one for the front. My chair has boxy arms, which called for a piece for the top, the front, and each side. Be sure to add seam allowance to each edge.
Lay your fabric right side down and measure out each piece, marking their dimensions with your chalk. In the image below, I am marking the depth of the side piece; 7 inches plus 5/8 for each end, giving me a total measurement of 8 and 1/4 inch. If you have a cat, you may consider shutting it out for this part...
Sewing is Pandora's favorite sport.
Once you have all your pieces drawn, cut them out, and use your cut piece as a pattern for cutting the identical pieces that will be used for the chair's other arm. For my chair, for example, I need two top pieces, two front pieces, and four side pieces. And now I may win the prize for Most Uses of the Word "Pieces" in a Paragraph. Pieces. Is pieces even a word? I don't even know anymore.
Pieces, pieces, pieces!
Time to sew! Bust out that machine and try to remember how to thread it. In the image below, you'll see that I'm sewing the top piece to one of the side peaces with right sides together (right sides are always together for this project), at 5/8ths allowance. You'll also see that I'm not using any pins. This is because A) corduroy doesn't move much, and B) I'm lazy. Corduroy is fabulous fabric for lazy people.
If you are wondering why "pieces" is spelled wrong above, it's because I'm making sure you are still paying attention.
After sewing one side, you may notice that the top piece extends beyond the side piece to which it is now attached. DON'T PANIC! Grab your towel! It's supposed to be like that! The extra on the top piece is the seam allowance for the front piece, as you can see below.
"Panic? Who's panicking? Not me. I totally know what I'm doing."
I recommend sewing your pieces in this order: top to side, front to top, other side to top, and finally, sides to front. Now the moment of truth: Does it fit? Let's give it a try...
HEY LOOK! IT FITS!!! Am I surprised that it fits? Of course I am; I've been making this shit up as I go...
Now for the boring part: hemming. I HATE hemming things, so for this project I'm going with the ol' fold-over-once-and-call-it-a-day route. But if you can bear the drudgery, and are the kind of person who, say, enjoys organizing your pencils by eraser length, I suppose you could give it a proper hem. Loser.
Oh, and if your hem ends up looking like this, it means you need to stop taking pictures and pay attention to what you are doing.
Sooooooo... are you ready to see the finished product??????
