Slipper Chair Slip Covers

My re-upholstery skills and leftover love seat fabric were put to use again. This time my goal was to re-cover two slipper chairs in our living room.

We purchased them online from Target.com about a year ago. I did quite a bit of shopping around, looking for a pair of neutral colored chairs of this shape and size that were affordable. The on-line images sold me. I couldn't wait for these chairs to arrive! They were stylish, would be a great addition to our decor and would provide additional flexible seating.

This is the close up online image of the fabric, which I had to make a decision based on. It was hard to tell exactly what it would be like. 

Looking back, I wish I had seen the chairs in person before purchasing. They were a hassle to assemble, I wasn't crazy about the fabric and they could use some more padding. But, lesson learned. I still like the look of them. 

Photo from Young House Love

They're actually the same chairs Jon and Sherry from Young House Love have. I didn't realize this until after I got them. I must have good taste :)

Unfortunately, our cats loved them too. By love them, I mean they clawed them to the point of ruining them. I was furious! It was literally a daily battle of trying to keep the furballs off of the chairs. They couldn't get enough of the beige polyester blend! I was beginning to think the chairs were stuffed with catnip. Seriously, some kind of cruel joke! Here's a look at the damage. Chancho owes me $300. I'm still waiting for a check.

When it got so bad that I had to do something about it, I got out the tan fabric  I used to cover the love seat and went to work.

I cut and pinned fabric to the entire chair, inside out, using the current shapes and seams as a guide. Many, many pins along every seam. I made sure the pins were pretty snug so that I could sew a little inside the pins to have a great fit.

I left a generous amount of extra fabric to be trimmed off later and allow for adjustments.

I made sure the bottom edge was even all the way around and would hang down a little lower than the original upholstery to cover everything. The tricky part was sewing each edge carefully on my sewing machine. It felt like a puzzle. The rounded tops of the chairs were the most difficult part. When I was done sewing, I turned it right-side out, and slipped it on the chair (with some tugging and tucking).

I did not sew the "crack" of the chair where the seat back meets the seat (I don't know else to describe that). I left enough fabric to tuck down into the seat crack. That meant I couldn't sew completely down the sides. I'm a pretty good guesser, so it worked out, thankfully. Sometimes my lack of measuring doesn't always work out in my favor. This time it did. 

Here's a look at the before:

And the new cover after:

I like the darker tan fabric a lot better. Especially the fact that it's smooth and the cats don't sink their claws into it! 

I feel like I have my new chairs back! Even if this new fabric doesn't hold up forever, I can always re-cover them again with something else, now that I know how to do it. It took about 2.5 hours for each chair. Not bad. What do you think? I'm pretty proud of myself for covering them. I like the way the look now ever better! 

How about you? Saved any furniture lately? Any pets ruined your stuff? I want to hear your stories!