How to Make Replacement Butterfly Chair Covers

The 7 Simple Steps to Making Your Own Butterfly Chair Covers

Butterfly chairs are vintage style seats with folding steel frames that make them easy to store when not in use, as well as portable. This makes them great for using at outdoor events, such as Barbeques, parties, the beach or a picnic.

The body of this classic chair is made from a strong canvas cover, in the shape of butterfly wings. The material the cover is made from needs to be resilient and tough enough to hold the weight of someone sitting in the seat and withstand being folded away.

Butterfly chairs are great if you like the retro look of the 1950s and 1960s and want an inexpensive way to provide seating in your den, basement, kids bedroom or dorm room. If your butterfly chair covers are showing signs of aging – maybe the fabric has been faded by the sun out on the patio or is beginning to wear thin in places – it is quite simple to smarten them up with replacement covers, which can be purchased for low prices. This is a good opportunity to give your butterfly chairs a makeover and cover them with a different color fabric or new pattern.

If you fancy taking on a project, then making new covers for butterfly chairs is fairly easy to do and is a good way of adding your personal touch to your furniture. Here is a quick guide to how to make your own butterfly chair cover. Once you’ve made your first one, it should be straightforward to repeat the process and make new covers for all your chairs. You can use the same color fabric for each cover, or use different colors – it’s up to you. Just make sure the material you use is durable and suitable to be used as a seat covering.

Step:

1 Once you’ve got your chosen fabric, place it good side down on your table or worktop and use your old butterfly chair cover as a template.

2 Cut two pieces of fabric for both the top and bottom sections of the seat (two pieces for each section), leaving 1 inch all the way round for the seam.

3 Cut four smaller pieces to make the corner pockets, which will slip over the chair frame.

4 Sew the top and bottom pieces together, so you end up with two main pieces of fabric – the front and back of your cover.

5 Make a hem along the straight edge of each corner pocket and sew a pocket on to each corner. Sew around the curved outside edges, leaving the straight hemmed edges open like pockets.

6 Sew the two main fabric sections together, so that when you’re finished the good sides of the fabric show on the outside of the cover.

7 Fit your new replacement cover on to your butterfly chair by hooking the pockets on to the frame.

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