A parsons chair fits any decor style. Having a slipcover, it may fit any decor motif, from a contemporary dining room into your frilly girl’s room – only by applying the proper cloth. If the material is washable, the cover will also be washable; a blessing to your busy homeowner and her loved ones.
Assess the seat part of this chair. Cut one piece of fabric equal to the width of the chair and 4 inches and equal to the length – the measurement from the back of the chair into the front – plus 6 inches. As an instance, if the bench measures 20 inches wide and 24 inches long, cut the cloth slice 24 inches wide and 30 inches long.
Put this piece right side to the chair seat. Allow the piece to extend off the side and front edges by 2 inches. The additional length on the slice orients to the back. Pin this piece into the chair, placing pins every 6 to 8 inches throughout the top layer of the chair, ensuring that the piece is securely pinned to the chair.
Assess the width of the front of the chair back and then add 4 inches. Assess the length of the back from the top edge to the seat and then add 6 inches. Cut the slice and place it at the chair, the right side to the chair. Allow 2 inches to extend over the sides and top edges, the remaining bulk of the cloth orients toward the middle of the seat and back.
Assess the width and length of the outside back of this chair, add 4 inches and then cut a bit to these measurements. Pin this slice centered on the chair back.
Measure from the chair seat top to your chair seat bottom and add 4 inches. Measure the perimeter of 3 sides of the chair; from the back to the front, across the front and on to the back on the other hand. Add 2 inches to the measurement and cut the bit of fabric to your chair boxing. Pin this piece in position, letting it extend above and under the chair bench 2 inches and one inch in the junction of the strip and the back.
Assess the thickness of the chair back and then add 4 inches to this dimension. Measure from the top of the seat, up one side of the chair back, over the top and down the opposing side. Add 2 inches to the measurement, cut a piece of cloth for this chair back boxing and pin it into the chair.
Pin the inside back and chair seat together in the outside edges. Put the pins perpendicular to the chair surface and no more than one inch apart; the pins mark the stitching line and have to be cozy to the top layer of the chair. The seam allowance involves the 4 inches added to this true chair length. Pin for 4 inches from the outside edge toward the center of the chair back. Pivot the pinning line and pin off from the chair back, toward the cut edge of the cloth. Pin for 3 inches and pivot to pin upon the piece, 1 inch from the cut edge. Duplicate this pinning at the other side. Cut the seam allowances down to 1 inch. These two sections create a forward-facing U-shaped tuck that, when turned into right-side out, inserts into the distance between the chair back and seat.
Pin the remaining cover bits together. The pins create the stitching line, keep them tight on the surface of the chair. Cut all pinned seam allowances down to 1 inch. Do not trim the bottom edge. Using tailor’s chalk, mark the outside edges of the chair legs.
Remove only the pins holding the cover bits to the chair and take out the cover. Stitch the cover together, using the pins as the stitching guideline. Remove the pins as you sew them up, don’t remove any over 2 inches of hooks in front of the needle of this machine. The sequence of sewing the seams is all up to you.
Finish the bottom edge of the cover with a serged edge or zigzag stitch. Sew the loop side of 1-inch-wide hook-and-loop tape into the wrong side of the slipcover round the outside of the cover between the chair-leg edge marks. Snip the fabric in the start and end of each tape strip, snip back from the edge 3/4 inch. Staple the hook of this hook-and-loop tape into the bottom of the chair, between the chair legs.
Put the cover on the chair, fastening the hook-and-loop tape sides together to hold the cover in place. Turn the un-taped corner part of this chair fabric under, creating a facing in the chair legs. Insert the tuck material between the seat and back to fill out the parson’s chair slipcover