Dinette chair cover

Several months ago, I found four dinette chairs (with wheels) at a local thrift store.  I did not particularly care for the fabric but, for $25 for the set, I couldn't turn them down.  Since finding these babies, we have put them to use and have found they are quite handy to have.  With one exception . . . our cats.  The cats LOVE napping on the chairs!  Ordinarily, I don't mind our four legged darlings snoozing the day away.  That is, until I realized how much fur they left behind on the chairs.  Not only is the hair a nuisance to clean, we have friends who are allergic to cats.  The fur was making it difficult to include our allergy riddled friends over for a visit.  It was time to resolve this little issue in our home.

Originally, I tried making slip covers from an old sheet we had tucked away in the linen closet.  I thought slip covers would solve the  fur problem by allowing me to wash everything prior to our cat allergy pal's next visit.  That worked for about a day until the fur babies decided to play chase and ripped holes in the thin sheet material.  It was obvious that I needed to use a heavier weighted fabric if I had any hope of success with my new plan.

Thankfully, I was given a car load of fabric from a local homeschool mom several months ago.  Included in this bonanza were yards and yards are heavy weight cottons.  The patterns are probably not ones I would have chosen, had I gone to the fabric store and paid good money.  However, free fabric is pretty to me, regardless of the pattern.  That's just how I roll.

As I am not an expert seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, I had to keep the design really simple. And a simple design, in my opinion, involved measuring the length of fabric I would need to cover the back, front and seat of the chair.  I then added a few more inches to create an overhanging skirt.

Next came the oh-so-wonderful serger which is on loan to me from my Mom.  I am now in love with a serger!  This fabulous invention cuts and sews all in one fell swoop. I love, love, love it!

The final step needed to complete my new slip covers was to add a little skirt to each side of the seat portion.  Honestly, I didn't even measure the sides but rather "eyeballed" the length needed and used the serger to complete the corners then cut and trim around the entire bottom hem.

I am tickled with the results and now have washable dining chair slip covers.  Now it is time to host another dinner party since I can easily remove all cat fur from chairs. This little project won't win any design awards but suits my needs for the time being.  Free and functional - my favorite combination!