Old to new!

A visit to a charity shop and a discerning eye can unearth sturdy dining chairs that can be easily updated for very little cost.

To receive a beautiful, full-spread colour pattern by sending a stamped ($1) self-addressed C4 envelope (324 x 229mm) to:

Better Homes and Gardens, Summer Favourites
Private Bag 9850,
North Sydney NSW 2059

Or download your free pattern sheet now

We offer this file as a PDF (portable document format), in order to make the details clear and printable. To view and print this file, you need a program called Adobe Reader (which most web browsers already include). If you have trouble downloading the file, or if you'd like to upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader, you can obtain the software for free from Adobe's website.

PLEASE NOTE: This particular pattern is an extensive PDF which will take some time to download. It contains full plans and instructions for all our best ever Summer ideas; recovering a '70s chair, cube shelves, roman blinds and a children's gelato table with chairs.

Gather your supplies
Set of vinyl chairs
6mm foam
240cm wide black polycotton sheeting fabric
Linen fabric
Calico
Nylon mower starter cord (in place of cord for piping)
Selleys Liquid Nails adhesive
20mm flathead nails
Lint-free cloths
Furniture polish

Equipment:
Cordless drill; Phillips head and flat head screwdrivers; staple gun; staples (6mm and 8mm); Stanley knife, hammer; scissors; Sewing machine zipper foot

Here's how

Preparation
STEP 1
Unscrew the seat and backrest from each chair frame. Mark each piece that belongs to its corresponding chair frame. This will make reassembly of the re-covered chair a simple process as the screw holes will line up.

Seat
STEP 2
With the underside of the seat face up and working about 1cm in from the edge (outside the old staples), use the Stanley knife and cut and remove the old vinyl covering. Cut a piece of foam about 5cm larger all around than the seat.

STEP 3
Place the seat (underside face up) over the foam, centring it. Bring the foam edges around and, using 8mm staples, staple it to the seat underside at the North, South, East and West points then staple the corners before proceeding to work from the centre of each side out to the corners. Trim away the excess foam.

STEP 4
Cover the seat with a rectangle of black sheeting, stapling it in place as for the foam but pull the fabric taut around the seat and very taut where the seat dips at the front and back. Use the Stanley knife to trim away the excess fabric. Repeat this process with the linen.

STEP 5
Cut a piece of calico the same size as the underside of the seat. Turning the edges under and ensuring the previous staples and fabric edges are covered, neaten the underside by stapling the calico in place. First staple the north, south, east and west points, then the corners and finally from the centre out to the corners. Feel through the calico for the screw holes and staple either side of each hole to prevent the fabric pulling once the seat is reattached to the frame.

Back
STEP 6
Working around the backrest, prise apart the front and back by placing the tip of the flathead screwdriver into the join in line with the screw holes and gently tap with the hammer until the pieces come apart. If any chips of timber come away from any of the pieces, glue them back in place. Label the two pieces and mark the top and the bottom which will be useful when attaching the piping. Cut the mower cord the same length as the existing piping cord.

STEP 7
Cover the padded side (front) of the backrest the same way as for the seat - a layer of foam, then the black sheeting, then the linen. Trim away excess foam and fabric between each layer. Using 6mm staples so they don't poke through the timber, use the same method to cover the back piece but do not pad with foam.

Piping
STEP 8
For each chair, cut a 3cm-wide strip of linen to the required length for the piping which will give your chairs a professional looking finish. Cut the strip on the bias if you are using a very sturdy fabric. Fold the fabric over, with the pre-cut cord in between. Using the zipper foot, machine sew a straight row of stitching down the length of the strip. Using the zipper foot allows you to sew close to the cord. Make snips, 2cm apart, along the raw edge of each length of piping so it will neatly curve around the backrest once stapled.

STEP 9
Starting at the marked bottom and leaving a short tail, staple the piping around the edge of the back piece of the backrest until the two ends meet. Cut the cord so the cord ends butt up to each other and overlap the fabric ends.

STEP 10
Join the front and back pieces of the backrest, using the adhesive. Avoid adhesive near the screw holes. Working with the back piece, use your fingertips to locate the existing screw holes and hammer a 20mm flathead nail in line with and between each pair of holes. The nails will be covered by the timber frame once the chair has been reassembled. Staple the fabric on either side of the screw holes to prevent the fabric pulling.

Frame
STEP 11
Firmly wipe over the timber frame of the chair with a warm damp cloth (not to wet) to remove any grime. Buff with furniture polish and cloth. When dry, reassemble each of the chairs with their corresponding seats and backrests.

Stockists:
Upholstory: S & S Upholstery, (02) 9832 9595.
Aina raw linen fabric in natural: $12pm, IKEA, (02) 9418 2744 or www.ikea.com.au
240cm wide black cotton sheeting: $7.99p/m, SPOTLIGHT, 1300 305 405 or www.spotlight.com.au
6mm foam: $4.45pm, Clark RUBBER, (03) 8727 7999 OR www.clarkrubber.com.au
Nylon mower starter cord: hardware stores.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens January 2006