The good news about outdoor fabric is that it’s long lasting; the bad news about outdoor fabric is that it’s long lasting. It’s only bad news for the sewers among us who delight in changing out our décor, inside and out, on a regular basis.
But we’ve found a solution, so you don’t have to worry about sewing withdrawal — make cushion covers!
Creating slipcovers has been an inexpensive solution to disguising many furniture monstrosities, including that burnt orange crushed velvet couch that followed you home from college. But, they can be a lot of work. Since, most outdoor furniture is made of weather-resistant material, like bamboo or rattan, you’ll generally only need to make seat covers or back covers to fit cushions, rather than an entire slip cover.
Sewing cushion covers made of outdoor fabric provides an added bonus: you can switch out your coverings every season, and they’ll last even longer.
Recovering Outdoor Furniture Cushions
1. Draw a picture of the cushion you want to cover. Use this drawing to write down all of your measurements. This will serve as a handy reference when shopping for fabric.
2. How much fabric is required for your cushion? Using a tape measure, write down the measurements of your cushion. Include in your measurements an additional 1 ¼ inches to your width and length for a comfortable seam allowance. Plan to purchase around 2-3 yards of additional fabric in order to create proper closures (overlapping with Velcro, ties, or zippers).
3. Next step to making cushion covers is to choose your fabric. For outdoor furniture, you want to choose outdoor fabric that you know is made to withstand the rigors of outdoor life. Formerly available only in solid colors, outdoor fabrics have since developed into a category with a wide variety of styles and prints. They range from floral and tropical prints to contemporary designs.
4. Purchase sewing thread to match your project. Chalk is also a helpful tool for marking your fabric (it will wash out or can be brushed away).
5. Wash, dry and iron all of your fabric prior to marking, cutting and sewing.
6. Your fabric should be facing wrong-side-up when you begin to mark. Measure and mark the largest pieces of fabric, the seat or the back, first. Continue measuring and marking until the pieces are laid out on the fabric. Label each piece to avoid confusion later.
7. Cut your pieces carefully. You may want to consider using pinking shears to cut your fabric pieces to avoid excessive raveling of the edges.
8. Pin the seams of each piece together at roughly 2-inch intervals and with the fabric inside out.
9. Making slipcovers is somewhat like putting together a three dimensional puzzle. Envision the cushion cover as a whole and add the pieces accordingly.
10. It’s helpful to sew the seams that will dead-end into each other first and then add the other pieces.
11. Once the pieces have been sewn together, turn the cushion cover inside out and fit it to the cushion. Adjust, tuck, or straighten to make it fit just right.
Making covers for your outdoor love seat, club chairs or ottoman is an inexpensive way to freshen up a weathered looking piece of furniture. It’s also a great way to switch out seasonal themes to fit your outdoor lifestyle for a fraction of the cost of buying new cushions or furniture.
