There is always something to do in the garden and that does not always involve plants. I like to have various places to sit in our yard and I am continually looking to add more chairs or benches to our landscape. Some of our outdoor furniture have cushions. I prefer to have cushions because they make the furniture more comfortable but the downfall to them is that eventually the weather or our pets will get to them and they will need to be replaced and that can get expensive.
We were given this set of chairs from my parents. The frames are metal and are holding up really well to the elements. The cushions however have reached their limit. They lasted a really long time but the fabric is giving up. The foam is still in great shape so my thought is to recover the foam and save us a little bit of money. If you have priced replacement outdoor cushions, they can be pretty pricey and I was looking into all of the options I have for these chairs. I could buy brand new cushions (which I have done in the past with other chairs), I could buy new foam and fabric and make new cushions (this priced out to be about the same as buying all new cushions), or since the the foam is still in good shape, I could just buy new outdoor fabric and recover. That is the option I decided to go this time around. I lucked out big time at Joann’s Fabric Store, the outdoor fabric was on sale for $5 a yard instead of $20 a yard. I needed 4 yards so this project only cost me $20.
I love to sew but I am not very good at it. So, if I can complete this project, trust me…you can too! On this project I used my sewing machine and hand sewed the closures. If you do not have a sewing machine you can still do this project. I hand sewed all of our cushions in our travel trailer because I did not have a sewing machine at that time. Just make sure you have a strong needle if you will be doing most of the sewing by hand.
Let’s Get Started!
This project can be completed in a weekend. It is a great project to work on when you need a break from the garden, or it is too hot or too cold to be outside. This was the case for me this weekend. Not only did I want to recover the cushions before the foam deteriorated but the temperatures this weekend were around 105 degrees and I did not want to be outside in the garden.
The items I used to complete recovering the outdoor cushions are:
- A sewing machine: not necessary but helpful
- Outdoor fabric
- Thread
- Needles and pins
- Yard stick
- Fabric measuring tape
- A good pair of scissors
Tips for picking out fabric.
- Pick an outdoor fabric. They have UV protectant to help extend the life of the fabric, the fabric is heavier than regular cotton and they are water resistant.
- Pick a solid color or pattern that you do not need to worry about lining things up carefully. The material I picked has a random, squiggly line pattern to it and it really was nice not to worry about the direction the material needed to go. To optimize my fabric and to minimize waste, I had to rotate the direction of the fabric from the top cushion to the bottom cushion. Luckily, I had picked a fabric with a design that did not matter or show that I rotated the direction of the fabric. This made measurements and figuring things out so much easier!
How I Recovered Our Outdoor Cushions
I hope this has helped you become more comfortable with tackling a project similar to this. Trust me, I have very little sewing experience and if I can complete this project, you can too!
Happy desert gardening and garden projects!
Joy Simper has a full time job as a home schooling stay at home mom. She is the one that holds the house and yard together and keeps the kids in line. She enjoys gardening, including seed starting and propagating plants.
Very good instructions! Loved the before and after pictures, the chairs look better than new!
Thank you! I love how the chairs turned out also! =)