Reupholstered Folding Chairs + Card Table

The other day as I was sitting on my deck listening to the boys play in the yard, I glanced over at the folding chairs sitting on our deck. They had been in storage all winter and after eating off our laps outside, I figured it was time to pull them back out so we could have a table to sit at. So while I'm looking at these chairs, I realized that the pads are only held on by bolts. Then I wondered how hard it would be to reupholster them. After dinner, I asked Perry if he cared if I messed with them. He didn't. (I probably would have anyways...)

If your not on Pinterest, good for you. Stay away because it will suck you in! And if you have a Pinterest account, you can follow my boards here. When I have a project in mind, like when we updated the bathroom, I go to Pinterest for ideas. I did the same for this project too. Why would I try to figure it out myself, when someone else already has?! For those wondering, I used the tutorial that Adventures at the Orange Door Inn posted. Her version was very helpful!

This is the set I'm working with. There is nothing wrong with any of it, other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when I was feeling crafty. 

Materials I used:

1/2 yd outdoor fabric per chair (or home decor if they're staying inside, but make sure it's thick)

1 yd out door fabric for the table

Light duty staple gun

1/4 in staples

Philips screwdriver

Flat-head screwdriver

Pliers

Sewing scissors

Water resistant spray

Optional: Babysitter. A full day project can be easily shortened into a few hours with one. Just saying.

 Let me begin by saying I took the easy way out, and didn't take off the original covering on the chairs or the table. I just stapled over it. 

First remove the cushions from the chair. I had two screws on the top cushion, and four on the chair pad. I had a little plastic piece that was stapled on, which covered the fabric edge. I used the flat-head screwdriver to lift the staples up, and then used the pliers to pull them out. Even though between all the chairs, I only was required to pull out 16ish staples, I probably pulled out closer to 50 because I wasn't pushing hard enough when I was stapling. Trial and error with the staple gun!

 Next lay the top cushion on the fabric, ensuring that it is straight (otherwise it'll drive you nuts when it's done - take my word for it). Once it's placed how you want it, fold up one of the short sides and staple it in place. Do the same to the other short side, being sure to pull it tight. At this point you can cut off any extra fabric you have for the long side. *When you're stapling the curved side, I found it's easiest to hang the cushion halfway off the table so you can press on the staple gun without bending the cushion.*

When you get to the corners, pleat and staple.  Then cut off any excess fabric. The top cushions are 10x harder than the bottom square cushions, but the process is the same. The key to success in this project is making sure you're pulling all sides tight. Once you're finished screw them back into the chairs and TAH-DAH!

 You have these cute things! I'm spraying them down with a water resistant spray because most likely they'll be outside. 

 I am in love with my chevron chair! When I was fabric shopping, I wanting the chairs to have color to them, but knew that whatever patterns I chose, one of them had to have green on it...

These two chairs will always drive me nuts because the blue fabric is a little slanted on the top cushion. On the red one, due to how the fabric was cut, I had no way getting anything centered on the top cushion. Maybe Perry gave me a bit of his OCD....? Either way, I'm still calling this project a success. 

Especially when they are sitting at the table. All the colors, some how match. I lucked out... I love the set so much I want to do another. How'd I do? Tell me which is your favorite!!