How To Replace the Canvas on a Director's Chair

Whoa, this is going to be a super hot weekend around here. Well, I'm not complaining. I'm going to be home, and it probably won't affect my work much, but for all of you out there, stay cool!

I've been at the neighborhood flea market in an on/off way this season. I missed the one held last weekend. I was too tired from all the weekly trips to DC, but I attended the previous month. It could have been better; there were few sales and few finds. The only find I brought home was this pair of director's chairs.

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In fact, these chairs belonged to my sister-in-law; she was also selling stuff at the flea. 

The chairs didn't sell, and she didn't want to bring them home, so I couldn't say no when she offered them. :)

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As usual, the main problem with the director's chairs is the canvas; it damages too fast. The wooden frames were sturdy, and even the wood finish was good.

I had never paid attention to the construction of director's chairs. On this set, the arms are on hinges, and after you remove the back piece of canvas, you can bring those arms low to the side of the chair to uncover the guides where the seat canvas is secure.

There must be different kinds of director's chairs. If you need to change the cloth pieces on your chair, the best way to do it is to use the old material as your guide. That's exactly what I did.

The materials you'll need:

• Duck cloth  - ½ yard per chair - I used ¾ yard for two chairs.
• 2 -¼" wooden round dowels - 15" long.
• Sewing machine
• Measuring tape, thread, and sewing necessities.

Directions:

SEAT

Cut your material to size, adding 1" for both front and back seams and 2½" for side seams.

Double-fold the front and back seams. Press.

Sew both front and back seams in place.

(I made two sets, one white and one blue; it would take a lot longer for both sets to get damaged, and once you've done one, it is not very difficult to make two or four more at the same time. )

As I told you, I tried to follow, as best I could, what was done to the original material. 

I couldn't take the dowels out without removing the stitches, which looked like they were sewn in.

Each wooden dowel was placed inside the fold, and using a piping foot on the sewing machine, it was attached to both sides of the seat.

In the end, this is how they looked.

For the back piece, the most important thing was to fold and iron those seams before heading to the sewing machine.

Besides a deep cleaning, I didn't do a thing to the frames.

EEEK!I just got a new pair of chairs! :D or four?

Hexagon Pillow

I love the contrast of the white with the color of the wood.

And the blue ones... Love, love, LOVE!

I know many of you had to skip this project because it involves sewing. Well, I could improve at sewing, but it was easy since they're all straight lines.

Now, the seat piece is doable without sewing. I suggest trying Stitch Witchery on the front and back seams and staples to secure the dowels.

The back piece might need some hand-sewing stitches besides the tape for safety reasons. ;)

For more DIY ideas, check these out:

Coffee Painted Kitchen Stools

Range Hood Makeover

Kitchen Table Makeover

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