How to replace deckchair fabric :: Update deck chairs

Colourful garden deck chairs - How to replace deckchair fabric - Sewing for your home - Craft - allaboutyou.com

You will need

● deckchair
● pliers
● sturdy canvas or linen fabric
● measuring tape
● tailor’s chalk
● scissors
● iron
● pins
● sewing machine and thread
● upholstery tacks
● hammer

To make

1 You can use your chair’s existing canvas as a pattern. Begin by removing all of the securing tacks, staples and pins with pliers, then lay out the fabric on a flat surface and measure the width and length, adding extra for any hems that have been turned over. Mark these dimensions onto your chosen material with tailor’s chalk.

2 If you have only the frame of a chair, lay it out in a closed position, and measure the distance between the two spars that hold the canvas, and the width between
the sides. Add about 5cm to the width and 30cm to the length and then mark these dimensions onto your chosen material.

3 Cut out your panel, turn over a double hem on the two long sides, press, pin and sew in place, removing the pins as you go.

4 Lay the chair down flat and place the fabric on the front face of the top spar of the seat, with the rest of the material trailing down the chair. Hammer the tacks along the spar at 5cm intervals, starting from the middle and working outwards, stretching, and checking that it’s taut, as you go. Remember, an even line of tacks will make for a more comfortable seat.

5 Wrap the fabric once around the top spar to hide the tacks then pull the material down towards the bottom spar, maintaining the tension. Fold the remaining fabric around the bottom spar and use a couple of sewing pins to hold it in place while you check that the deckchair can still be closed easily – it won’t if the fabric is too tight.

6 Once you are happy with the tension of the seat, you can trim off any excess material, then hammer in tacks along the spar on the reverse, starting at the middle again and working towards the edges.