Homemade Metal Chair Covers

Choose a suitable fabric for making your homemade metal chair covers. For outside use, select a durable, weather-tolerant fabric, such as canvas or a cotton-backed plastic-coated fabric. Good choices for inside use include heavy weight cottons or upholstery fabric.

Get to know the styles of homemade metal chair covers available. A store-bought pattern is advisable for elaborate projects, like individual padded seat and back covers with decorative ties and skirting. However, you can make a single-piece "slipcover" variety with simple measurements and basic sewing skills.

Measure the general chair space area you want to cover by draping your measuring tape in the same tautness you want your homemade metal chair covers to lay. Cut your fabric to these measurements, allowing an additional 2 inches of fabric for hemming.

Test your cut piece of fabric by draping it across the chair and securing it with fabric pins. If the fabric seems too loose, change the position of the fabric pins until it feels like a good fit. Remember to leave enough play in the fabric that it will easily slip on and off of your chair.

Sew your fabric inside out -- with the pattern sides facing one another -- following your fabric pins as a guide. Use a heavy thread and a zigzag stitch to ensure long-term strength and durability. Double-stitch the end of each row to reinforce the stitch.

Open your seams and iron them flat, clipping the seams at rounded edges to ensure a smooth fit. Turn your fabric right side out and iron to remove wrinkles. Slip the cover over your chair and judge its fit and draping. If there are areas of excess fabric at angles that appear to "gap," hand-stitch pleats into the fabric to create a more tailored look.

Finish it with decorative trim, such as hand-sewn buttons or tie-backs.