How to Recover Porch Swings

Painting the Wood Swing

• 1

  Lay newspapers to protect nearby surfaces while painting. Unhook the porch swing, remove the cushions, remove any hardware, and place the swing on the newspapers.

• 2

  Sand the swing to get rid of any paint flakes and prepare the surface for painting. Use coarse sandpaper to remove old paint and a medium sandpaper to smooth the surface for painting. Brush away all loose particles before painting.

• 3

  Coat the swing in primer so that the new paint will adhere to it.

• 4

  Apply two coats of acrylic exterior house paint with the paintbrush. Wait for the first coat to dry thoroughly before adding the second.

Recovering the Cushion

• 5

  Remove the fabric from existing cushions carefully at the seams using a seam ripper. Use this old fabric for your pattern.

• 6

  Inspect the padding. If it is in good condition, it can be recovered. Replace worn padding if necessary. Your choices are cotton batting or a foam cushion. If you are choosing a foam cushion, take your measurements to the fabric or craft store and have the store cut it to size for you if possible.

• 7

  Lay out the old fabric and decide how much new fabric you will need. Take into account a seam allowance of 1/2 inch on all pieces by cutting the panel one inch longer and one inch wider than the measurement of the finished cushion. Cut a top and bottom the same size plus a long strip for the width. Cut the long strip one inch wider and longer as well.

• 8

  Buy your fabric. Pin the old fabric onto the new, using it as a pattern and cut the material, including seam allowances. Remove the pins.

• 9

  Sew across the ends of the thin strip, right sides together, 1/2 inch from the ends of the strip to form a joined loop of fabric. Trim the seam allowance to two different lengths to make it less bulky and press the seam open with the iron.

• 10

  Pin the top fabric panel onto the long strip, right sides together. Make sure that the two pieces fit together. Ease the strip around the corners as smoothly as possible when pinning. Sew all the way around the panel using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Remove the pins. Trim the seam allowance at different widths. Press the seams toward the side strip of material.

• 11

  Pin the bottom fabric panel onto the thin strip with right sides together. Mark a length along what will be the bottom back seam of the cushion, making the marked area large enough for the padding or foam cushion to be inserted. Stitch around the rest of the cover, leaving the marked area unstitched. Remove the pins. Trim the seams and press them toward the side strip of material.

• 12

  Turn the cover right side out and put the padding or foam cushion into the open part of the seam. Work the fabric to make sure all corners are filled and the stuffing lies flat.

• 13

  Use a needle and thread to hand-stitch the opening along the seam line with small, invisible stitches.

Finishing the Project

• 14

  Replace any hardware items on the swing or on the support above that have rusted or broken.

• 15

  Hang the porch swing back on the hardware, making sure that the connection is sturdy.

• 16

  Put the new cushion in place.