Welcome Back and thank you for checking in for the second part of this "how-to".
If you missed part one from last week, you can read about it here. We finished with the seat cover and piping sewn together.
For the pleated skirt, I cut 5" wide strips of fabric and sewed them right sides together to make one long piece. I wanted the skirt to have a 3" drop, plus a one-inch hem, plus a one-inch seam allowance, that is how I arrived at the width of the strips. For a ruffle or pleated skirt, you need to allow enough length for twice the circumference of the seat. I confess, sometimes this can be a little more or a little less depending on how close together your gathers or pleats are.
I took my long strip to the ironing board and pressed the seams open. I then turned the edge of the fabric over twice and pressed to create the hem. I stitched the hem into place.
Next I cut a piece of slick cardboard the desired width of the pleat. To create the pleat, place the cardboard at the edge of the fabric and fold the fabric over the cardboard, remove it and stitch across. Place the cardboard at the edge of the previous pleat, fold the fabric over, remove cardboard and stitch across. Repeat the process to the end of the fabric.
Once the pleated skirt was made, I attached it to the seat with pins. Because I wanted to assure that the pleat hung exactly 3", I pinned it right side out rather than the wrong side out.
The raw edge of the skirt is pinned underneath. Doing it this way allowed me to measure as I pinned. It's important to make sure the skirt hangs evenly.
There is a space along the piping where you can sew making the stitches less noticeable. With a 2.5 stitch length, I sewed the skirt to the seat cover. All that remains at this point are the ties.
For the ties, I cut strips of fabric 5" wide. I needed two sets of ties, one for each side of the chair, so four pieces total.
I folded both sides and ends into the middle and then folded over again so there were no raw edges. I pressed the ties flat and then sewed along the two ends and down the long side. Unfortunately I missed a picture to document this step, but I think you can get the jest in the picture below.
I stitched the ties into place.
I like the simple knot on these rather than a bow. I also like that they are made out of the same fabric rather than ribbon. I have made them both ways, but with this fabric, I like the crisp look.
And here we have the two slipcovered chairs. I am so glad to have this project behind me!! It was easy and did not require a lot of time. As with most sewing projects, I think the hardest part is just getting started.
For reference, I used 1 and 1/2 yards of 54" fabric.
I hope you have found something useful in this "how-to" and I hope you are encouraged to try your hand at a simple slipcover. Please know I welcome questions and feedback.
On to the next project!! What projects are you currently working on??