How to Recover a Directors Chair

How to Recover a Wooden Directors Chair

If your Directors Chairs are in need of a re-vamp
our Deckchair Canvas Fabrics are suitable for recovering any size of Directors Chairs.

If you would like us to make your covers for you, please see our Directors Chairs Replacement Covers Service

Or you can cover up your tatty looking chairs with our smart Loose Covers for Directors Chairs

To ensure success with your project, we advise the following:

1. If your chairs are the type with dowelling rods on the sides of the seat and you have existing directors chair covers, you could remove these and use as templates - it may be an idea to photograph your directors chair before removing! If your chairs are vintage and the existing covers are tacked on, please see 9. below

2. Using your templates as copies, cut to the template following the size and stitching of your old covers, making sure that the stripes will go HORIZONTALLY across the seat and back of the chair. You will need 1.5 metres per chair for the seat and back.

3. Because our fabric is a 100% natural cotton weave, it will 'give' slightly the first time it is sat upon - this is normal and makes it more comfortable, but we advise making your new cover very slightly smaller widthways to allow for stretching (2-3 cms approx).

4. For strength and appearance, you would need to turn the edges front and back of the seat and sew along the edges ( this may not be necessary on a deckchair as the edges are not load-bearing as on a Directors Chair).

5. Some older chairs are deeper in the seat than our fabric which is approximately 45 cms wide. This means that the fabric may restrict the size of the seat from front to back.
This should not be noticeable and does not compromise safety in any way.

6. Our fabric is perfect for Directors Chairs that use a dowelling system for the seat, including Habitat Directors Chairs but not suitable for making the type of Directors Chair seat cover with many eyelets and lacing underneath the seat as a means of attachment.
Currently Directors Chairs seats are secured with dowelling rods in the sides, but the fabric on older chairs is usually tacked on underneath the seat. This is possible to do using our upholstery nails, with the chair upside down using the old holes as a guide and turning the edges to prevent fraying.

7. All our fabrics may be stitched with a domestic sewing machine.

8. HANDY TIP: If the rods are missing from the channels in your seat - wooden dowelling lengths may be purchased from any DIY store - however, we have found that the correct size of wooden plant stakes from your local garden centre are perfect for the job.
*Remember that the rods must be quite a lot narrower than the channels to accommodate the cloth and the rods.

9. If your chairs are vintage without dowelling rods, and the covers are tacked on, you could attempt to recover these yourself by carefully removing the existing nails holding the covers in position, and using these as templates. Cut the new fabric to the same size. Our fabric has selvedges so no sewing is necessary as long as the fabric is laid horizontally across the seat and back - folding the fabric along the edges for strength before tacking on the studs and following the line of original holes in the wood as a guide.
Make sure that the seat is nailed on UNDERNEATH the seat - if the sides are used, the fabric will not be anchored sufficiently to the chair.
If you feel that recovering of this type of chair can be challenging, we would advise contacting a local upholster who would be able to recover these for you - otherwise please contact the Stripes Team who will be pleased to assist.

Please bear in mind that our Deckchair Canvas fabric used to cover our directors chairs is 100% cotton with no synthetics. Modern dyes are used today which lack the toxic colour fasteners used in the past so they will fade quicker if left out in strong sunlight and adverse weather conditions.
The very nature of a directors chair was as an instant chair to sit in the sun - and folded away again when it rains!

Our Deckchair canvas is not suitable for heavy commercial use

See our FAQS : What is the best way to cover a directors chair?