Welted Dining Seats with pattern

Sewing the Dining Seats

Basic Instructions

Use 5/32" cording (mine is jute, but any regular 5/32" upholstery welt would do.)

Cut the welt fabric strips (that wrap around the welt cord) 1 1/2" wide. (if the welting (meaning, both the inside cording and fabric strips). My ruler is 1 1/2" wide, so I just lay it on the fabric and trace both sides of the ruler. This naturally leaves the welt strips 1 1/2" wide. When marking multiple welt strips, to mark

This article is just started, so isn't complete. Will be added to in the future.

Measuring and Cutting the Side Boxing

 When I cut the side boxing, I cut it about 2-3" taller than the finished height.  For example, if the finished height of the side boxing is 2", this is how I'd chose the boxing width (height). 1/2" top seam allowance + 2" finished height + 2" pulling and stapling allowance = 4 1/2" boxing width (this is approx., it could even be wider if needed). (I cut it this wide so that I have something to hang onto and pull with at the bottom of the seat base.) I then sew the side boxing and the welt onto the seat top.   

 I put the bottom welt on separately. Even if it was done that way before,  I do not sew the welt on the bottom of the side boxing.So, when I'm putting on the sewn seat cover, I'm only stapling one thickness at the bottom of the seat. I sew the bottom welt separately, which is put on separately after I have the rest of the seat stapled on.

Sewing the Dining Seats

Basic Sewing Instructions

Use 5/32" cording (we main use jute cording, but any regular 5/32" upholstery welt would do.)

Cut the welt fabric strips (that wrap around the welt cord) 1 1/2" wide. My ruler is 1 1/2" wide, so I just lay it on the fabric and trace both sides of the ruler. (If you would like to use this easier marking method, you can use any 1 1/2" wide wood or metal strips) This naturally leaves the welt strips 1 1/2" wide. When marking multiple welt strips at the same time, lay one edge of the 1 1/2" wide ruler along the edge of the previous mark, then draw beside the opposite edge of the ruler.

Sew seams at 1/2". (Wrapping the above welt fabric strips around the 5/32" cording, this seam allowance naturally happens. No trimming is needed.)

Starting at the back of the chair seat, leaving a several inches of the welting free, sew the welt around the edges of the seat top. It goes faster if you put the cording into the welt strips at the same time that. (This picture shows starting at the front, but this is because we are matching a pattern. We would normally start at the back of the chair.)

Sewing Corners
    When you come to the corners, you might want to just "walk" it the last few stitches before the corner. To walk the machine, press on the foot pedal just slightly, which will loosen the clutch, then use your hand to turn the hand wheel at the right of your sewing machine. Just turn it the last few stitches  before the corner. When you come to within about 3/8" of an inch of the corner, leave the needle in the fully down position so that it holds the fabric in place and "lift the foot" while you turn the fabric to sew around the other side of the corner. (all this is shown on the slide show, but since there is no sound, you have to know what you are watching for.)

Putting Fabric on the Frame

Rick, it shouldn't make any different in appearance which way you do it. Besides having the seat tops being the same size, the main thing is that you want to have the same height between welts on the side of the chair. To get a consistant height all the way around all the chairs, I use an adjustable square, as shown in this picture.

Click here to enlarge picture

To get a consistant height, measure the height of one of the chairs you have already finished. (Put the flat side of the square against the bottom wood base one of your finished chairs. Loosen the tightening nut, and then slide the ruler section down so that the end of the ruler is at the seam (which is also the inside edge of the cording.) When you have the correct measurement, tighten the nut on the square).

Now, as you pull and staple around the edges of the seat cover, put the square on the fabric (as shown in picture) before you staple it.

However, before you start putting it on, here  are some pictures of putting a cover on. (I have the pictures for the above chair seats, but don't have them on my website yet. But have these other pictures that will work in showing how it is done.)

Click here and See Pictures 6636 through at least 6674

Instructions, as also shown in the pictures:

• Put sewn cover on seat, line up all corners.
• Set elbow firmly on top of seat to hold in place. (keep elbo there until two opposite seat covers are in place.
• Pull first cover down over corner, check that center of fabric cover is lined up with center of wood corner.
• Use Square to measure height, then staple.
• While still firmly holding the center of the fabric cover on the seat, turn the seat around so that you are working on the diagonally opposite corner. Put your elbow back on the middle of the seat, and pull the second corner over the side, measure and staple. Now that you have opposite corners fastenend, the cover will stay in place now.
• Pull over, measure and staple the two remaining corners.
• Check all the corners that the centers are all lined up.
• On all the rest of the instructions, you will be working always in the center areas: Go to the center of the loose area, Center any looseness (if any) of the fabric in the center of the wood base. You should always have  an even amount of any loose fabric on both sides of where you staple.
• Using this centering method, pull and measure the areas in the center of the seat sides. Pull, measure, & staple every few inches in the center of one side, then do the opposite side.
• After you have a few staples on all sides, check that they all measure the same and are straight.
• Then pull, measure, and staple the rest of the fabric.

Note: This tutorial is just in the beginning phases. Please help me improve it. If you find anything unclear or hard to understand, please leave a comment* at the bottom of this page. (*You need to register on thie website and then sign in to leave comments.)