How to Reupholster a Glider Rocker Cushion
Finding a glider rocker is relatively easy: they're sold in most furniture stores, mass retail stores and even yard sales and second-hand shops. Finding one to match your home's decor, however, is another task entirely.
Don't settle for factory default upholstery for your glider rocker; learn to reupholster a glider rocker cushion on your own and you can match your glider rocker to any design theme or decor plan. You will need basic sewing skills for this project to be successful.
Things You Will Need
- Glider rocker cushion
- Seam ripper or small, sharp scissors
- Upholstery fabric
- Fabric marking pen or chalk
- Scissors
- Sewing machine (optional)
- Straight pins
- Needle and thread
- Buttons (optional)
Tip
If your cushion had ties originally, use ribbon to replace them. Cut the ribbon to the length of the original ties, then fold it in half and sandwich the fold between the seams of the fabric at the two back corners as you sew. When you turn it right side out, the ribbon will hang out of the pillow, ready to tie it to the rocker.
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Use a seam ripper or a small pair of sharp sewing scissors to gently rip out the buttons from the cushion of your glider rocker, if it has any. Also rip open the seams going around the sides or bottom of the cushion, being careful to preserve the actual fabric and only rip through the thread.
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Pull the cover entirely off the cushion, using the seam ripper or scissors to separate it into its original pieces. Lay these out flat on top of your fabric, with the wrong side of the fabric facing up and the right side of the cushion covers facing down.
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Trace around the cushion cover fabric pieces onto your new upholstery fabric. Use a fabric marking pen or chalk to make your tracing lines. Cut out the pattern pieces from your new fabric.
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Place your two new cushion fabrics together with the right sides facing one another. Sew around the sides of the pieces to stitch them together. Position your seam as close to the original seam width from the cushion cover you removed as you can; in general this should be 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Leave one section of the edging unsewn, approximately 10 inches long.
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Trim off the excess fabric outside of your seams. At the corners of your pillow cover, cut slits in the fabric in a perpendicular direction to the seam itself, going around the corner as you do so. These little slits will help the corners look more uniform in the finished cushion.
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Turn the new cushion cover right side out through the hole you left in one side. Fill the cushion cover with the filling from the old cushion. Fold the seams from the open edge in toward the inside of the cushion and pin them together, then stitch this seam closed using your machine or a needle and thread.
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If the original cushion had buttons, arrange your new buttons in approximately the same location on the new cushion. Use a needle and thread to hand sew the buttons onto the cushion, going through all of the layers of the fabric and padding. You may need to use a sturdy embroidery needle and thread for this to ensure that the button stays in place and that you can get the needle through all of those layers.
The Drip Cap
- Finding a glider rocker is relatively easy: they're sold in most furniture stores, mass retail stores and even yard sales and second-hand shops.
- Trace around the cushion cover fabric pieces onto your new upholstery fabric.
- Cut out the pattern pieces from your new fabric.
- At the corners of your pillow cover, cut slits in the fabric in a perpendicular direction to the seam itself, going around the corner as you do so.
- Use a needle and thread to hand sew the buttons onto the cushion, going through all of the layers of the fabric and padding.
References
Photo Credits
- Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images
- Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images
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