How to make a cover for a drop-in seat pad

A couple of year ago I fell in love with a vintage Lloyd Loom nursing chair and bought it. There was the slight matter that I bought it in Devon and we lived in London, but my husband kindly squeezed it into our little car. I bought it for my son’s room and covered it with a cute Cath Kidston print.

Roll on a couple of years and it made it’s way into my daughters’ room. I’ve been meaning to change the cover for ages but never got round to it – until this weekend! Yes, I finally made a new cover to suit my daughter’s room.

The seat pad drops-in to the wooden frame of the chair. You can I’ve kept the original seat cover as it’s beautiful in it’s slightly distressed state. I took the seat out of the frame, turned it over and laid it down on my fabric, a gorgeous print from Belle and Boo. I’ve used some of Belle and Boo fabric before and it’s really lovely to work with.

I pinned about 5″ away from the edge of the seat, all the way around, then cut out my piece of fabric.

I turned it over and pinned the hem, making sure I added pleats to the curved edges.

I stitched round the cover on my sewing machine, leaving a small gap so I could thread the elastic.

I put a safety pin on one end of the elastic and threaded it round the cover. I placed the cover on the cushion and pulled the elastic tight so the cover fitted. I tied the elastic in a knot and cut the ends short.

The colours really complement her room which is very pink at the moment. Unfortunately the new seat cover really shows up the paintwork so I might take the opportunity to paint it pink to match the seat pad. I’m really pleased it only took a couple of hours – my perfect project.