When we bought our house the kitchen came with this fabulous center island that can also be used as a table. The only problem is that the stools had been stored in the basement where the previous owner also kept her cats. The stools were pretty dirty and overall just sort of gross. I liked the idea of being able to eat in the kitchen, though, so I decided to recover the cushions on the stools.
The supplies you will need:
- old stool
- one yard of fabric per two stools (the best type of fabric is found in the home section at the fabric store)
- staple gun and staples
- scissors
- needle nose pliers
- screwdriver
The first thing I did was loosen the staples on the bottom of the existing seat cushion cover in order to remove the cover. I then used the pliers to pull the staples all of the way out.
The padding underneath the cover was in good shape so I was able to reuse it. I then draped about a half a yard of fabric over the top on the stool. You want to make sure that you have enough fabric that it will cover not only the top of the stool, but enough to tuck under the seat.
It is important to remember to use fabric that you can by in the home fabrics section of the store. These are the fabrics that are used to make curtains, seat covers, table runners, etc. as opposed to the kind that is used for quilting. The home fabrics are usually a little thicker and heavier, as opposed to the thin cotton ones that are used for clothing or for quilting. The home fabrics tend to be more expensive, so try to get them when they are either on sale or if you have a coupon.
After you have draped the fabric over the stool, turn the stool so that the legs are up in the air, and use your staple gun to attach the fabric. You want to use enough staples to attach the fabric with no corners hanging down, but you don’t need to overdo it.
Now you have a nicely recovered stool that costs a fraction of what it would cost to buy a new one. I spent under $20 and have two great stools so we can eat at the island!
