How To Make Arm Rest And Head Rest Covers

Hundreds of sofas and chairs are ruined simply because the arms or head area are worn. You can prevent that by making these covers.

When things get worn they're usually thrown away but not so with some upholstered pieces. Upholstery is expensive, though, so it's important to do everything possible to make it last as long as it can. Two areas of a chair or sofa that really take a lot of abuse are the headrest and the arms. You can protect them and keep them looking as good as the rest of the chair with home made covers. There are a couple of different ways to make the covers. One way is to simply hem rectangular pieces of cloth to use as covers. Measure from the edge of the arm to about halfway up the arm. Now measure from inside the arm to the outside of the arm. Cut two pieces of the fabric and hem. For the headrest measure from just on top of the chair to a fourth of the way down the chair back. Now measure the center third of the top back. Cut and hem one piece this size. To hold the arm rests in place purchase corkscrew-type pins that screw into the cover and the chair.

There are other ways to make the cover for the arms. Some people like the kind that are made to fit the shape of the arm. To make these take the measurement as above. Now measure the front of the arm from one side to the other. Also measure the arm front from the top to a few inches down. The actual measurement is a little less than half of the measurement from the inside arm to the outside arm. You can cut this piece slightly larger then trim it later to make it easier.

Cut the rectangular piece that fits over the arm. Now cut the piece which will fit inside to cover the arm front. Fold the rectangular piece in half, lengthways, and mark the center. Fold the front arm cover in half and mark it as well. Align these two marks and pin the rest of the inside piece to the rectangular piece. After it's pinned together trim the excess from the front cover piece so that the bottom of it aligns perfectly with the bottom of the rectangular piece.

Begin hemming by turning the edge up a half-inch then an inch. Sew from the bottom corner after backstitching first. Use a long stitch and sew around the curve of the piece. Sew on around to the other corner. After finished make small snips in the curvature of the piece. Start from just where it starts to curve and snip every inch until the piece straightens. The snips should be made from the edge of the fabric to just next to the stitches. This helps the piece curve easier and keeps it from puckering.

The arm rests covers are made to simply slide onto the chair and back off. The headrest cover can be made longer to hang over the backside of the chair rather than be pinned with the corkscrew pins. The covers can be cleaned with a warm wash cloth and with some fabrics, they can even be machine washed. Upholstery fabric usually isn't compatible with the dryer, though, so allow to drip dry instead.

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