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You are here: Home / Denim / How To Make A Denim Patchwork Chair

How To Make A Denim Patchwork Chair

24th May 2017 by Claire Armstrong 24 Comments

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Quick crafts are great but I also love a bit of slow crafting, especially if it’s a portable one that can be done in front of Netflix whilst watching a box set. Like with this denim patchwork chair.

You see, I’m a bit of a fidget and find it hard to sit still in front of the telly unless I’m doing something with my hands. I think I’ve been conditioned to panic if I’m not multitasking.

Watching Netflix and crafting is one of my favourite kinds of multitasking. It’s a win win situation, I get to watch my favourite programmes guilt free as I’m creating something at the same time. Hand sewing is a perfect craft for this.

Blue is my favourite colour hence the name of this blog. That’s one of the reasons I love working with denim, all those gorgeous shades of indigo.

DIY Hexagon Denim Patchwork For A Chair Seat Pad

What better way than to show off the great variety of indigo blues you get from jeans than with a denim patchwork. So when I bought some extra chairs for my dining room with seat pads that were crying out for a makeover. It had to be a denim patchwork cover.

And no I didn’t run out of denim! I consciously decided to break up the denim patchwork with 3 random patches in other coloured fabric. These chairs also go really well with the Boho denim table runner I made for the dining room.

I love a hexagon shape and have made Chinese applique hexagon patchwork cushions and a patchwork recycled sweater blanket. So I decided to stick to that same hexagon shape with this denim chair patchwork.

Tutorial showing how to recycle your jeans to make some gorgeous denim patchwork hexagons for home upholstery.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.
 

What You Need

  • Old jeans – I used denim scraps from a least 3 different pairs of jeans. This was to make sure I had a variety of indigo shades of denim fabric.
  • Scrap craft fabric – 3 small pieces
Jeans to upcycle for denim patchwork
  • Chair with removable seat pad
  • Electric Staple Gun
  • Double Side Sticky tape
  • Needle and thread
  • 3″ Paper Hexagons
  • Rotary cutter and mat
  • Iron
Dinning chair before

How to Make Hexagon Denim Patchwork

There are many great guides and videos to English paper piecing patchwork on the internet such as the sewing directory and youtube videos. I will still show you how I did it. For this denim patchwork, everything was hand sewn however if you want to, some bits can be machine sewn.

1.. The first thing to do is to cut out your denim hexagon shapes. Using the double back sticky tape, tape a paper hexagon to the denim. Then using the rotary cutter cut out your hexagon shape leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Carry on until you have enough hexagons to cover your seat pad. As well as the denim hexagons I cut out 3 fabric hexagons from my fabric scraps box.

2. Next, take one denim hexagon and fold over the seam allowance over the edge of the paper. Using a needle and thread hand sew your hexagons in place with a tacking stitch. (I do this without actually going through the paper hexagon). Repeat with all the remaining hexagon denim cut-outs.

3. Next, iron all the individual denim hexagons flat. Gather the flat denim hexagons and sew them together one by one.

Place two hexagons right sides together and using a running stitch sew them together along the top edge avoiding the paper.

Some people like to stitch the hexagons together into a flower pattern or in rows and then join the rows. I however just stitched them randomly together in no particular order.

The reason I did this is I wanted to achieve a random effect with the different tones of denim. I also added my 3 fabric hexagons in randomly.

English paper piecing denim patchwork for a seat cover.

4. Then, continue stitching the hexagons together until you have a piece of denim patchwork that is large enough to cover your seat pad.

Denim patchwork hexagons using English paper piecing method for a seat cover.

Covering The Seat Pad

5. Next, cut off all the loose threads and then turn your patchwork denim fabric over to remove all of the paper hexagons.

English paper pieceing denim before paper removal

6. Next, unscrew the seat pad from the chair and remove the existing cover.

This will probably involve removing lots of staples from the underside of the seat.

chair seat pad removal s

7. Next, place the denim patchwork on the top of the seat pad. Then turn it over and whilst pulling the patchwork tight staple it to the frame of the seat pad.

Top tip: I normally start with the four corners and then work my way around. To ensure a snug fit use a lot of staples all around the edge.

8. Finally, to finish off screw the seat pad back onto the chair frame.

denim patchwork seat pad blue s
Denim patchwork chairs made from upcycled old jeans using hand sewn denim hexagons.  Full tutorial.
Denim patchwork chair made from upcycled old jeans using hand sewn denim hexagons.  Full tutorial.

So far I have made two patchwork denim seat covers and have another two to go. I love how they have turned out, the hexagon patchwork really highlights the different tones of denim.

I also love how the 3 random hexagons of coloured fabric will make every chair slightly different. The hand sewing has made the end result worthwhile.

If you don’t have the patience for hand sewing your hexagons together there is a tutorial for machine sewing them on youtube. However, I think the hand-stitched hexagons look better.

Personally, I can’t decide which chair is my favourite yellow or blue. I think though I will look for some fabric scraps with green in them for the random hexagons on my next chair pad cover.

I love the look of different shades of denim hexagons together so much that his project inspired me to make a cool denim hexagon fabric pin board.

These denim patchwork chairs aren’t my only denim upholstery project. I have recovered an IKEA Skruvsta chair in denim and made a denim ottoman storage crate.

I’ve even made a denim handmade chevron patchwork rug from my living room floor. And a no-sew denim patchwork suitcase. I’ve also used diamond patchwork to create some wonderful quilted denim star decorations.

DIY denim patchwork chairs


You should check out these other Denim crafts on this A to Z list of jeans upcycles.
 

Filed Under: Denim Tagged With: chair, chair pad, chair upcycle, denim, denim patchwork, dinning chair, English Paper Piecing, geometric, hexagons, indigo, jeans, patchwork, recycled jeans, reupholstery, upcycle, upcycled denim, upholstery

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. T'onna | Sew Crafty Crochet

    25th June 2017 at 12:22 am

    Wow! I love denim crafts, and this is just a wonderful denim creation. Now, I’m thinking about all the old jeans I have laying around. Great work!! I admire your creativity! Pinning!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      25th June 2017 at 6:32 am

      Thank you T’onna, I just love crafting in denim.

      Reply
  2. Leanna

    7th June 2017 at 3:43 am

    This is a real great upcycle Clair. Those chairs would be so perfect in a boys room. I usually have something to do when the television is on, usually crochet or needlepoint. This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th June 2017 at 6:28 am

      Thank you, my crochet is a bit wobbly at the moment and requires too much concentration so I stick to the needlework in front of the telly.

      Reply
  3. Amberjane

    6th June 2017 at 7:39 pm

    I am such a TV Fidget too – I can’t sit down without sewing or crocheting and I love this type of Patchwork – it looks great Claire

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      6th June 2017 at 9:54 pm

      Thank you, at least sewing or crocheting is more productive than playing on my phone whilst watching telly.

      Reply
  4. Sandra L Garth

    3rd June 2017 at 4:45 pm

    While watching tv I fidget also but not in a productive way. Most of the time I’m on my phone playing solitaire. These chairs look very expensive and I’d love to have just a few ounce of your creativity and patience. The three different hexagons on each chair are really striking. Great Job! Thank you for sharing with us at Celebrate Your Story, and I hope you’re having a great weekend.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      3rd June 2017 at 6:20 pm

      Thank you, I often waste time on my phone while watching tv so it was fun to actually do something creative for once.

      Reply
  5. Chritine

    31st May 2017 at 12:15 pm

    Great upcycle of old blue jeans Claire, love it! Thanks for sharing this at the Dishing It & Digging It Link party.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      31st May 2017 at 7:28 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  6. Claire Armstrong

    31st May 2017 at 6:14 am

    Thank you so much ?

    Reply
  7. Pam @Threading My Way

    31st May 2017 at 12:25 am

    I LOVE your denim hexie chairs, Claire!!! Such a great way to have different coloured denims in the one project. I love hand sewing hexies – I’m making a quilt at the moment. Now I have an idea for a future hexie project once my quilt is finished.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      31st May 2017 at 6:14 am

      Thank you Pam, I have a denim quilt but it’s not a hexie patchwork. I have fallen in love with hexies though so I’m looking for my next hexie project.

      Reply
  8. Cecilia

    30th May 2017 at 1:56 am

    These are so fun, Claire! Love the floral accents, too! Pinned–thanks for sharing @Vintage Charm!

    Reply
  9. The Patchwork Fairy

    29th May 2017 at 5:56 pm

    I love how your chairs have turned out! I too enjoy crafting and watching TV – it certainly helps me feel settled while sitting.

    Reply
  10. Helen at Pleasures of the NW

    28th May 2017 at 2:40 pm

    That looks great!! What a fun way to use old jeans – Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!

    Reply
  11. Janice

    26th May 2017 at 11:10 pm

    Claire!! The patience you must have to see this through is beyond my comprehension, lol. But I can see it was totally worth it!!!

    Reply
  12. Lisa // Cucicucicoo: Eco Sewing and Crafting

    26th May 2017 at 8:04 am

    Oh my gosh, those chairs are STUNNING!! I also adore the effect of the different shades of denim put together and I’ve seen so many gorgeous projects around, but this one is truly fabulous. I have old chairs which, alas, don’t have this type of removable seat pad, but now I’m thinking that I need to do some sort of hack because I just love these so much! Pinning and sharing! 🙂 Lisa

    Reply
  13. Carolann

    25th May 2017 at 10:32 pm

    Oh Claire, I just love this! You did such an amazing job on it wow! I love the three different patterned patches too. I would buy those chairs in a flash!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      26th May 2017 at 6:15 am

      Thank you so much Carolann, I do,like how they turned out I’ve just got to finish the next 2.

      Reply
  14. Mary

    24th May 2017 at 9:19 pm

    Claire did you watch all 13 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy while doing those patchwork chairs? And all hand sewn! Respect to Claire!! They came out great and so unique! And what were you watching on Netflix?

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      26th May 2017 at 6:18 am

      Thank you Mary, I have watched all 13 seasons of Grey’s but that was another craft. I watched the latest season of Sense8, whilst doing these chairs. I’ve still got another 2 chairs to go so if you have any recommendations I’m looking for another Netflix series.

      Reply
  15. Kate Hollingsworth

    24th May 2017 at 11:41 am

    The chairs look fabulous Claire – you must have the patience of a saint! xx

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      24th May 2017 at 6:52 pm

      I wouldn’t say I have the patience of a saint but I did enjoy just sitting down and crafting all day on a wet Saturday whilst binging on Netflix.

      Reply

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