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You are here: Home / Denim / How to upcycle a Skruvsta Chair – an IKEA hack

How to upcycle a Skruvsta Chair – an IKEA hack

6th July 2016 by Claire Armstrong 71 Comments

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I love to upcycle old denim, some might even call it an obsession. So when my office chair was in need of a makeover, I knew this Ikea chair hack had to involve denim.

This isn’t my first denim chair upcycle, in the past, I’ve upcycled a dining room denim patchwork chair and a footstool with old jeans. I’m sure it won’t be my last either.

Upholstering in denim is a lot easier than it looks, especially with a bit of staple gun magic.

Ikea Hack – Skruvsta Denim Chair Upcycle

It was a lot easier than you think to upholster the Ikea Skruvsta chair with denim. The old jeans I used were nice and soft from years of wear. The denim is hard wearing too, so I think that the chair will last for a few more years.

The new cover is certainly a big improvement on the old faux leather chair. And it cost me nothing as I used repurposed fabrics.

This denim chair upcycle featured under the letter C in the A to Z of denim crafts.

Ikea hack before chair

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What You Need For A Denim Chair IKEA Hack

  • Ikea Skruvsta office chair – However, this tutorial should work for most upholstered chairs.
  • Between 3-4 pairs of old jeans. I used jeans in a similar shade of indigo, but I think that contrasting denim shades would also look fabulous.
  • Scissors
  • Electric staple gun
  • Sewing machine with denim weight needles
  • Denim thread
  • Pins
  • Squared pattern making paper

How to Upholster the Ikea Office Chair in Denim

1.. First, make a paper pattern of the chair. Use pattern paper to do this.

If you look at the Ikea Skruvsta chair, you can see that the cover is sewn in six different sections. I pinned the pattern paper to the chair and marked out each section on the paper.

Making a paper pattern for a denim chair  ikea hack

2. Then, cut out the paper pattern for each cover piece on the chair.

The left and right panels of the chair were just the mirror image of each other, I only cut out one pattern for both. Just flip the paper pattern over when cutting out the opposite side.

Mark each paper pattern with where the panel is located and whether or not it is on the left or right. This will stop you from getting too confused when cutting out the denim pieces for this chair upholstery.

Ikea hack paper pattern
Ikea hack denim chair paper pattern

3. Next, make as large pieces of denim as you can from a single pair of jeans. To do this cut your jeans up the inside leg seam. Then, flatten them out and stitch the legs together. You should end up with one large piece of denim fabric.

Ikea Hack large piece of denim

4. Next, pin the pattern paper to the large pieces of denim. Allowing for a seam of approximately 1cm. Cut out the denim pattern pieces. You should have six in total.

Ikea hack - cutting out the paper pattern

5. Then, pinning the right sides together, sew up the three outer back pieces together. Then repeat with the three inner panel pieces together. Finish off by sewing these to sections together.

Top tip: Make sure you have a needle suitable for sewing denim in your sewing machine.

Ikea hack denim cover back.

How to fit your upholstered denim cover to an IKEA chair.

1.. This is where the staple gun becomes the star of the project. Staple guns let you cheat with upholstery and make it easy.

Place your newly made denim cover over the chair. Making sure the newly sewn seams in your cover match up with the seams in your chair, pin the cover to the chair along the top.

This will hold it in place whilst you staple the cover to the chair, and stop it moving out of place when you pull it tight.

Ikea hack denim chair reupholster

2. Next, pull the inside of the cover taut and staple it to the inside seat of the chair.

This may look unsightly, but don’t worry as the chair cushion will hide it. You can never have too many staples holding it in place.

ikea hack denim office chair
ikea hack staple cover

3. Then, turn the chair over and repeat with the underside of the chair. Pulling the cover taut as you merrily staple away. Don’t forget to take out the pins at the top when you have finished.#

Ikea hack chair underside

Making the seat pad cover.

Draw around the seat pad onto a large piece of denim allowing for 1cm seam allowance and cut out.

Repeat so that you have 2 identical denim pieces. Pin and sew the right sides together, leaving an opening for the pad.

Turn the denim right sides out, squeeze in pad into the cover and stitch up the opening.

Ikea Hack seat pad cover
Ikea hack - upholster office chair with old jeans.  Full tutorial and easy to follow instructions
Great upcycle of old jeans and use of a staple gun.  It's a lot easier than you think with a full step by step tutorial.

This project only took me a couple of hours and I love this Ikea hack of my office chair. This method can be used to reupholster any chair in denim.

Ikea Hack. Revamp a boring Ikea Office chair by upholstering it in denim.  It is a lot easier than you think.  Step by step tutorial.

If however, you are going to upholster something like my dining room chair seat then you may want to use upholstery tacks instead of a staple gun or both.

Skruvsta IKEA Chair

If you like the “SIT DOWN” cross stitch pillow in the picture, click here for a free pattern and tutorial.

Other Ikea hacks

This is one of my most pinned crafts my Ikea Hack map table.
A cool upcycled waistband denim rug to go with the chair. (This is a no-sew denim project).


Or perhaps a giant world map denim floor cushion to match too!

This chair upcycle featured under the letter C in my comprehensive A to Z of upcycling resources.

Unique and cool IKEA hacks

Filed Under: Denim, DIY Upcycling, Ikea Hacks Tagged With: chair, denim, denim upcycle, IKEA, Ikea hack, jeans, office chair, reupholstery, Skruvsta, upcycle, upholstery

Previous Post: « Mid Century Modern Orla Kiely DIY’s
Next Post: DIY Splashback Using Wallpaper »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda at Mixed Kreations

    4th August 2019 at 12:34 pm

    What an awesome upcycle! I love denim and this chair looks great! Love the sit down pillow as well. ❤

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      4th August 2019 at 2:51 pm

      Thank you, I stitched that pillow.

      Reply
  2. Lisa // Cucicucicoo: Eco Sewing & Crafting

    16th September 2018 at 6:46 am

    This is so cool, Claire! We have a couple of these chairs and they’re starting to get pretty gunky looking. I’ve been wanting to make covers for them for a while, though I prefer being able to wash furniture covers (with kids and cats, they tend to get filthy!), so I might try this technique to make removable slip covers. Thanks! 🙂 Lisa

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      16th September 2018 at 10:36 am

      Removable slipcovers would be cool too but extra work. I do find the denim very robust though. Thanks you.

      Reply
  3. Gabi

    25th February 2017 at 8:52 pm

    It really looks great! And the green chair is totally awesome! That shade of green is very much Greenery, which is so trendy this year!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      25th February 2017 at 9:58 pm

      Thank you, loved your denim chair too!

      Reply
  4. Linda

    19th July 2016 at 8:57 pm

    What a clever and adorable idea. not only re-purposing, but also creating awesome projects. Too cte for words. As always we appreciate you at DI&DI.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      20th July 2016 at 6:04 am

      Thank you for the kind words.

      Reply
  5. Angie Rose

    19th July 2016 at 3:44 pm

    I have upcycled old denim in the past, and this looks like such a fun project! Thank you for sharing at Dishing It & Digging It and hope to see you back this week 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      19th July 2016 at 5:47 pm

      Thank you !

      Reply
  6. Dee

    17th July 2016 at 7:20 am

    This is awesome — my kids would love it! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      17th July 2016 at 7:50 am

      Thank you very much.

      Reply
  7. Michelle

    16th July 2016 at 8:54 pm

    Great job! This is right up mu alley, I did a denim hack on this same chair here: http://www.thatblackchic.com/2015/09/diy-ikea-hack-on-skruvsta-swivel-chair.html

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      16th July 2016 at 8:56 pm

      Thanks ! Your chair looks awesome too like the contrasting denims.

      Reply
  8. Julie Briggs

    15th July 2016 at 5:03 am

    Very clever! Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      15th July 2016 at 7:09 am

      Cheers !

      Reply
  9. Sandra Garth

    14th July 2016 at 7:19 pm

    Maybe I’ve led a sheltered life but this is the first denim covered chair I’ve seen. It was a pleasure to see this in the line up at Celebrate Your Story, thanks for joining us!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th July 2016 at 8:18 pm

      Thank you ! Pleased you liked it.

      Reply
  10. Cristina at Ava's Alphabet

    14th July 2016 at 2:14 am

    Your chair turned out great and I just adore the cross stitch pillow! Thank you for sharing on Family Joy Blog Link-Up Party. Hope you are having a great week!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th July 2016 at 6:08 am

      Thank you very much !

      Reply
  11. Liz Jo

    13th July 2016 at 7:30 pm

    What a difference!!

    Thanks for linking up with Welcome Home Wednesdays! Live every Wednesday at 7AM CT.

    liz @ j for joiner

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th July 2016 at 10:08 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  12. Becky

    13th July 2016 at 3:28 pm

    This is fabulous–so retro cute. And I am swooning over the needlepoint pillow! Thanks for sharing on the Talk of the Town link party!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th July 2016 at 6:04 pm

      Thank you ! The pillow is one of my favs too.

      Reply
  13. Pam @Threading My Way

    13th July 2016 at 8:25 am

    You make this look so easy, Claire. I’ve never used a staple gun. Maybe it’s time I did. Your new chair looks terrific.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      13th July 2016 at 10:29 am

      Thanks ! Staple guns are great for upholstery, they make it so much easier.

      Reply
      • Pam @Threading My Way

        7th August 2016 at 12:34 pm

        Featured today, Claire…

        Reply
        • Claire Armstrong

          7th August 2016 at 2:07 pm

          Thank you very much look forward to seeing it.

          Reply
  14. Cecilia MyThriftStoreAddiction

    12th July 2016 at 9:16 pm

    Claire, I love a good Ikea hack and this is just FUN! Thank you for sharing @Vintage Charm!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      12th July 2016 at 9:35 pm

      Thank you !

      Reply
  15. Kristine

    12th July 2016 at 1:07 pm

    I love your denim projects! They are very cool and inspiring.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      12th July 2016 at 1:08 pm

      Thanks and cheers !

      Reply
  16. Susie

    12th July 2016 at 12:40 pm

    This chair just made my day. It’s so fun and mod and clever. You really have a knack for using denin in a unique way. Love the pillow, too! Oh, and don’t get me started on the wall paper. Love the whole setting. We are so thrilled to have you share this sweet makeover with us at Friday’s Furniture Fix. Susie from The Chelsea Project

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      12th July 2016 at 1:04 pm

      Thank you ! I love the wallpaper too it’s in my dinning room.

      Reply
  17. Sharon@BlueWillowHouse

    11th July 2016 at 3:21 pm

    Love a great Ikea Hack. Beautiful job and tutorial.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th July 2016 at 3:22 pm

      Thank you very much ! Ikea Hacks are great fun.

      Reply
  18. Sam @ Raggedy Bits

    11th July 2016 at 7:26 am

    What a fabulous upcycle! Love the little foot stool also! So clever!! Thank you so much for sharing with us over at Waste Not Wednesday! Can’t WAIT to see what you share this week 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      11th July 2016 at 10:07 am

      Cheers and thank you ! The footstool is a favourite of mine I did a few years ago and is also a homage to Neil Diamond !

      Reply
  19. sherry

    10th July 2016 at 8:18 pm

    This is such a clever idea! I would love to do something like this in my son’s bedroom. Great job!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th July 2016 at 8:23 pm

      Thank you ! I bet it would look great in your sons room.

      Reply
  20. Julie

    10th July 2016 at 1:28 pm

    Brilliant, looks fab and you make it seem pretty do-able too, thanks.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th July 2016 at 2:04 pm

      Thanks, it is surprisingly easy especially with a staple gun.

      Reply
  21. Mary-the boondocks blog

    10th July 2016 at 8:06 am

    Claire this is the coolest project. Actually, all of your projects are very cool. I really like your aesthetic. I said it before and I’ll say it again, I love denim and this is the perfect way to repurpose it. Sharing and Pinning.

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      10th July 2016 at 8:15 am

      Thank you, glad you liked it, and thank you for your kind words.

      Reply
  22. creativejewishmom/sara

    9th July 2016 at 9:26 pm

    You are such an inspiration Claire, love the dining room chair too…..thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling sunday!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th July 2016 at 10:28 pm

      Thank you and thanks for the kind words !

      Reply
  23. Vicky @ ShabbyShe

    9th July 2016 at 4:15 pm

    This is so cool! I love upcycling denim jeans too although on a smaller scale than this!! One of my favourites was making this little market style apron https://shabbyshe.com/2015/01/31/jeans-upcycle-cute-girls-apron/ 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th July 2016 at 10:29 pm

      Thank you ! & your apron looks sweet.

      Reply
  24. Michelle L

    9th July 2016 at 2:30 pm

    Hi, Claire! This is complete and utter awesomeness! And so smart to use the bumpy bits of the jeans for the back so that part gets used up, too. I agree, you are the denim whisperer!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      9th July 2016 at 3:47 pm

      Thank you very much for your kind words !

      Reply
  25. MEDINA GRILLO

    8th July 2016 at 5:17 pm

    This looks great – like a completely different chair!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th July 2016 at 8:58 pm

      Thank you Medina ! It was in need of a revamp and I love it in my home office.

      Reply
  26. Tania

    8th July 2016 at 1:22 am

    Oh, I love this! Love that pillow too!

    Tania

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      8th July 2016 at 6:30 am

      Thanks ! There’s a free pattern for the pillow here https://www.pillarboxblue.com/supersized-cross-stitch-cushion/.

      Reply
  27. lorraine williamson

    7th July 2016 at 8:19 pm

    love the upcycle denim is so durable especially with teenaged boys thanks for sharing pinned and shared

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th July 2016 at 9:21 pm

      Thank you ! Yes and I have 3 teenage boys myself, which also means a plentiful supply of old jeans.

      Reply
  28. Anne

    7th July 2016 at 2:11 pm

    This is so wonderful! And the footstool and the dining chair, too! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later today that features your tutorial: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=88665 –Anne

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th July 2016 at 2:26 pm

      Thank you look forward to seeing it !

      Reply
  29. Stacey

    7th July 2016 at 11:13 am

    A blue jean chair! What more could you want? It’s adorable.

    Thank you so much for joining Thoughts of Home on Thursday. We are honored to have you. 😉

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th July 2016 at 11:14 am

      Thank you very much ! I’m sitting on it this very moment.

      Reply
  30. Millie

    6th July 2016 at 11:52 pm

    When I grow up I want to be just like you! always you are showing such beautiful, creative and fun projects! I am keeping an eye out, I am totally making a jean chair!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      7th July 2016 at 5:51 am

      Thank you, but I don’t think I’ve fully grown up yet !

      Reply
  31. Monroe

    6th July 2016 at 8:34 pm

    I love this chair! You did such a great job giving it a makeover, and I love that you used denim! Pinned!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      6th July 2016 at 8:53 pm

      Thank you ! I just love working with denim.

      Reply
  32. Brenda Young

    6th July 2016 at 2:05 pm

    I’m a big fan of denim recycling and have been wanting to reupholster a chair in denim for quite some time now, love how yours came out! Pinned to my Ikea board!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      6th July 2016 at 2:55 pm

      Thank you ! You should do it, it’s not that difficult.

      Reply

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