Sewing Project - Chair Pads

 
The wood table chairs are now more comfortable.  I made chair pads for the dining table chairs this morning.

I used some blue mustard fabric I picked up for free a while back.  Nice floral pattern.  The back side of the pads are the mustard linen fabric I had in my stash.

The seats measure 15.25" across at the front and 13" at the back so there is plenty of each fabric.

I had checked out foam rolls at a fabric store at the beginning of the month and the price was $39 but not enough to make all of the pads.

I continued my research.  

I purchased a 1.5" memory top mattress topper for the foam in the pad. They were on sale recently for $50 which is more than enough to make them all with leftovers.  

The triangular shape of the seats will allow me to make good use of the foam and fabric by rotating the pattern.  The funky textures will be put to the underside which will work out alright.

There were some decisions to be made:

1. Zipper closure so I can wash them?  Where does it go? How long does it have to be? Do I have 4 in the right color and length?  Don't have what I need to proceed this morning. Next!

2. Fold over flap at the back.  This makes them not reversible and I would need to velcro the flap to keep it closed.  The math is a bit more complicated. Next!

3. Sew the foam in and see how it goes.  This is the fastest and easiest option. Yes!

The foam was thin enough to cut with scissors but not my fabric ones.  I just traced the shape with a marker.  I rotated the shape so that I could use the cut side for the next one.  Very efficient use of the material.

I cut 4 of these one for each chair.

I placed the printed fabric over the solid fabric and pinned the pattern in place.  I had to add a 1/2 inch seam allowance then a full inch for the foam pad.

I started sewing along the back towards the corner, back stitched the corners and ended just after the last corner leaving most of the back open so I could insert the foam.

The foam is very sticky so it was a bit of a challenge to get it in place but it should help it stay in the envelope.

The twill tape ties were about 15 inches folded in half.  I placed them so they would be aligned with the inside corner of the chair back.  Using twill tape meant I did not have to make ties which made the project move along.  

I pinned the back opening closed and as I went along I placed the folded tie aligned along the pinned seams edge.  

Then, I just sewed the closure seam which also tacked down the ties.  Did some back stitching  where the ties were for added strength. 

It took about 3 hours to make four pads so I am happy with that.

Here's is one on the chair and it looks great.

I have managed to keep my plants on the balcony alive so a small pansy bouquet on the table and I am set to host company!