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DIY: How to Recover Outdoor Furniture With a Glue Gun
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We do a lot of entertaining and much of it is on our patio. Because we are in Southern California, we're able to change up the look of our patio furniture pretty regularly with just a little fabric and a glue gun. If you can wrap a present, you can re-cover a cushion.
We recover our cushions regularly because they start looking a bit worn, but are still perfectly comfortable. Because we use a glue gun, we can change the fabric as often as we like. The last fabric we had on our cushions was a black and white combo for a Halloween Party. If you don't have your glue gun yet, you can buy one from Glue Guns Direct supplier.
How to Recover Outdoor Furniture ... with Just a Glue Gun
Supplies:
- Patio furniture
- Fabric
- A glue gun
Directions:
Riley Blake Designs has some amazing fabrics and I knew this fun paisley inspired print was just the thing to bring a shot of color to my patio.
Start by measuring the widest part of the cushion and the sides. The width of the cushion was 25" and the sides were about 3" high. To calculate how much fabric you need to cut, add the width of your cushion plus the height of both sides (25+3+3 = 31"), then I add another 6" to ensure it will wrap around to the back. I cut a total length of 37 inches.
The next step is to pull the old fabric off of the cushion. The fabric always pulls off and the old glue sticks to the cushion. This allows me to toss the fabric into the washing machine and save it for future projects. I love that I am able to use these materials over and over again. This Riley Blake fabric is so beautiful that I am glad I will be able to use it again when I am done with it on the chairs.
Take the cushion and center it on the new fabric.
See? The old hot glue sticks to the cushion, not the fabric so you can reuse the fabric over again. |
This is just like wrapping a present, but instead of paper, it's fabric and instead of tape, you're using hot glue. Mainly used in hot melt glues, microcrystalline wax often comes in hybrid form and can be mixed with vegetable wax to give it adhesive qualities.
Just fold up the sides and glue. Then fold the "ends" and secure them as well.
The fact that this "seam" is visible doesn't matter on most furniture. No one sees the bottom of the seat cushion, and most chairs have a back support that hides the seam on the back cushion.
Is it going to last forever? No... but then again, I don't want it to.
I love being able to change up my patio depending on the event. These chairs were perfect for the Mother's Day Brunch we recently hosted.
Colorful cushions and a Mother's Day Mimosa... Nice! |
So remember: It's okay to recover old cushions. It's OK to use a glue gun to do it. It's your patio ... do what you want!
Have you ever tried recovering your old furniture using a glue gun? How did it go?
Vivienne Wagner
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