Kid-Friendly Craft: How To Make Thanksgiving Chair Covers

by Chris Molnar on November 7th, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Thanksgiving—These chair covers are a great project for kids and parents to make together. They’re really simple, inexpensive, and they look amazing at your Thanksgiving table. These chair covers are so adorable you’ll want to leave them up all month! Let's get started.

How To Make Thanksgiving Chair Covers

Supplies:

White pillowcase (sizes vary, so buy the size that will best fit your kitchen chairs)
Felt (brown, yellow, orange, purple, black)
Scissors
Construction paper
Marker (for tracing)
Fabric glue

Directions:

Cut out a big circle for the turkey’s body from the brown felt. I like to trace a 13-inch dinner plate, adding a few feathers on each side.
Cut out a smaller circle for the turkey’s head from the brown felt. For this circle, I like to trace a 7-inch cereal bowl or mixing bowl.
Create a pattern on the construction paper for all your feathers so that they are uniform in size and shape. You can make the feathers any size and shape you want, but I like about a 12 or 13-inch feather. When you find a size and shape you’re happy with, cut the feather out of the construction paper and trace onto the different colors of felt (2 orange, 2 yellow, 2 purple, and 1 red). You’ll want an odd number of feathers so you can position 1 centered feather.
Cut out a beak and 2 legs from the yellow felt. Cut 2 small circles from the black felt for eyes, and cut a turkey gobbler from the red felt.
Gather all of your cut out shapes and cover the big brown circle (turkey’s body) with fabric glue all over except the top inch (you’ll want to be able to fit the feathers behind the top inch, so don’t glue it down yet). Place it in the center of the pillowcase.
Position the feathers around the body, beginning with 1 center feather and working out. Don’t put glue on them until you’re happy with their positioning. Once you have the feathers positioned, cover them with glue one at a time, and place on the pillowcase, tucking in the bottom half inch behind the unglued portion of the turkey’s body. When all feathers are attached, glue down the top inch of the turkey’s body over the feathers.
Cover the turkey’s head with glue. Position part way over the body and part way over the feathers. Glue on eyes, gobbler, beak, and legs (in that order). Allow glue to dry before placing over a chair.

These chair covers are so much fun to make, and they’re inexpensive enough so you can have one for each chair at your Thanksgiving table. You can come up with multiple pictures, or make them all uniform with matching turkeys. You can even personalize them with your guests’ names and they will double as place holders. Have a great Thanksgiving!

What are you planning for Thanksgiving? How will you get your children more involved in the traditions and family activities this year?

Thanksgiving is all about family, and being thankful for the bounty we have. Chris and his family always drives to his parent's house to visit, and his eldest daughter is now starting to compete with him on who gets more stuffing! Chris owns a party site and has a section on Thanksgiving party ideas for parents looking for decor tips for their festivities. Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter: @themeaparty.

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Chris Molnar

Chris's eldest daughter (5) knows that the word "Hawaii" equals a fun, sunny destination, even if she's not quite sure where it is. With the hot weather this summer and a couple tiki torches haunting his garage from last year, it's definitely time for another luau party. You can visit Chris on his Facebook page - drop by and say aloha!