Old Sweater Turned Chair Pad

So I had this sweater. I think it was actually a hand-me-down from my sister. (Yes, I’m well into my 30s and still get hand me downs;) It’s what happens when you’re the fourth sister). Anyway, it’s gotten a couple holes in the back. I don’t wear it anymore. But it’s orange. What color am I using in my master bedroom?! Orange. Naturally, I can’t get rid of it. Cover a pillow? Maybe.

Or maybe…a CHAIR!

It struck me the other day, that maybe it would fit over this hideous chair pad on this GORGEOUS chair my mom gave me a while back. You might remember this pic from my Facebook page –

And you might recognize the one on the right as my daughter’s bright pink “nightstand.” 

I took the cutie on the left outside over the weekend for a nice bright white coat of spray paint (Valspar Paint and Primer in One in Gloss White), but hadn’t made it to the fabric store to pick up just the right thing to cover the seat.

Enter my orange sweater.

First, I unscrewed the pad (it was just 4 screws underneath the chair pad), and popped out the staples of that lovely vinyl pattern…

…then slid the sweater over it…

Don’t know why, but that picture makes me laugh. Like I’m getting a chair pad dressed…ANYway. Moving on…It fit!

I turned it over, tied the arms together, and stapled it all over.

Wow, those two shades of orange look totally different, huh? Weird. It’s definitely not as light as it is in this shot.

So I screwed it back into place, and knew it needed something.

I grabbed some stencils I had (Martha Stewart’s line at Michaels, gotta love it), a foam brush, some white craft paint, and got to work.

And here she is!

Not bad for 100% free, huh?!

Now to be honest, if I’m out and about and spot a to-die-for fabric, I’ll probably buy it and replace this one, just because the paint makes it not the softest material. I would recommend fabric paint if you wanted to try something like this. But this chair is in our bedroom, so it’s not like it’s going to be sat on a whole lot. It’s more decorative that anything. And it works for now, and was a lot of fun to make!

Hopes this gives you an idea the next time you’re ready to toss a stained favorite sweater, or one with some holes in it…there’s always a chair pad;)