Remake of Seat Cushions/Chair Pads

Remember the flannel covered seat cushions I made a few months ago for my son's class? You can see them HERE and check out the tutorial on how I made them HERE. The teacher loved them and the kids were very excited to have soft seats for their week of standardized testing.

It was soon clear, however, that flannel was not the best choice for these cushions as it created far too much friction between itself and the backsides of fidgety 8 year olds! Also the ribbon I used to attach the pads to the chairs was not substantial enough to withstand the constant movement of the kids. So a few at a time, they were returned looking for some TLC. I decided to gather the remaining pads at the end of the school year and do a total remake of them, forgoing the flannel for outdoor canvas and the ribbon for wide velcro. I did re-use the foam squares though.

Here's the new chair pad collection for next year's second grade class...


This outdoor canvas was purchased from Fabric.com for a fraction of what it would have cost me at my local Joann Fabrics even at their best sale price. I highly recommend checking them out next time you are looking for this or any other kind of fabric.


Instead of using narrow ribbon sewn into the side seams of the covers to attach the pads to the chair legs, this time I used 1 1/2 inch wide velcro which goes under the seat of the chair and attaches to itself. I was able to purchase the velcro from Fabric.com too for about a sixth the price I would have paid at Joann! I also stitched a French seam on both sides of each pad for extra stability, catching in the ends of the velcro strip with each stitching and sewing back and forth over the velcro for good measure. I think it will hold better, but we'll see!


So there is the new chair pad to cushion the little seats of next year's second grade class. I'll be very interested to see how these hold up compared to the flannel covers and ribbons. If I have to remake them again, I'll be sure to let you know!

Happy Stitching!

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