I'm going to guess 3 yards per chair, but that really IS a guess as I'm just trying to bump this for you (you may not get too many answers till after Thanksgiving, tho). I know the question will be whether there's a pattern on the fabric or not...

Don't you like the white?

I'm going to estimate 3 yards as well, IF, you are using a solid fabric. If you choose a print, then I would purchase at least 3.25 yards for each chair, so you can match the prints. Here's a guide that has a chair similar to yours. It's in the center of the 4th row. Hope this helps. Happy Sewing! :)

about 16 yards by my calculations. that is for 45" wide fabric. you might not need so much if you got a 60" width, but only in pattern is not super directional. a bit more than 2 yds will do the seats and you need just shy of a yard (3/4) for each front and back and some extra to be safe.

Since you're giving measurements in cm., I assume you are not in the US. Most home dec fabric here is 54" wide. It may be different where you are. Yes, as Susan said, it will also depend on the repeat of the fabric and pattern matching.

Thanks so much for all of the help. I just need a rough estimate. If I end up being a little short I will do something like put a coordinating fabric on the back of two of the chairs. I have been looking at a lot of pictures and I think that looks nice as well.


There really isn’t enough room around the table for all 8 chairs comfortably anyway so I will use some of the chairs in other places in the house and just take them to the DR for special occasions.


Since this will be our first project like this so I am thinking to be safe I should choose a fabric without a pattern.

Thanks again all and to our American friends Happy Thanksgiving.

If I could get away with not redoing ALL of them, then I would.

I'll tackle anything (and have recovered armchairs), but to get 8 chairs the same without wanting to tear out my hair in the process, well, I would avoid that.

What if you took off ALL of the backs and used that fabric for the damaged parts of your chairs (even taking one into an upholstery shop and see what they would charge? It may be way less than you think and it won't cost anything to try).

If that's cost prohibitive, then I would tackle the bad seats myself using the back fabric. Then I would get new fabric for the backs of all the chairs. It doesn't have to be heavy duty fabric like you would need for the seats, you have nothing that you have to match, and you can have something fun! You probably can get away with drapery weight which will be less money. Heck, you might even see some drapes on your local classified or ebay that can be had for a song...

A pattern match can double the amount of fabric needed. You have to know the repeat number. Even a solid can have a map that needs to be factored into the amount needed.

Thanks again for the help. Pennydesign, I like how you think. I agree that getting a less expensive fabric for the backs is a great idea and I have looked at so many examples that I find really beautiful , like the ones you posted. I am nervous to do this but I think I have my husband onside to help so I am hoping between the two of us we can get this done one at a time. They are in pretty sorry shape, the fabric on the back of one of the chairs has a cigarette burn and I dot think any of the fabric is clean enough to transfer onto another part. But you know you have given me the courage to go for it on the back of the chairs. That’s what I wanted to do all along but I was going to take the safe route. We won’t get at this until January but I am going to try to buy the fabric while the sales are on, thanks so much for the great advice.

Even if you have to sacrifice a couple of chairs to redo the seats of the rest, it would still be worth it. Most anything is cleanable, so don't discount your chairs that are just dirty.

I would get a fabric that you can use for something else (drapes, maybe?) JUST in case the whole thing is too much for you...so it's not a total loss.

Remember, when you disassemble the chairs, that fabric becomes your pattern. And I urge you to take many notes. I've often done something and then gotten distracted with another project and then totally forgotten how the heck a fabric was attached, or the order that I attached it in.

Also, trim is your friend--see that second picture? You can buy trim like that and it hides many mistakes :)

Good luck to you...Have a look through this website for some inspiration...her stuff is absolutely stunning.

http://www.wildchairy.com/

Wanting to give it a try is half the battle in my opinion. When you're interested in a project, you tend to have more success. I forgot about this, but have watched many of these videos before tackling my own upholstery projects. I've found them to be very informative and helpful. Not affiliated, just thought I'd share. Good luck with your project!

https://www.youtube.com/user/KimsUpholstery

PS...Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! :)

Pennydesign I am looking at the backs of those chairs in a whole new light. This may be the answer!

Update on reupholstering project

Hi all

Just thought I would provide an update. We started the chairs. They are in worse shape than I realized. My husband has stripped 4 of them to the raw wood and restrained. That has been quite a process and it took several tries to get it right. I’ve purchased the fabric. I bought a heavy fabric for the seat and front Back and a lighter one for the back back. I’ve also started the piping, my first time to use a zipper foot. We still don’t have a complete chair done but we are getting there.
I am going to try to include some photos to show you the progress thus far.

Oh very nice job!

It will be so worth it in the end...of course by then you'll be so sick of doing it, but it's so worth it, imho. They're probably made better than anything you can buy now...

Nice neutral colors, but you have a bit of a fun twist with it on the back! Should go with anything, really...

Bravo, you!

Good for you! They're very elegant chairs.

I like your fabric choices a lot. I remember my first piping...it was for a pillow cover. At that time, I did not know the piping would have turned out (been easier to work with) better if I had I cut the fabric strips on the bias.

Thank you for posting this follow up and I hope you continue to post more. Your chairs are going to look amazing and you will feel a real sense of accomplishment.

Keep up the good work!

-Laurie