How To Make A Ruffled Chair Skirt

Dress up a wooden chair with a ruffled furniture skirt to add some charm.

You can skirt dining chairs, rocking chairs, even high chairs. Just grab your staple gun.

Check out the easy tutorial and all the tips for this simple DIY.

Last week, I spent a lot of time in my living room. It was unseasonably cold outside, so I decided to take advantage of my fireplace and curl up in front of it to work.

Unfortunately, while the room was toasty, the view was less than stellar.

This is what I saw...

...Hmmm. Not great.

I liked it better than before it received its painted makeover, but my beloved chair was still missing something. It was bland, stark, cold and the fabric really didn't have any pizzaz.

Poor little chair.

It had so much potential when I pulled it out of the trash. Like Charlie Brown's little tree, I knew it could be something amazing. I just couldn't seem to get it right.

My first attempt was a quick fix. I replaced the chair cushions and that was ok for a while.

Then this summer's paint job helped to lighten it up, but still, the more I stared at it, the more I knew it needed help.

My original thought was to reupholster the cushions in a better fabric. I even grabbed what little I had left from my kitchen valances to see it would work in the living room.

It was gorgeous no doubt, but it was very light and didn't contrast with the couches. Boring.



Then I started to think about the amount work recovering those cushions would be...piping, adding  zippers...um...no. I vetoed that idea.
I needed a quick and easy DIY.

So instead, I grabbed my scrap fabric bin and decided to use my skirted kitchen chair for inspiration. After all, that is truly my all time favorite makeover project.

I figured why not try to do something like it with this little treasure.

As luck would have it, tucked into the bottom of the bin, I found my old scrap fabric box pleat banner. Bingo.

I knew it would look great in the room and it was already done, all I'd have to do was staple it on.

Of course, it wouldn't be enough on its own, so I layered it over the new kitchen drapery fabric, taped it all into place, took a picture so I could obsess about it in bed

And I left it there, mocked up, overnight.

The next morning, I woke up early, ready to conquer the job, when I noticed that the curtain fabric had fallen away during the night.

Only the small ruffle was still attached to the chair and it looked amazing.

It was simple, clean and just the right color. I was hooked on the look and ready to go when I realized that I didn't have anymore of that fabric to complete the job. Always a snag.

I knew I was on the right track though and had a plan, so I flipped that chair over and got started.

How To Make A Pleated or Ruffled Wooden Chair Skirt

Step 1. First things first, I flipped the chair over so it would be easier to work on.

The same way I flipped over my wooden bench to add a cushion to it.


This way, I could clearly see where I needed to staple things, minimizing the chance of hurting myself...which is always a consideration with power tools.

And speaking of...this is my tool of choice.

It's the only power tool I own and I use it all the time. I've mentioned it before and people always ask about it, so here it is. It's an Arrow Electric Staple Gun. Mine has a cord, but when it goes, I'll be getting the cordless one I linked to instead.

It's helped through way too many projects to count and I cannot imagine doing any of them with a regular staple gun. I just don't have the strength. This way, it's a tap and go.

Step 2. Next up, I stapled the already pleated scrap banner onto the chair.

I wanted it to be as long as possible, so I placed my staples as close to the edge of the bottom of the frame as I could.

When I was done adding the banner, I had to do something to cover the rest of the chair, since the banner was only long enough to go across the front and a teeny bit of each side.

Luckily, I had some Waverly leftovers, including a red Country House Toile, that I thought would blend well.

Step 3. Now this one wasn't already pleated or ruffled and sewn together like the banner, so I had to create the gathers as I stapled. It was actually a pretty easy process.

I just folded the fabric over and placed a staple where the fabric overlapped.

For tighter ruffles I would make gaps between pleats smaller, for bigger ones, the gaps would be larger.

For example, the structured box pleats in the front appeared very ruffled. The newer side fabric, less so. When I was done, it looked like this.

Step 4. I could've cut it before I stapled it, but this was the only piece I had to work with, so I wanted to make sure it was going to be long enough for two sides.

Once I knew it was going to work, I measured how long I needed it to be and cut very carefully to ensure a straight line.

My husband was a little worried that the mix of fabrics wasn't going to look right, but I think it worked out very well.

I love the mingling of patterns, it's interesting, but honestly unless you really look closely here, it's hard to tell that they aren't the same.

It was finished in less than an hour and now, with its coordinating pillow, it looks outstanding. This is how I envisioned it when I hid it in the bushes all those years ago.

I finally got it right. I guess third time's a charm.

It's much more at home in my cottage style living room and I'd say that my view has improved dramatically.

So much so that now I can't get enough of it.

My husband laughs at me, because when I'm in the room I won't sit in it.

I prefer to look at it.

I mean, really now, wouldn't you?

Happy Ruffling, Friends!