Repairing an Old Chair on the Cheap

I have two of these wicker/rattan (not sure which) chairs that I purchased on one of my very first trips to a consignment shop. I got them for $10.00 each, and we have now been using them for about 12 years, maybe a little longer. They are on the screened porch year round, and the seat bottom on one of the chairs had weakened and broken through. At first I thought we would need to throw it away.

The chair itself is still sturdy and they are so comfortable and I really wanted to figure a way to fix it. That turned out to be much simpler than I had imagined.

Materials:
1 4x5 dropcloth
Elmers Glue All glue (for metal, wood, fabric)
scissors
screwdriver (I used small electric)

There were only two screws to remove to release the form the seat is attached to.

After removing the screws, I lifted out the seat bottom, and laid it on my unfolded dropcloth.

After removing the old material, I cut around the outside of the form, adding about 2 inches all the way around to allow for folding over and gluing. You don't have to cut perfectly. The edges of the dropcloth are not going to show once you are through. You can see staples on the old cover, but the form is metal, so I had to resort to glue to attach the new seat.

Here is the new seat glued to the metal form.

Place the covered form in the chair, replace the two screws, and you are done.

I would estimate this repair at $2.00 or less. I only used a small portion of the dropcloth, and a small amount of glue.

I'm glad I thought of a way to repair the chair rather than throwing it away. I think we will get several more years use out of the chairs.

I have plenty of dropcloth for other projects, or for the other chair when it needs repaired. I am pleased with this simple, inexpensive fix.

Sharing here:

What We Accomplished Wednesday @ Green Willow Pond

Work It Wednesday's @ The Happy Housie

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants

Share Your Cup Thursday

Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Fabulous Friday Party

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