Reupholster an Old Chair Using Blue Jeans and Hot Glue

I have used a glue gun for just about every craft application you can think of, and I have a pretty firm grasp of what hot glue can be applied to without it coming loose from temperature changes or usage of the finished project. Smooth surfaces have a tendency to release at some point, as well as items that are pulled, twisted, bent or stressed in some manner. I have had pretty good luck with fabric, so I decided to put it to the ultimate test.

One of my sons had an old upholstered rocking chair in his room. It used to be white. Many cleanings later, it had developed stains that would not come out. It was time for the chair to go. But wait,...it was still a good chair. It was just a really ugly chair. I gathered the old jeans I use for crafting and decided to put the glue gun to work with a reupholstering job. I figured if the chair was still ugly when I was done, or it didn't work out, it could then go in the trash and I would happily wave goodbye. Overall, I am 100% happy with the transformation.

Using hot glue on fabric with weave and texture, seems to lock the fibers together fairly well, and denim is thick enough to hide the look and feel of hardened hot glue beneath it's surface. I can not promise how long the glue will hold up to repeated use, but I can promise that the way the chair is reupholstered, repairs will be simple and quick.

Thing you will need:

Old upholstered chair
Old blue jeans
Scissors
Glue gun
Lots and lots of hot glue sticks

Step 1
I vacuumed and sprayed the chair with a deodorizer to remove teenage boy smells. It had a skirt around the bottom that I cut off using scissors. My chair's structure was fine, but this would be a good time to make repairs if your chair is not.

Step 2
Cut the legs off of blue jeans, just below the crotch. I kind of lost track of how many I used, but I believe it was 8-10 adult jeans. Cut the legs apart at the seams. This will give you four pieces per pair of jeans. Cut each piece in half across the width. You will end up with a total of eight pieces per pair of jeans.

Step 3
Glue a hem on each raw edge of the jean pieces. Place a leg piece wrong side up on your work table. Apply a line of hot glue along one raw edge. Fold the edge over to hem. Repeat on all the raw edges. I did not hem the edges with the double seam or the sewn bottom hems of the jean legs.

Step 4
Arrange a few jean pieces on the seat of the chair. Overlap the edges of each piece and tuck the edges of the jeans down and around the seat cushion edges. Once you are satisfied with the arrangement, it's time to glue. Lift each jean edge, one at a time, and apply a line of hot glue on the wrong side along the hemmed edge. Continue until all the edges of all the arranged pieces are secured.

Step 5
Continue to arrange and glue jean pieces to large surface areas of your chair. Once the big areas have been covered, work on the gaps, corners and angles. I cut off the back waistband from two pairs of jeans and glued them around the angles where the back of the chair connects with the arms.

Step 6
Cut out the jean pockets from seats of the jeans. Apply hot glue to the back edges of the pockets. Randomly place the pockets on the chair. They are a great way to add additional charm to the chair while covering up mistakes or dripped glue spots.

I was going to replace the skirt I had removed with the waistbands of the jeans, but I decided I liked the way the wooden rockers contrasted with the blue denim.