$5.00 Highchair Facelift

I love our highchair, it’s not anything fancy but it’s so perfect for our little guys. But the poor highchair as gone through four kids and with the fifth one just starting to use it (and I don’t want to get a new one) I thought that it was high time that it received a facelift.   So this is what I did. 

First I went on the hunt for a suitable material to cover the highchair.  My first thought was to get a red and white checked tablecloth out of the camping section of our local WM.  But they only had the disposable kind in.  So I tried the seasonal section and they had exactly the type of tablecloth I wanted and they were on clearance for a couple of bucks which of course I loved,  BUT they weren’t the style I had in mind at all.  So I marched over to the house wares department and there it was!  Exactly what I had in mind. This beautiful dark read vinyl tablecloth! The kind you need is vinyl on one side and has some cotton batting type stuff on the back, and at $5.00 I was ready to give it a try.

 

So I removed the old highchair pad.  I never was a fan of the Winnie the Pooh theme so I was happy to see it go.

Then I traced around the old pad using it as a template for my new pad.  I left about 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam allowance.  I know it doesn’t look like it here but I really did. 

  

Once both of the sections were cut out I placed the right sides together and I used my sewing machine to sew together the “leg” part of the highchair pad.

Then I turned it right side out and put the old pad inside of it. I looked at getting new pad but man that stuff is spendy!  So I just used our old pad for the filling.

To get this thing to stay on the highchair I decided to add a pocket that would just slip over the top of the high chair.  So using the pad as a template again I cut out a pocket the same shape as the top of the pad.

Then I used a really strong industrial strength epoxy to glue the tablecloth to the old pad.  First I glued the back to the front and then I wrapped the front over and glued it to the back.

   

I used mini cloths pins to hold it altogether while it dried. 

Once it was dry I used the same epoxy to glue the pocket onto the back of the pad.

    

While that dried I found the place in the pad that the seatbelt comes through and I cut a slit.  And I smeared a little epoxy in there to hopefully keep it from ripping.

Once it was all dried it was time to attach it to the highchair.  First I slip the top of the highchair into the pocket that I had created.

  Then I found the spot on the underneath were the leg parts attached and I punched four holes in the table cloth and attached it to the highchair.  

Then I put the seatbelt through the middle

     

All Done!! I still can’t believe it worked! I’m VERY HAPPY with the results

BUT  while I was feeding a cute little baby this morning at around 4:00 I thought of a better way to do it (I think)  Does anyone else do that?

  I forgot to take a before picture so this is the best that I have

                    BEFORE                                                        AFTER

(now to spray paint those highchair legs so that they match the cover)

Check it out here http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/