In our little girl's bedroom we've had a green and white stripy armchair. It was put there so I could breast feed her. (I breastfed for a year, but rarely in this chair!) Recently she's been using it to climb on and look out of the window, which is a bit of a worry when the window is open. So, it had to come out of her room. She has her own small armchair in pink patchwork fabric, so that was no problem, just a straigt swap. My daughter's chair lived on the landing upstairs, so replacing such a pretty chair with one less pretty was not satisfactory for me. Over the weekend (and as part of my Mother's Day gift) we chose and bought some rather lovely fabric and I set to work. I thought I'd show you a few photos.
1. Take your tatty and not very pretty but otherwise comfy chair and choose some lovely fabric to cover it with. This is a pretty standard size chair. We initially bought 5 metres, but it was not quite enough. The husband had to go back on Sunday afternoon to buy more, so 7 metres is plenty for a chair of this size. I'm sharing how I went about this task, it's not the 'right' way or the wrong way, it's the Sadie Way and that works from me! 
2. Start with the cushion pads. Remove and pin then tack fabric (wrong side out) to fit the cushion. I do not do zips, so I just made the bottom edge a flap closing, so I can still remove the cushion pad. This is the part that you want to get as near perfect as you can, as it makes up the main bulk of the chair.
3. Let the fun begin. Working wrong side out, drape, cut and pin your fabric to fit the arms of the chair. Tack in place then take to the sewing machine and stitch. By doing it slowly like this it isn't overwhelming to do. I started the covers on Saturday, and even though I've worked around the needs of my little girl, and the usual household chores, it's taken me three days to complete, simply by doing little bits as and when I could. It's also a lot easier and less confusing to machine sections, if I tried to machine the entire tacked cover I'd get in such a pickle. Attaching small completed section to another section and plodding through it that was much more appealing. So in this photo, the only parts not sewn (but tacked) were the front base section, the seat section, and the back section. The arms and sides had been sewn. 
This photo (left) is to discuss the tension of the fabric. Obviously you want a good fit, but be warned, do not make it too tight. It MUST have some give in it. If you are as thin as a whippet and barely dent the cushion then that's great, but someone else with a bit more meat on their bones will cause more movement to the fabric. It would be awful to hear a massive R-I-PPPP! if someone sat heavily on your lovingly reupholstered chair. So bear it in mind. Make the underneath where the cushions will hide it anyway, a little bit looser to allow for movement. It won't look a mess because a) no one noses underneath cushions to check your handiwork, and if they do, escort them off the premises immediately. and b) you push the fabric down into the sides of the chair (by the arms) to hold it neatly in place. Fitted with a bit of give, and not skintight is the idea.I then ironed the hemline, tacked and finally stitched in place.
When you are happy with the fit of your cover, tuck it securely into place. The nooks, crannies and folds of the chair are your friend! I wanted to hide the less than perfect hemline, so have attached some fringing along the bottom. It hides so many imperfections and I love the 'belonged to my granny' look it gives the chair. Bung on a cushion or two and *ta da* a comfy and pretty reading chair is born. (I need to borrow my Dad's staple gun so I can put in a couple of staples under the arms, and I need to pick out the tacking stitches, but other than that it's done)
I am very pleased with how it turned out. Re-covering the dining room chairs earlier this year boosted my confidence, which is why I was happy to give this a try. If anyone out there has been thinking about doing something like this but feeling unsure,I hope this will persuade you to give it a go. Whether it's a big project like this, or something smaller like making a cushion cover, give it a try, you will be amazed at what you can do. I haven't had any training in sewing, I'm self taught and learn as I go along. If I can make things like this, then believe me, anyone can. My covers aren't perfect, there are little mistakes here and there, and like I say, the hemline - yikes! - but do I care? Not one jot. I like it, my husband likes it, and my daughter likes it. Don't let anyone dent your confidence. I have let people do that to me over the years and it's my one regret. I have made an observation though, people who point out the faults, flaws and problems are usually people who have never tried to make anything in their entire lives. Fact! So give it a try, you CAN do it.