White-chair-covers-CVLinens

How to Choose Chair Covers for Events

white chair covers
How to Choose Chair Covers for Your Special Event

Seating is one of the most essential parts of hosting an event, and decorating your chairs is just as important! Whether you're looking to add a minimal touch of color or texture or you're looking to completely hide unsightly chairs, purchasing bulk chair covers is a great and economical option! 

Event planners and DIY brides both swear by these easy-to-use chair covers bulk that can help take your event from a 6 to a 10! Chair covers for events come in a variety of different shapes and sizes to go with the different wedding chair styles, sizes, colors, and themes! With so many options to choose from, finding the perfect chair cover might seem a bit overwhelming, especially if you're not sure what chair cover fits your chair. 

However, there's no need to stress your chairs! We have created a comprehensive guide, to help you learn how to measure your chairs to find the perfect fit for your special event.

outdoor wedding chairs
What is a chair cover?

Chair covers are slip covers that go over chairs to cover unsightly patterns, and issues such as tears and stains. They can cover everything from seat, back, and legs or just the chair cap or top. Another important aspect of chair covers is decoration, they are a great way to tie in your event colors and theme!

At CV Linens we offer chair covers in a wide range of styles, colors, and materials. Whether you are looking for elegant chiavari chair slip covers, a bold sparkling sequin look, or wrinkle free spandex covers we’re sure you’ll find a style that fits your needs! 

blue chair ties
The Benefits of Using Chair Covers


Aside from covering up wear and tear on chairs, you'll find there's plenty more advantages from using chair covers. Here are a few of the most popular reasons to use chair covers for your event!

  • Decor that stands out - To be honest, most chairs are pretty basic and boring
  • Tie in your theme - They provide another area where you can incorporate your decor’s theme and colors
  • Easy to launder - Most cover chairs are machine-washable, making them easy to reuse
  • Variety - There’s a huge selection of patterns, fabrics, styles, and colors
beautiful wedding setup
Tips For Buying Special Occasion Chair Covers


Using chair covers is an affordable way to upscale your wedding ceremony and reception party. However, purchasing the incorrect covers can make a dent in your budget. To keep your event looking flawless while staying on budget, consider the following guidelines on how to choose the right chair covers for your special event!

1. Determine The Chair Model

Before you buy your covers, you'll need to know what kind of chair model you have or will be provided by the venue. (If you're unsure of the chair type that your venue is providing you can always ask your venue manager or event coordinator.) We'll go over the three most popular chair styles below:

  • Banquet chairs – Banquet chairs are one of the most popular types of chairs in the event planning industry! They can be found in hotels, restaurants, and event halls. They are available in round tops, crown tops, and square tops, with round tops being the most commonly used.  
  • Chiavari chairs – Chiavari chairs are also known as Tiffany chairs. This extremely popular and stylish chair style is all the rage right now! Beautiful in their own right, these chairs don't need to be covered. However, when paired with the perfect chair slip cover or cap, these seats are transformed into whimsical chairs optimal for wedding receptions and sweetheart tables.
  • Folding chairs – Folding chairs offer a more casual seating style than the banquet and chiavari chairs, with style options in metal, samsonite and lifetime. The folding aspect of the chairs make them easy to move and transport and often are the more economical chair option. If your event takes place in a more rustic environment like a barn or an outdoor garden, then these chairs, embellished with the right chair covers will provide a more refined look.

If you're not sure where your chair fits in under these three categories or your chair is just a little smaller or bigger than the standard chair we still have you covered. Our universal self tie chair covers are the ideal chair covers for you! They are large square slip covers that will fit most chair models and types including metal folding, banquet, wood folding, and chiavari chairs. Elegant in nature, these stylish slip-on covers are stress-free since you don't have to stress over chair dimensions and super easy to tie. (You can view a tutorial on how to tie your universal chair cover here.)

2. Chair Cover Size & Measurements

Many chair covers can look the same at first glance, however there are some details that can affect how a cover fits. You can easily avoid purchasing the wrong chair cover by measuring your chairs first. It's always better to be safe than sorry and avoid any confusion!

 Although the chair covers might look similar, unless it's a universal pillowcase chair cover, the chair covers won't fit every type of chair. Before placing an order, we suggest confirming the following measurements:

  • The chairs over all height 
  • The height and width of the chair back
  • The seat width and length

A few other aspects to consider are the top of the chair as banquet and folding chairs are available in 3 different styles. Some chair styles even feature thicker seat cushions that may cause the cover to leave the legs slightly uncovered or worst, to not fit.

Measurements are very important! That is why we provide our customers with as much detailed information as possible in our dedicated size chart. Here are some of the most common chair sizes and measurements. (Please keep in mind measurements will vary based on the type of chair.)

Banquet Chairs

banquet chair
banquet chair

Chiavari Chairs

chiavari chair

Folding Chairs

brown folding chairs
white and black folding chair

white folding chair

3. Picking the Chair Cover Fabric

Once you’ve confirmed the size of the chair, you can move on to the next step which is choosing the material of the covers. We have a variety of materials from basic polyester and spandex covers to specialty linens such as sequins, velvet, and vintage veilWe'll go over the three most popular and commonly used chair cover materials.

  • Polyester Chair Covers: Available for folding, banquet, and lifetime chairs. These covers are the ideal pick for any banquet setting. Polyester is a durable, matte fabric which makes it the perfect base material for any event. They can be easily be dressed up with sashes and bands, or even a curly willow chair sash to create a sophisticated waterfall effect. 
  • Spandex Chair Covers: These chair covers are made with lycra spandex and are available for banquet and folding chairs. Spandex chair covers have a sleek-fit capability to create a contemporary yet stylish finish. Spandex banquet chair covers offer many stylish options with built in accents like cross back, swag back, ruched, and glitz sequins. They're easy to take on and off and very low-maintenance needing only minimal laundering. 
  • Sequin Chair Covers: Sequin chair covers are a low maintenance cover option with a high amount of glamour! Whether you're using a banquet, chiavari, or folding chair these stunning covers are sure to make your chairs stand out. Available in glitz sequins, payette sequins, and geometric sequins there is no shortage in options for these shining chair covers!

In addition, we have specialty linen chair covers available in satin, velvet, taffeta, and lamour satin. You view our entire chair cover collection, here!

Chair Covers Mentioned

4. Choosing a Color for Your Chair Covers

A helpful tip to choose the perfect color for your chair covers is to consider the following aspects:

  • Theme - The theme and color scheme of your celebration or event will tie into your chair decor
  • Venue - The motif, style, and overall ambiance of your venue or ballroom
  • Color Scheme - You can match your covers to your primary wedding color or any of your accent colors or base color

In addition, some people even consider the event attire. For example, brides and grooms might consider their attire when deciding on a chair cover color. After all, chairs play an essential role in providing elegance and charm especially when well coordinated with your event decor. At CV Linens we offer a wide array of chair covers colors such as white, black, ivory, blush, royal blue, and many more!

Chair Covers Mentioned

pink chair sashes

5. The Tablescape Decor

Another major element to think about when picking your chair covers is your festivity’s theme. Your theme will play into a few other categories when picking your chair covers but that is due to the big importance of your events theme! Chair covers can highlight the theme of a party and create harmony but many people seem to underestimate their importance. If the chair covers are too elegant or not elegant enough, they can clash with the event or wedding decorations and the entire ambiance will be affected. So, make sure not to overlook at the overall picture when picking your chair covers!

gold chair bands

6. Chair Styling

Last but definitely not least, styling. Styling your chair covers is one of the most essential and fun parts! After choosing your chair covers, there are several ways you can dress them up to elevate the look of your event. For plain polyester or spandex stretch chair covers you can choose to add chair sashes, chair bands, curly willow chair caps, brooches, or rhinestone clips to add pizzaz to your chairs. 

Chiavari chair covers are special since they usually only cover the back of the chair or top of the chair to still show off the chairs gorgeous wood details. Depending on the chair cover picked for your chairs most people often opt for a more dreamy and whimsical look for their chiavari chairs adding fresh or artificial floral and greenery accents!

If you have a pre styled spandex or chiavari chair cover with curly willow accents, sequins, or swags, then you might opt for a more toned down accent like a sophisticated rhinestone brooch, or solid colored spandex band for a pop of color. However, additional chair decorations are not necessary, just fun!

Chair Covers Mentioned

wedding reception

Event Ready Chairs

Whether you're using your chair covers for a formal event or a casual outdoor celebration, chair covers are sure to add a magical touch to your event decor! Please be sure that the double check your chair measurements before purchasing your chair covers to ensure they fit your chair perfectly. If you need to find out more details regarding our chair covers and or you need help with anything at all you can always contact our customer care specialist at (512-821-1178) or via email at info@cvlinens.com.

Are you a Visual Learner?

Watch our video tutorial on how to choose the perfect chair cover for your special event! 

For more beautiful wedding inspiration and how-to trends be sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest!

Pin for Later

Sign Up for Coupons, Updates, and More

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.