Chandelier Chain Cover DIY

The chandelier went out on its second rental gig this past weekend. In fact this was the gig that the chandelier was purchased for. My Husband Mark and his skilled and efficient crew of On Your Mark Lighting and Equipment had to hang the chandelier over a dance floor. And there was lots of chain to cover.  My Mom and I got sewing a couple of weeks ago. Well she sewed and I cut some of the fabric and tended the baby.

For our template, Mom found a Boscov’s shirt box in the paper recycling . The chain cover needed to surround a 2 inch chain. So I decided 8 inches was the width to cut the fabric. Doubled over with an inch or so of seam allowance and this would be wide enough with some space to slouch. Template was 8 inches wide.

Then we took a pencil and started drawing along the template edge, moving it forward as we went. This gave us a line to cut along. Our fabric was a synthetic fiber shiny fabric. If it had been a cotton, we’d have just ripped it in a straight line. No such luck.

Then there was the cutting. And the pinning. Which I didn’t know I was doing wrong until the end. Perpendicular to the edge. Not at an angle. If I was sewing, I just sew over the pins so you can see why I’m not the one sewing. We had to make 5 foot, 10 foot, and 15 foot lengths at 50 percent fullness. That means that the fabric will scrunch down with half as much more volume. Drapes are calculated the same. This meant, we had to cut 7.5 footers, 20 footers, and 30 footers. Two each.

My mom uses her mothers Singer featherweight sewing machine. It never fails her. Mine failed me because I caught Eamon playing with the tension controls. Oh that’s right, that’s why it hasn’t worked in a long time. This happened before and that’s why the thread was unhappily globbing up on the backside of the fabric. Right. You go Mom.

Sewing as a spectator sport.

After you sew the long long seam, you have to turn the great big toeless chain tube sock inside out. I used a broom handle to feed the fabric onto. Mom sewed the end closed so you just shove it down on the end and keep shoving it inside out until your done. I also attached the end into the broom handle hole and then pulled. You figure it out.

And here is the glamorous result. The sewing wasn’t that hard once we sat down, made a plan, and began the factory production. Sew simple, as they say. You should see the prices they’re charging for these things online. If anyone’s is interested, we’ve got a chandelier to rent and lovely chain covers for those crazy hanging situations.

Check out Mark’s Pinterest page to see more of his amazing work. He’s good