Go Bananas!

Let your little monkey know how much you love them by showing them you've gone bananas for them. I've been looking for a cute chair for the kids play room and I came across a used chair that needed a lot of work. In this Instructable I will show you how to make a "banana" removeable/washable cover for your banana chair. I wanted mine to have an attached blanket to keep his little legs warm. I have pictures of the frame as well, so if you are good with wood you could make your own frame. Your little monkey will love you for it.

What you need:
2 yards yellow fabric
2 yards white fleece
Yellow thread
Some stuff animal stuffing
Sewing Machine
Velcro
Hot glue and gun
Banana chair frame
(If building your own frame you could use ply wood, 2x2 cut to length, burlap, staples, and foam cushion)

So I have the old/used banana chair pictured. I then removed the outer cover. Then taking a butter knife I removed all the unwanted staples. If you will be making your own frame you need two banana shaped sides and 5 thick wood pieces to secure them together (shown in pictures). I placed a measuring tape to give you an idea for measurements, this chair is for toddler aged children.

This chair had a black cover for support (it was similar to thick fabric or burlap). I used hot glue to make it more secure by glueing it around the edges onto the wood frame. First glue the strip across the top and then the cover for the whole chair. I then took the foam and placed it on top the black fabric and hot glued it on the frame the same way as the other.

Trace the banana shaped wood onto a piece of paper. Place it on top of your yellow fabric and outline it a couple inches bigger to allow for seams. You will cut two yellow and two white fleece this way. Measure from the top of the chair all the way down the backside, for the cover on the back. Then measure the width of the backside of your chair, don't forget to add two inches for your seams. You will cut out a yellow and white rectangle for this piece. Next measure down the front for your front cover, it will have the same width as the last. You will cut one yellow and one white for this piece. Cut out your pieces for your blanket. There will be one yellow and one white. Then cut out two small and one large triangle shapes for the tops of the banana peels.

After your pieces are cut you will begin pinning them together. The sides are pinned right side in first and then sewn. Leave the top unpinned and place your triangle under the yellow fabric like shown in the pictures, leave a small hole to fill it with stuffing later( Don't forget to leave an area open so you can turn it right side out when done). After sewn turn right side out and stuff the top with stuffing and sew shut and sew the part you left open earlier. Do these steps again for the back section as well. For the front section you will only sew the blanket covering, so right side in sew the pieces together. Leave the section where the zipper will be unsewn. Then fold the bottom up and overlap it about 8 inches for the bottom and sew the sides together. Creating a pocket shape for their feet.

Drape the pieces right side in on top your frame. Then pin all the pieces together and leave the bottom open so you are able to remove the cover. Place the zipper on the inside and pin it to the side you would like to have it on. (In the picture it shows what it looks like after sewn into place) While you have the cover on you will overlap the back section over the front and measure where you want your Velcro to go and pin it into place. Then remove the cover to sew everything together.

While the cover is still off frame the last thing to do is sew the blanket on. First take the side you left open and fold it over and sew it to zipper. Then unzip it to give you more room and sew the other side seem on the inside into place. Last sew the bottom straight across just above the Velcro on the front section. Remember when you do this to make sure you don't sew the whole banana cover shut. The last photos are to show how it should look after placed back onto frame.