Chair covers to hire are the cheapest way to make plain plastic or banquet chairs look like they belong at a wedding, a gala or a church anniversary. A fitted white or black cover hides scuffed seats and mismatched chairs, and a sash in your colour ties the room to the flowers and the cloths. Tell us how many chairs, the chair type, the colours and the date, and we pass it to independent linen and event hire firms who work in your area. They quote you directly. The request is free, with no obligation to accept any quote.
Stretch covers, loose covers and sashes
- Stretch (spandex) covers: pull on tight over plastic chairs or banquet chairs, a clean modern look, sometimes with an open back
- Loose covers: fuller fabric to the floor, usually for banquet chairs, best tied with a sash
- Sashes: satin, organza or chiffon, tied in a bow or a knot at the back; some firms have bands or brooches
White and black covers are the most stocked; ivory, gold, silver and colours are often available too.
Choosing chair covers for the chair you have
A cover must fit the chair. Tell the firm exactly which chair you are dressing: a moulded plastic armless chair, a plastic chair with arms, a padded banquet chair or a folding chair. Stretch covers made for armless plastic chairs will not go over arms. If you are hiring the chairs too, book both from one firm so they match. For colour, a white cover with a coloured sash is the safe choice; full coloured covers are bolder. Plan one sash per chair, plus a few spares, and decide whether the top table gets something different. Covers rarely suit Tiffany chairs, which are meant to be seen.
Fitting, care and common mistakes
Fitting covers and tying sashes for 200 chairs takes a few people more than an hour, so ask whether the firm dresses them for you and when. Covers are usually laundered by the hire firm; you return them dry, shaken out and counted, not washed. Food, red wine and wax stains, burns and torn fabric can be charged. The common mistake is ordering the wrong cover for the chair, so send a photo of the chair if you are not using the firm's own. Keep covered chairs away from wet grass, which stains the hem.
What affects the price and what to ask
Covers are priced per cover, with the sash often separate. Colour, fabric, quantity, fitting and transport all count, and booking with tablecloth hire from the same firm can save on delivery. Ask:
- Which chair is this cover made for?
- Is fitting and tying the sashes included?
- What do you charge for stains or a missing cover?
What to include in your request
- How many chairs and which chair
- Stretch or loose covers
- Cover colour and sash colour
- Whether you want them fitted
- Event date and venue
Chair Covers and Sashes for different events
- Families and home celebrations: a 21st, a 50th or a lobola lunch where plastic chairs need dressing up
- Weddings and engagements: covered chairs with sashes in the wedding colours at every reception table
- Funerals, memorials and unveilings: plain white or black covers on plastic chairs for the service in the tent
- Companies, conferences and functions: black stretch covers for a year-end function or an awards dinner
- Churches and faith gatherings: church anniversaries, ordinations and conferences where the hall chairs are dressed
- Schools, colleges and universities: a matric farewell or prize-giving in the school hall with covered chairs
- Municipalities, clubs and communities: a mayoral banquet or a heritage day dinner in a community hall
- Venues, caterers, decorators and planners: decorators and caterers dressing a venue's own chairs for a client
Frequently asked questions
How much do chair covers to hire cost?
Will the hire firm put the covers on the chairs?
Do plastic chair covers fit every plastic chair?
Do I need to wash the covers before returning them?
Chair Covers and Sashes by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg