How to reupholster a chair with your own hands step by step

High-quality wooden furniture can last a very long time. If you have beautiful carved wood chairs in your home, but the upholstery is worn out, there is no need to throw them away. The main thing is to make sure that the wooden part is intact. Upholstering such a chair with new material is not difficult at all.

How to choose the right fabric for upholstering a chair with your own hands

Fabrics produced for furniture upholstery are dense, durable and easy to care for. They can be easily cleaned with soapy water if necessary. Reupholstering a chair with your own hands will be presented step by step below.

Reference! There are fabrics with special impregnation that do not stain, even if coffee or wine is accidentally spilled on them.

The colors are selected to match the interior. Among the most popular recently are:

• Flock: pile is glued onto a mixed base (65% polyester and 35% cotton). Characterized by high wear resistance and good appearance;
• Chenille: A fluffy chenille thread is woven into the warp threads. It is characterized by durability, beautiful appearance;
• Tapestry: high-quality fabric is extremely durable; not only is it torn, it is difficult to cut with scissors.

Sometimes, in order to fit into the interior palette, you have to purchase not the most durable fabric.This option is possible when using rough upholstery made of durable auxiliary fabric.

What tools will you need?

In order for the work to go smoothly and quickly, you need to select everything in advance. The main thing you need to prepare is an electric furniture stapler. Suitable staples for upholstery work: 10 mm for interior work and 6 mm for mounting upholstery fabric.

The track of staples on the back and seat can be covered with finishing braid. To glue it, you should prepare a glue gun with silicone sticks.

To work with foam rubber you will need a sharp knife and suitable glue.

Removing old casing

Remove old upholstery very carefully. The old back and seat cover can be used as a pattern. Under the soft part of the seat there may be a piece of plywood or furniture rubber. The latter may stretch and need to be replaced. Be especially careful when removing staples near an exposed part of the wood to avoid damaging the painted part.

When the upholstery is removed, it's time to check the strength of the wooden part. All weakened joints must be glued, where possible fixed with 14 mm staples.

Restoring the seat and chair cover

How to properly reupholster a chair with your own hands, step-by-step instructions are presented below. A piece of foam rubber is glued onto the seat plywood or furniture rubber.

Reference! Foam rubber with a density of 28-35 kg/m3 is suitable for upholstering chairs.

The foam rubber is covered with padding polyester with a density of 200 g/m2 and a detail made of upholstery fabric. The upholstery fabric should be cut according to the removed cover plus 5 cm around the perimeter, this allowance is needed for ease of work; after adjusting with staples, it is cut off.

If a rough cover is used, it is upholstered first.The main load falls on the auxiliary fabric; the beautiful upper cover also experiences pressure, but much less.

The back of the chair is upholstered in the following sequence:

• First, the cover is stuffed from the back of the chair;
• A detail of the rough cover, it takes on the main load in this part of the furniture;
• A part made of foam rubber and a part made of padding polyester are glued;
• A piece of upholstery fabric is shot from above;
• Excess fabric is cut off with a construction knife.

The upholstery of the seat and back is carried out with a large tension of the cover. Neat symmetrical folds are placed in the corners of the seat. The line for fixing the upholstery fabric with staples is closed with finishing tape using a glue gun with silicone sticks.

In addition to braid, you can use decorative nails. This type of finish comes in two types: in the form of tape or piece nails. It's easier to work with tape.

Interesting upholstery ideas

The Internet and print media feed us with new ideas every day, including many new products for upholstered furniture.

To reupholster chairs, you can use a combination of companion fabrics. For example: the seat is fabric with a jacquard pattern, and the back is chosen to be plain and velvety.

There are many finishes available for chairs. The second purpose of finishing is to cover the path of staples that are visible after shooting the upholstery fabric. In addition to finishing braid and decorative nails, you can use finishing twisted furniture cord.

It is produced in many colors and different diameters. The same cord is also produced sewn with braid for sewing into the seam. You can sew decorative furniture pillows along with the chairs. As a finishing sewn-in edging, there is a decorative cord, like on chairs with only braid.

The process of reupholstering furniture is very exciting. It takes very little time, but the result will please you for many years. Nowadays it’s easy to choose upholstery fabrics in combination with curtains and the interior of the room as a whole. There is an opportunity to implement the most successful design finds at home.