My mother and I’ve been engaged on reupholstering my desk chair for the studio. She gave me an excellent head begin on the challenge by beginning on it whereas I used to be nonetheless engaged on group, in order that was an enormous assist. The chair we’re reupholstering is one which I’ve had for a number of years, and I like it. Once I began redoing my studio, I considered buying a brand new desk chair in the correct shade to avoid wasting myself the trouble of reupholstering this one, however I couldn’t discover one which I preferred as a lot as this one. It’s very snug and has a excessive again, which I really like. So my most suitable choice was to reupholster the one I’ve.
Right here’s what the chair appeared like when it was new…
However after having the chair for just a few years, my cat fully tore it up. The woven cloth was excellent for her to get her little claws into. So even when the present shade went completely with my imaginative and prescient for my studio (it doesn’t), I’d nonetheless have to reupholster it as a result of she has fully shredded it. And naturally, I’ll be reupholstering it with velvet, which is my favourite cat-proof cloth.
My #1 tip for reupholstering chairs and sofas is to take the outdated cloth off in an orderly style. I’ll always remember the present Buying and selling Areas for a lot of causes (most of them not good 😀 ). However one factor I keep in mind very vividly is the shoddy reupholstery jobs these amateurs would do. And beneath the steerage of these designers (I’m you, Hildi), they’d begin by ripping into the unique cloth, tearing it off as shortly as attainable. That will make for thrilling TV, however should you’re a novice at reupholstering, and even should you’re like me and also you’re not a novice, however you simply don’t do it usually sufficient to be actually proficient at it, then you definately’re going to wish to take your time in eradicating the unique cloth.
In eradicating the unique cloth in an orderly approach, it’ll take extra time at first, however it’ll additionally prevent time and frustration in the long term. First, taking it aside in an orderly approach will assist you see simply how the chair was upholstered within the first place. You possibly can see precisely the place each bit is stapled into place. It gives you the chance to take a lot of footage of how the items match collectively. However most significantly, the unique items will function patterns that you need to use to chop the brand new items of material.
Right here’s my mother fastidiously eradicating the material one piece at a time, beginning with the very again, after which the surface of the arms and wings.
A very powerful instrument in taking outdated cloth off of an upholstered chair or couch is a flat head screwdriver. It will assist you to take away all the outdated staples holding the material on.
However generally the staples are so deep into the wooden which you could’t get a flathead screwdriver beneath them. In that case, I take advantage of a brand new and really sharp razor blade to chop the material across the staple, leaving the material as intact as attainable.
I at all times take images of areas like this simply in order that I can keep in mind the way it appeared. With out a image to remind me, I would begin reupholstering this half, see this bulk of material that received’t lie flat, and assume that I’ve achieved one thing mistaken. Having a photograph is useful to remind me that it appeared like this initially.
The material typically comes off of chairs and sofas on this order: the again aspect of the chair again, the outsides of the arms (and wings on a wingback chair), the within of the arms (and wings), the entrance aspect of the chair again, after which the seat. And as soon as all the cloth was off of my chair, right here’s the way it appeared.
That is when it’s good to assess should you’re going to wish new foam or batting. I’ve seen chairs and sofas that had pristine foam and batting beneath outdated cloth. And I’ve seen others that had outdated and brittle foam and destroyed batting. Heck, I’ve even reupholstered a really outdated daybed that was initially crammed with one thing that I can solely guess was straw. However on this case, the froth on my chair appeared fairly good, however the batting was trying fairly skinny.
So a few layers of recent batting shall be wanted on this chair earlier than I add the brand new cloth.
The material on the again had a thick piece of cardboard beneath it, so I’ll be reusing that to offer some construction to the again.
As soon as we had all the cloth off, I used to be able to take the items aside and put together them as my patterns for the brand new items. Right here’s a have a look at the piece that wrapped across the again of the chair and onto the surface of the arms and wings. You possibly can see the injury my cat did.
This was three items sewn collectively, so I used my sew ripper to take them aside.
I additionally measured the seam allowance and made be aware of that measurement. This manner I can determine if I wish to use that very same seam measurement or add additional allowance after I lower the brand new cloth. These seams had been solely 3/8-inch, so I’ll in all probability add at the least 1/8 inch to the seam allowances after I lower the brand new cloth.
After the items had been taken aside, I ironed them in order that the seams allowances would lie flat.
After which I flipped the items over and used a giant Sharpie marker to make notes. I famous which edges had been seams, which edges had been wrap-and-staple. On the middle piece, I famous which aspect was the highest, since that is perhaps onerous to inform on a rectangle piece as soon as the items had been separated. Mainly, I simply made notes of every little thing I believed is perhaps useful for me to recollect. And I don’t ever assume that one thing is so apparent or primary that I’ll simply keep in mind. I’ve had too many occasions after I assumed I’d keep in mind one thing, solely to get in the course of the reupholstering challenge and get confused about one thing as a result of I didn’t make notes or take footage to remind me of the main points.
I did the identical factor for the items that went on the entrance of the seat again and the within of the arms and wings. None of those items had been sewn to one another. As an alternative, they’d eight-inch strips of skinny black cloth sewn to many of the edges, and that skinny black cloth is what’s shoved into the crevices, pulled, and stapled into place.
These items of skinny black cloth aren’t seen on the completed chair. So after eradicating that black cloth, I made notes of which edges these items (which I name “pull cloth”) had been sewn to.
After which I made be aware of which edges required a wrap-and-staple.
And at last, I did the identical factor for the seat. This chair has a seat cushion which covers most of this piece, so there’s a big piece of the skinny black cloth. So earlier than taking these aside, I labeled which edge wanted to be sewn, and which one was a wrap-and-staple.
So now that I’ve all of my sample items, and so they’re all labeled, I’m prepared to make use of these to chop the brand new cloth. And all of my notes ought to come in useful after I begin placing all of it again collectively.
It’ll return collectively within the precise reverse order that we took it aside. First, the seat, then the entrance of the chair again. Then the within of the arms and wings. And at last, the three-piece again and outdoors arms and wings piece that will get sewn collectively. And since I took footage of the difficult components with complicated particulars, I can breeze by these difficult components as properly. Keep tuned for the brand new and improved desk chair!
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and enhance the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
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