How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair

Buying new furniture and sprucing up a room in your home can be very fun. But, buying anything new may not always be feasible. By following a few easy steps and freeing up your weekend, you can reupholster a wingback chair or any other piece of furniture and give your home a whole new look for less.

Things You'll Need

• Upholstery fabric Batting Needle-nose pliers Piping or welting Rubber mallet Fabric scissors Staple gun Staples Cardboard Rigid metal Flexible jaw metal stripping

Instructions

1. Purchase your materials. To reupholster a wingback chair, you will need upholstery fabric, batting, needle-nose pliers, piping or welting, a rubber mallet, fabric scissors, a staple gun with staples, cardboard, rigid metal and flexible jaw metal stripping, a hot glue gun and an ice pick. You can find cardboard stripping, ridged metal and flexible jaw metal stripping at an upholstery store. Since most wingback chairs are about the same size, about 11 yards of fabric should do the trick.

2. Strip your old chair. Be careful when stripping the fabric off your wingback chair because you will be using it as your template with the new fabric. You will also need to pull out any staples with your needle-nose pliers for a new smooth surface. Once you've pulled all the fabric off your wingback chair, you can place new padding over the chair in spots that are bare.

3. Start placing the new fabric on the front back of the chair. Lay your fabric over the front of the back of the chair making sure you tuck the sides through to the back and pull it taut. While holding the fabric, staple it to the wooden frame of your wingback chair. Do this to the bottom part of the fabric as well, always making sure you are pulling the fabric taut. Cut the extra fabric around the chair leaving about ¼-inch.

4. Lay fabric over the seat of the chair and pull it over the lower wooden frame. While holding the fabric taut under the chair, staple the fabric to the wood frame. Fold the fabric neatly around the legs of the chair and create a neat pleat before stapling it to the wooden frame. When you are done with the seat, trim off all extra fabric leaving about ¼-inch from the staples.

5. Begin attaching the fabric to the arms. Do this by laying the fabric on the arms of the chair folding about 1/3 of the fabric forward where the arm meets the back of the chair. Staple the fabric on the outside of the chair to the wooden frame. On the inside of the arm, pull the fabric through the wooden frame then pull taut and staple to the frame. For the part of the fabric that was folded, find the center and cut it in half. Wrap it around the arms and staple to the frame. For the front part of the arm, fold the excess fabric in very nice, clean pleats and staple it to the frame. Repeat this for the other arm.

6. Drape fabric over the wings next and tuck the extra inside and staple it to the wooden frame. You can use a straight pin to hold the fabric in place as you pleat and arrange the fabric. Start at the back of the wing and staple the fabric to the frame working your way around the curve and down the wing. Make sure the pleats are clean and taut the entire time.

7. Then cut the fabric leaving about ¼-inch from the staples. Cut two long strips of fabric about 2 inches wide and place your piping or welding chord on the top of the strip and fold it over and hot glue it shut. Wrap this around the outside of the wing and staple it in place.

8. Place the flexible jaw stripping along the welting chord you just stapled. Staple the jaw along the top edge of the wing so that the jaw is wide open and the teeth are on the bottom of the jaw strip. Now place the fabric you have for the outside of the wing on the wing and close the jaw strip shut. With the remaining fabric sticking out, use your ice pick to shove the fabric inside the jaw strip and use your rubber mallet to further close the strip shut. Repeat for other wing.

9. Add the finishing touches. At the bottom of the seat, staple more welting or piping cord in the center. Cut a rectangular shape of fabric to cover the bottom of the chair and place a piece of cardboard stripping to the fabric and glue it in place. Staple this piece with the fabric underneath the welting making sure the cardboard is at the bottom. Then staple the fabric underneath and cut the remaining fabric.

10. Do these underneath each arm as well and then pull the leftover fabric to the back and staple. Place your rigid metal stripping starting at the lower arm near the front and wrap it around the fabric so it grabs on. Use your rubber mallet to secure it onto the chair. The last thing you should do is the back piece. Follow the same instructions for the wings using flexible jaw stripping or cardboard stripping.

Tips & Warnings

• Fabric stores like JoAnn's and Hancock's will have measuring guides showing you how much fabric you will need for your furniture.

• Make sure you pull everything taut or else you will get wrinkles and your job will look messy.

Resources

• Detailed guide for reupholstering wingback chairs