How to Staple a Seat Cover on a Wooden Bench

The look of a wooden bench can be changed dramatically simply by stapling on a seat cover. If the finish of the bench seat is worn, scratched or simply ugly, stapling on a seat cover is much easier than refinishing the bench to change the look. If you staple on a padded seat cover, a hard wooden bench will be much more comfortable to sit on. Nearly any durable fabric will work to cover a wooden bench, but upholstery material will hold up best. Choose a fabric that can be shampooed when necessary. Consider covering the bench with vinyl upholstery fabric, which can be wiped clean with a damp cloth.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Fabric
• Quilt batting (optional)
• Scissors
• Staple gun and staples

Instructions

1. 

   Measure the length and width of your bench seat. Place the tape measure under the edge of the seat. Bring the tape measure up and over the top of the bench to the bottom of the opposite side. See Fig. 1.

2. Cut a rectangle of fabric to the size of the measurements taken in Step 1. If you will be padding the seat, also cut a rectangle of quilt batting to the same size.

3. Lay the fabric upside down on a hard surface. If you are using quilt batting, lay the batting on top of the fabric and treat the two layers as one piece of fabric.

4. 

   Turn the bench upside down on top of the fabric, centering the bench in the middle of the fabric. Fold one edge of the fabric over the edge of the bench. Insert three evenly spaced staples along that side to hold the fabric in place. See Fig. 2.

5. Pull the fabric to the opposite side and make sure you have the correct amount of overlap. Also check the positioning of the fabric on the two remaining sides. When you are sure that the bench is centered on the fabric, begin stapling around the entire edge, pulling the fabric taut and placing a staple approximately every 2 inches. Ease the fabric around the corners, placing the staples more closely together to reduce puckering.