How to Upholster a Wingback Chair

Cozy upholstered wingback chairs bring back memories of visiting your grandparents' house when you were a child. A well-made, comfortable wingback chair is not only expensive but downright hard to find in today's market. Furniture stores carry very few, if any, choices of wingback chairs. Why not just reupholster your grandma's old hand-me-down and continue to enjoy the chair and the memories? You will save yourself the headache of searching for a new one and you may save some money in the process.

Things You'll Need

• Flat head screwdriver
• Seam ripper
• Upholstery-grade fabric
• Sewing pins
• Electric sewing scissors
• Fabric marker
• Staple gun
• Staples
• Sewing machine
• Thread

Instructions

1. Remove the old fabric from the chair. Flip the chair upside down and use the flat head screwdriver to lift up and remove the old staples. Remove the fabric from the chair and use a seam ripper to separate the pieces. Set them aside to be used as a template for the new fabric.

2. Lay the new fabric face down on the floor. Place each of the old pieces on top face down. Pin them to the new fabric with the sewing pins. Use the electric scissors to cut around each piece creating your template. Electric sewing scissors work best on upholstery fabrics, because they assist in keeping the cut line straight as well as help to reduce fraying along the cut edge. Mark each of the new pieces on the back with a fabric marker so that you will know where they are to be placed on the chair.

3. Remove the sewing pins from the newly cut pieces of fabric and set them aside. Find the pieces marked for the arms and place the pieces onto the chair. Staple each arm piece into place inside the chair back as well as on the outside edge of the arm. Put a line of staples underneath the arm as well. Place the wing pieces of fabric in place and staple them all along the edges of the fabric.

4. Find the piece marked for the front of the chair. Drape the fabric piece over the front of the chair and line it up. Flip the piece over so that it falls over the back of the chair. Place a line of staples along the top edge of the chair. Flip it back over and tuck it down inside the bottom and insides of the chair. Place a line of staples all along the tucked edges of the fabric to hold it in place.

5. Find the piece of fabric marked for the back. Place the piece of fabric onto the back of the chair and line it up. Flip the piece up and over the front of the chair and place staples all along the top edge right over top of the front piece of fabric. Flip the piece back over and staple the fabric to the chair all along the sides. Flip the chair over and staple the fabric all along the inside underneath the chair. Turn the chair upright and staple the front bottom edge into place using the same method as the back.

6. Use a sewing machine to sew the top and bottom pieces together to make the cushion. With right sides together, pin the pieces together with sewing pins. Sew along the pinned edge with a 5/8-inch seam. Remove the pins. Turn the cushion cover right side out and place the foam inside. Hand-stitch the opening closed on the back and place it on the chair.

Tips & Warnings

• Decorative tacks can be applied all along the edges of the fabric to hide any visible staples and give the piece a traditional feel.

References

• Upholstery basics