How to Create Upholstered Furniture

Upholstered chair

Upholstered furniture is a fun home decorative project that can give new life to a tired looking piece of furniture. Anything that has upholstery can be re-upholstered, and furniture without upholstery can be upholstered, simply by adding padding, fabric, and pillows or cushions.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Tape measure
• Scissors
• Screw drill
• Hammer
• Foam
• White glue

Instructions

1. Measure the length and width of furniture to be upholstered. Pick furniture fabric in the color and texture of your choice. Take pre-measured fabric, and start with the cushions. Cut enough material to cover both sides of the cushion. Get thick foam from a craft supply store if the furniture does not come with a cushion. Sew the edges of the material together, reinforcing the edges as you go along. Leave an open edge to slip the foam or cushion inside, and sew the remaining edge closed by hand.

2. Use a screw drill to remove old screws on a hard seat chair. Pop the seat out if it isn't screwed into place. If there are old nails, remove them with a carpenter's claw-tooth hammer. Use a one-inch thick piece of pre-cut foam, pre-cut to fit the seat. For sofa cushions or pillows, the foam will be much thicker in general.

3. Thoroughly apply regular white glue, the kind that says foam use on the bottle, to the old seat in single lines, up and down, and to the foam surface that will be attached to the seat. Attach the foam to seat. Line it up to the seat, and press down. Let dry for two hours.

4. Cover the seat and attached foam with pre-cut fabric. Material will only be needed on one side for barstools or chairs that have small, hard seats. Place the seat cushion foam side down on top of the plain side of the fabric. Pull up the fabric tightly, to the back of the seat. Use a staple gun to staple the fabric to the seat at the edge, making sure the fabric is pulled tight throughout. Pull up the opposite sides and repeat. Cut off excess fabric, and staple the edges.

5. Start with the pre-measured upholstery at the back of the piece of furniture from the bottom up, pulling tight on the fabric. Secure the fabric with a staple gun into the wood frame of the furniture. Make sure that the fabric is not bunched in sections and that it is pulled tight throughout. Do the arms last, and trim off any excess material.

References

• repairhome