DIY: Seat Reupholstery

Update your chairs by adding new fabric.

Sending chairs to an upholsterer to be recovered can be expensive. Reupholstering a seat cushion yourself is a relatively simple task that only requires some supplies and patience. In just a few easy steps, you can completely update the look of your dining room's chairs.

Things You'll Need

• Chair
• Upholstery staple remover
• Polypropylene strips
• Bar clamp
• Webbing stretcher
• Pencil
• Upholstery scissors
• Staple gun
• 1-inch foam
• Spray adhesive
• ½-inch bonded polyester fiber sheet
• Fabric

Instructions

1. Take the seat apart. Remove the seat from the chair by pulling out the staples or unscrewing the screws holding it down. Dispose of the current fabric and remove the webbing. You are left with a seat frame.

2. Add new webbing by stapling on polypropylene strips, weaving them into a basket-weave pattern. Starting in the middle of the seat, staple a strip to one side of the seat. Use a bar clamp to hold the stapled end of the webbing down and a webbing stretcher to stretch the strip tight across the seat. To use the stretcher, place the loose end through the device and ratchet the stretcher until the strip is taut. Staple the other side of the strip in place. Repeat with more strips until the basket weave is complete.

3. Add foam. Lay the seat upside-down on 1-inch foam. Trace around the seat with a pencil, leaving an extra ¼ inch around the edges. Cut the foam with upholstery scissors. Spray the seat with adhesive and press the foam gently on top of it.

4. Cover the foam in the bonded polyester fiber. Measure the polyester as in Step 3, also leaving a ¼-inch space around the edges. Spray the seat with adhesive and place the polyester on top of the foam. This step will provide a smooth, uniform finish to the final product, eliminating excessive puffiness from the foam.

5. Cut the new fabric to fit the seat, leaving a 3-inch border around the seat. Mark the centers of the front and back edges of the seat with hash marks. You want the marks to be directly across from each other on the seat so that you can line the fabric up perfectly straight. When using striped or patterned fabric, use the hash marks as a guide so that the fabric appears uniform on each seat. Line the fabric up with the center marks and begin stapling it into place with the staple gun. Starting from the center of the seat, add a staple every inch, stapling as close the inside edge of the frame as possible. Use your free hand to smooth the fabric without putting excessive tension on it. Do not pull the fabric too tight before securing, or the pattern will be distorted. Staple all the sides first. When the sides are secure, address the corners by folding the fabric neatly and then stapling. This will ensure a tidy appearance and give you a chance to correct any flaws.

6. Reattach the seat to the chair. Turn the seat right-side up and reattach it to the chair, using either staples or screws. If there is extra fabric, staple it beneath the seat frame.

Tips & Warnings

• Always take care when using a staple gun.

• Do not attempt to put new fabric over old, as old stains could transfer onto the new fabric.

References

• DIY Network: How to Reupholster a Seat Pad
• Poetic Home: Industry Secrets: Industry Secrets: DIY Antique Chair Reupholster Tutorial