How to Restring Chair Seats

Webbing provides the foundation for many kinds of chairs.

Restringing or webbing a chair seat will bring new life to your furniture, whether you're looking to revamp a family heirloom or make a thrift shop or garage sale chair usable. It can be done with the minimum amount of tools and materials. Webbing is the material that supports any weight placed on the seat of a chair and is covered with either a cushion or padding, so it must be strong and well-fitted.

Things You'll Need

• Hammer
• Tacks
• Jute webbing
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Remove existing damaged or worn webbing, springs or stringing from your chair seat.

2. Hammer in or remove any nails, tacks or staples from your chair seat that are sticking out from the surface of the wood.

3. Cut the webbing into strips long enough to cover the seat of the chair lengthwise or widthwise, using scissors, with 4 inches of excess webbing on each piece.

4. Place the first strip of webbing along the length of the chair seat nearest to you, with 2 inches of webbing hanging over the edge of the chair rail.

5. Hammer one tack through the center of the webbing and into the center of the chair rail.

6. Pull the webbing taut and hammer in two more tacks, one on each side of the tack already in place.

7. Fold the overhanging piece of webbing back over the webbing and tacks that are already in place.

8. Tack in place with two more tacks to complete and trim off any excess webbing with scissors to make a neat finished edge.

9. Repeat this procedure until the other end of the webbing is tacked in place and you have one fully fitted webbed piece.

10. Add further webbing strips in this way along the length of the chair seat until it is filled with webbing. Leave a small gap between each attached strip.

11. Turn the chair around and follow the same procedure for webbing the width of the chair, this time weaving each piece of webbing through the pieces already fitted and secured along the length of the chair seat.

12. Repeat until the width of the chair is fully fitted with webbing.

Tips & Warnings

• Alternate between threading each strip of webbing above or below the existing strips for a firmer foundation.

• Use a web strainer or stretcher to give tension across webbing.

• Add webbing strips at regular intervals to ensure there are no weak spots in your restringing that will cause the chair seat to sag or collapse.

References

• "Upholstery: A Beginners' Guide;" David James; 2005
• Curbly: How to Web and Rebuild a Chair Seat