How to Reupholster With a Small Print Versus a Large Print

Re-upholster a standard modern chair in the fabric print of your choice.

Re-upholstering an old or new piece of furniture is a cheap way of re-vamping pieces that are looking tired. Using printed fabric to re-upholster can add color and pattern to a room. The bigger the print, the more conscious you will have to be about how it will fall on the object you have chosen to re-upholster. Start out with straightforward projects such as re-upholstering a dining chair seat cushion.

Things You'll Need

• Screw driver
• Measuring tape
• Newspaper
• Pins
• Fabric
• Fabric scissors
• Iron
• Staple gun

Instructions

1. Select a heavy upholstery fabric. Upholstery fabrics have a high thread count and will withstand daily use better than thinner fabrics with a less dense weave.

2. Remove the fastenings that hold the cushioned seat in place. It may be easiest to place the chair on the floor on its side as these fastenings are generally on the underside of the seat cushion.

3. Put the loose fastenings in a safe place. Pull the seat cushion out of the wooden frame of the chair.

4. Measure the length and width of the seat cushion. Add 3 inches to each of these measurements to act as a seam allowance. Make a template out of newspaper that is the same size as your seat cushion measurement plus the seam allowance.

5. Move this template around on your fabric until you are happy with the part of the print that it encapsulates. If you are using a large size print, you will want to make sure the parts of the print that you want to feature the most are central under the template. With a smaller size print this will be less crucial as you will be able to fit more repetitions of the pattern on your seat cover, but check if there is any part of the design that you want to be central on the seat chair. If there is, it should also be central under the template. Pin the template in place.

6. Cut along the lines of the template. Unpin the template from the fabric. Use an iron to press the fabric flat. Remove any creases or wrinkles.

7. Place the fabric right side down on your work surface. Place the seat cushion, cushion side down, on top of the fabric. Make sure the cushion is placed in the center of the fabric. There should be an even amount of fabric on each side of the cushion.

8. Lift one side of the fabric up and over on to the bottom of the seat. Tuck 1/3 of an inch of fabric under the pulled up fabric. Use the staple gun to secure the fabric along the length of that side of the seat. This creates a tucked in edge along one side of the cushion.

9. Repeat step 8 on the opposite side of the cushion seat to the now stapled side. Pull the fabric so that it is taut over the seat cushion before you tuck under the second edge and staple it in place.

10. Create neat corners by cutting off or tucking in any unnecessary fabric on the four corners of the seat before repeating step 8 for the two remaining sides of the chair seat.

11. Put the seat cushion back into the chair frame. Put the fastenings back into their slots. Re-tighten the fastenings so they hold the seat cushion.

References

• Threadbanger: Décor It Yourself: DIY RE-Upholstery