How to Reupholster a Chair Furnishings with good bones but bad skin can be easily updated with fresh fabric. We show you basic upholstery techniques to get your furniture looking fashionable with this chair upholstery project. Everything In This Slideshow We complemented our newly re-covered chair with an ottoman upholstered in a pop of pure color. Click through the following slides for step-by-step photos and learn how to re-cover your furniture. Upholstery How-To: Common Techniques Watch and learn the keys to a successful reupholstery project that yield pro-like results. Don’t be afraid of outdated or otherwise unsavory fabric. As long as the bones of the furniture are in good shape, a bit of fabric and some creative love go a long way. Camera or notepaper and pencil Staple gun and staples, 3/8- or 5⁄16-inch Upholstery fabric (most chairs will require about 5 yards) Sewing machine and upholstery-weight thread Upholstery tacks or nailhead trim, optional
Black breathable fabric (for underside of chair) Remove the bottom black cloth and each piece of upholstery by carefully loosening tacks or staples with pliers. Take photographs or detailed notes as you disassemble the upholstery to keep a record for reassembly. Mark the placement of the pieces, indicating top and bottom as they are removed. Save pieces of welting and tack strips to measure for new pieces. TIP: Try not to rip the fabric because you will use these pieces as your pattern. If staples or tacks are firmly attached, loosen by placing the flat edge of a scraper or flat-head screwdriver under the fastener and tapping the handle gently with a hammer. Use scissors to separate fabric pieces at any seams. Remove old batting from chair back and seat if worn or stained. Check springs and webbing. Sand, prime, and paint chair frame if desired; Cut a piece of batting to cover the chair back and another piece for the seat. Staple each piece in place, folding neatly around the corners.
Lay the original upholstery pieces, wrong side up, on the wrong side of the new fabric, watching for the grain, placement of pattern or motifs, and direction of pattern. Pin in place and cut around pattern, leaving 2–3 inches of excess fabric beyond the stapled edges of the original pieces, which were trimmed after assembly. This will give you fabric to grasp when stapling. Transfer markings for direction and placement onto new pieces. Place your base fabric pieces on the frame (for our chair, the seat and front of chair back). Pull fabric taut and staple in place on the apron of the chair seat and on the reverse of the chair back. Use as many staples as necessary to secure the fabric and keep it smooth. Be sure you place staples on the chair back where they will be covered by the back panel. Using the old pieces as your guide, determine the width of the finished welting and the length of welting needed to go around seat apron at top and bottom. Cut enough bias strips of the appropriate width to equal that length, allowing a few extra inches.
Join the strips with diagonal seams, and trim the seam allowance to 1/2 inch. Fold the bias strip around the cord and use a zipper foot to sew close to the cord. Pin the side panel to the seat fabric, making any necessary adjustments to the fit or pattern placement. Mark the position for the bottom welting. Remove the side fabric from the chair and sew the welting to the right side of the panel, at top and where marked near bottom, starting and ending at the back. Holding right side of panel up against the seat, staple the top welting in place around the seat. Add a tack strip around the panel top against the welting and staple in place. Watch: Secrets to Reupholstering Success Fold the side panel down over the tack strip, pull tight, and staple in place to the underside of the chair with the bottom welting fitting snugly along the edge. Snip notches in the fabric underneath the seat as you smooth around corners. Place back panel in position and fold right side over the top of the chair back.
Apply a tack strip to the top of the back rear and staple in place. Fold the panel back over the strip and pull tight toward the bottom of the chair back. Fold bottom edge under and staple to underside of chair back. TIP: Use fabric glue or decorative upholstery tacks to secure excess fabric to the back of the chair. Cut a piece of black breathable fabric for the underside of the chair using the old piece as your guide. Flip chair upside down, and staple fabric to the underside to conceal any springs or webbing and act as a dust cover. Turn the chair right side up, and enjoy your newly upholstered piece. Tips for Upholstery Cleaning Make a Pretty Pouf Try an entire classroom for 30 days Latest Tips and Tricks Get the latest information, tips and tricks from the inventor of the Flexi-Felt® products Read our blog for the best floor care information. See us at Surfaces 2017 again We will be biggest flooring show out west showing our new floor grippers and full floor protection program again.
Come and see us January 18th to the 20th at the Mandalay Bay convention center ... We will be at the January 2017 United Hardware market this year with the full Flexi-Felt display product line. So all you United retailers be sure to come see our show specials in Minneapolis.... Segment on Designing Spaces Our floor protectors will be demonstrated on the Designing Spaces TV show airing on the 10th and 17th of November on the Lifestyle and TLC channels. You can also see the program from their webs... This is our first year at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. Come and see our newest gripper models at booth 3729 in the homeware area. If you are looking for the best solution... Home Hardware Spring Market Our Canadian hardware store distributor Klassen Bronze will be showcasing the Flexi-Felt floor protectors at the Home Hardware Spring market in St-Jacobs on April 17th 2016.... We will are exhibiting at the Novexco School Supply show in Laval on the 13th and 14th of March.
We will be showing our newest Eco-Shelf locker organizer at the show.... If you are in flooring you need to come see us at booth 5228 at the Surfaces 2016 trade show at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay convention center from January 21st to the 23rd. We will be showing ou... ISSA annual trade show We will be at the 2015 ISSA Interclean trade show in Las Vegas form the 21st to 24th of October 2015. Come see us at booth 284 to get your free samples of the amazing Caster-Cover and see the S... Now in all Quebec Leon's Stores We have now rolled out the residential floor protection program to all the Quebec Leon's furniture stores. To find the location nearest you simply go to www.leons.ca.... Prosol annual customer appreciation BBQ We will be at the Prosol annual BBQ in Montreal at their head office on the 12th of August giving demos of the Silver Mop Pro and the Flexi-Felt program. If you're a flooring retailer you have ... We are currently at the Canadian Furniture Show in Toronto booth 4 with our newest Caster-Cover floor protectors.
Come and see us from June 4th to the 7th.... ISSA 2015 in Las Vegas We will be showing our new patented heat shrink floor protection line, including our newest Caster-Cover for office furniture. This brings floor protection to a whole new level. We will be attending the Home Hardware market in St-Jabobs, ON form the 19th to the 21st of April. You will be able to see us at the Klassen Bronze booth. We will be showing our trademark... For all our maintenance supply distributors, we will be showcasing the Flexi-Felt floor protection program and the Caster-Cover at the Pro-Link annual show in Phoenix Arizona from April 27-29th.... Good news for our commercial resellers. We are trying to constantly improve our products and services. In this instance we have negotiated with UPS and are now able to offer our commercial resellers ... New Retailers with Silver Mop Pro After all the trade shows we have added hundreds of new flooring retailers most of which have added the Silver Mop Pro to their store offerings.
We will be showing the Flexi-Felt blister pack program at Domotex in Hannover Germany from January 17th to the 20th. Come and meet our European distributor Siltex in Hall 7 booth A27. New models for rolling office furniture We are please to show you our fantastic new floor protector for casters the patent pending Caster-Cover heat shrink model now available in bulk or blister packaged for retail. You no longer need to buy expensive wheel replacements or large floor mats. New models for home and office Tired of retail stick felts that just don't work, we have the solution with the Flexi-Felt Clear. It is totally impossible to remove the felt from the sleeve even if you use PLIERS. Due to popular demand we now have the incredible quality and softness of our industrial models that you have trusted for years in a new clear home and office format. For more information see our clear home and office model section. Flexi-Felt Clear, the clear solution to floor protection.
We have tested the Flexi-Felt® classroom noise reduction capabilities by using a sound meter. On average, the Flexi-Felt® reduced the noise of a 25-student classroom by over 90%. Studies have shown that children learn best in a silent environment. Teachers will also appreciate not having to raise their voices over the chair movement noise. Listen to the difference Flexi-Felt makes on a chair Listen to the difference Flexi-Felt makes on a table Listen to the Flexi-Felt in a whole CLASSROOM Watch the video showing the Flexi-Felt Ultimate in action. Read our new Flexi-Felt Ultimate flyer with a lifetime warranty against removal. The Flexi-Felt® furniture glide is simply the best flooring protection available due to its patented design. The Flexi-Felt® increases the contact surface area, thus reducing friction. Because the Flexi-Felt® is always flat on the floor, there is no premature wear on the wool pad, which also means no premature wear on your floors!
Our custom wool blend felt is simply the softest felt material for flooring protection. The Flexi-Felt® chair leg cover is a green choice when it comes to reducing noise and protecting your floors since it is made with a non-allergenic natural rubber with our wool blend felt. It is much more compact than the nylon felt tennis balls (3 times less material) and lasts up to 15 times longer. So, in fact, over a 10-year period the Flexi-Felt® will use up 45 times LESS landfill space than tennis balls. Did you know that as many as 12% of children suffer from asthma and that the leading causes of asthma attacks are airborn allergens? Did you know that a tennis ball can hold large amounts of dust mites, mold, mildew, pollen, bacteria and other allergens? The Flexi-Felt® chair leg cover has been tested by the Guthrie Institute with regard to latex allergens. The allergenic latex protein remained non-detectable as seen by these results. Our rubber material is subjected to a heating process that destroys the allergenic protein involved in latex allergies
We have tested the Flexi-Felt® chair leg cover simulating a 400lb person. After simulating the typical chair movements during a typical school day for 5 years, we noticed that the Flexi-Felt® was still good to go. We then simulated a more typical 160lb adolescent and proved that the Flexi-Felt® outlasts tennis balls 15 to 1. The main difference is that the Flexi-Felt® is the only classroom chair glide cover that has quality and durabilty specifically designed into the product. We created the Flexi-Felt® furniture glide based upon the feedback we received from teachers and principals with regard to the tennis balls. Here are the requirements they set forth for creating a new type of chair leg cover: Must be durable (lasts at least twice as long as a tennis ball) Must offer great classroom noise reduction; must not fall off Must blend well with decor (not a yellow eye sore) Must not be attractive to children (unlike a toy) Must be a compact shape in order for chairs to be stacked properly;
should not gather dust like tennis balls Should be environmentally friendly: non toxic; Must be easy to install (no adhesives)must fit various types of furniture With all the requirements noted, we set forth and designed the Flexi-Felt®. Since one of the requirements was a compact shape, it was impossible to have a one-size-fits-all furniture leg glide. We had to design a few models that fit various categories of furniture footings. After selling these for a few years, we received great feedback from teachers and principals stating that they loved the Flexi-Felt® for classroom noise reduction. Still, they found it difficult to identify which model they required. Following this comment, we created a model selection video so that our clients can visually identify the proper model. We now have a furniture leg glide that fills every requirement set forth by school officials. Due to popular demand from teachers and principals who also use our products at home, we created a clear and smaller model for residential use.