Jump to: navigation, search An ottoman in a living room An ottoman is a form of couch which usually has a head but no back, though sometimes it has neither. It may have square or semicircular ends, and as a rule it is what upholsterers call “stuffed over” — that is to say no wood is visible. In American English, an ottoman is a piece of furniture consisting of a padded, upholstered seat or bench, usually having neither a back nor arms, often used as a stool, footstool[2][3] or, in some cases, as a coffee table.[4] Ottomans are often sold as coordinating furniture with armchairs or gliders.[5] An ottoman can also be known as a footstool,[6] tuffet,[7] hassock,[8] pouf or pouffe.[10] Many ottomans are hollow and used for storage. Ottomans can be used in many rooms; they can be used in the bedroom, gaming room, family room and guest room.[11] Leather and bench ottomans are used as alternatives to sofas. The ottoman traces its roots from furnishing practices in the Ottoman Empire, where it was the central piece of residential seating generally designed as a low wooden platform intended to be piled with cushions.
The ottoman was first designed as sectional furniture that wrapped around three walls of a room, before evolving into smaller versions that fit into the corner of a room[12] or circular padded seats surrounding a column or pole in a public room. The ottoman was eventually brought to Europe from the Ottoman Empire in the late 18th century, when it was coined after its place of origin. The earliest known instance of the use of the name is ottomane in French in 1729,[13] while the first known recorded use in English occurs in one of Thomas Jefferson's memorandum books from 1789: "P[ai]d. for an Ottomane of velours d'Utrecht."[14] Over time, European ottomans took on a circular or octagonal shape through the 19th century, with seating divided in the center by arms or by a central, padded column that might hold a plant or statue. As clubs became more popular, so did the ottoman, which began to have hinged seats underneath to hold storage. ^ Wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ottoman
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: ^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "ottoman", accessed 6 March 2013.| | | | | | | | | An Online Upholstery ClassDetailed Instruction on Furniture Upholstery, Auto and Marine Upholstery, How to Make Slipcovers, and CanvasworkRead Safety Information At The End Of This Page Before Starting Any Of These ProjectsFURNITURE UPHOLSTERYCUTTING AND SEWING BASICS ---Practice By Making A Throw Pillow. Measure existing pillow with a tape measure, between the welts. The first measurement is up and down. Second is side to side. We'll be using 1/2" seams on most articles in our series, so, add 1" to your measurements to get the cut size. Figure the length of the welt cord. It can be 1 1/2-2" wide, it doesn't have to be exact. Cut the welt material on the bias,...click link above for more.INSTALL A ZIPPER IN A PILLOW Learn to cover a zipper so it doesn't show. It's a similiar technique to installing a zipper in a boxed cushion as we show later.
HOW TO HAND SEW Learn to handsew with a curved needle. Use can use this skill to close cushions and pillows, to make repairs anywhere a seam has pulled or rotted out. You can also handsew the sides of outside backs or the front of outside arms insteads of using nail strips. Done right even contrasting thread won't be visible.UPHOLSTERING BASICS WITH VIDEOPractice By Covering A Dining Chair Slip Seat: Remove seat. Most are screwed on, a cordless driver makes the job much faster. If you are working on a set of antique chairs it's a good idea to number the seats and the chairs so the holes line up when you reinstall them. Mark the front of the seat. click link for more.See the hand tools pro upholsterers use. Or buy at our upholstery tool kits page.HOW TO SEW A BOXED AND WELTED CUSHION When you can make a boxed cushion with piping you've learned at least 25% what you need to know to become an upholsterer. You'll be able to sew boxed inside backs and envelope arms and bar stool tops and boat seats and much more.
We even show you how to sew the cording and boxing to the plate (main piece of fabric) at the same time along with the zipper boxing. You can save 20 minutes on every cushion you ever sew.Tips For Sewing Large Cushions (Such As Bay Windows And Boat Cushions) Electric foam cutter demo video This video can help you decide whether to buy air or electric, 3/8 or 1/2" crown.Buy air guns here: UPHOLSTERY STAPLERBuy electric guns here: PRO ELECTRIC UPHOLSTERY STAPLERWHY UPHOLSTER? by Jack Carr "If a sofa or chair is in good shape on the inside and all it needs is a fresh new fabric on the outside, that's recovering. When a piece needs work on the inside, either partially or totally (new webbing, re-tied springs, new fillings, re-cushioning) that's reupholstering. Both are the province of the upholsterer, marine fabricator or auto trimmer." UPHOLSTERY PRIMER by Jack Carr. Webbing, coil springs, zig zag springs, filling, fabrics etc.UPHOLSTERY YARDAGE CHARTFurniture yardage estimates-sofas, chairs sectionals and ottomans.
See our cutting info diagram under How to Upholster a Chair. Chart courtesy of C.S. Osborne Co. TIPS ON RUNNING What other trade can you learn at home besides upholstery work? No, you'll have to apprentice for those. No certification or degree required-just do good work! Managing your finances and cash flow. Get a website for your business-they're cheap advertising. Pricing upholstery jobs (more opinions on our Discussion Board). Custom CushionsUpholstery FoamNeck Roll Latex MattressEgg Crate FoamPillow Stuffing Waterhouse LeatherUpholstery Leather and more. Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines is a Consew dealer. We sell and service new and used industrial brands of walking foot (including portables), zig-zag and straight stitch machines, including: Adler, Chandler, Consew, Cowboy, Juki and Pfaff. Long arm and double needle models in stock.Call us toll free, at: 866-362-7397 We stock and sell replacement parts, accessories and attachments for all industrial sewing machines, including needles, bobbins, winders, nylon thread, oil, thread lube, belts, motors, speed reducers, edge binders and folders, edge guides, presser feet, thread snips and commercial scissors.
/ANALYZING YOUR FURNITURE from Sunset Book's SIMPLY UPHOLSTERY"No matter what the fine points of their design are, most chairs and sofas have an inner frame built of similar structural elements."HOW TO UPHOLSTER A CHAIR, Part 1(REUPHOLSTER A SOFA THE SAME WAY) Learn to strip off the old fabric, take measurements and cut the new fabric. HOW TO RECOVER A CHAIR OR SOFA, Part 2INSTALL OUTSIDE ARMS, BACKS AND PANELS--Part 1, Part 2. Use these techniques for most styles of upholstered furniture.How to attach jute webbing.Spring Tying Basics By Steve Cone, part 1, Part 2How to retie coil springsHow to install seats and decks.FURNITURE SLIPCOVERSMAKE A TAILORED COVER FOR A CHAIRHOW TO SLIPCOVER AN OTTOMANSLIPCOVER A RECLINER---You gotta be kidding and other recliner infoMAKING SLIPCOVERS FOR DINING ROOM CHAIRS from Simply Slipcovers by Sunset BooksAUTO UPHOLSTERYHOW TO UPHOLSTER A TRUCK SEAT. Learn To Work With Vinyl And Sew Channels. Recover all kinds of bench seats.HOW TO COVER DOOR PANELSfrom Don Taylor's book AUTOMOTIVE UPHOLSTERY HANDBOOK HOW TO MAKE SUNVISORS from Don Taylor and Ron "The Stitcher" Mangus' book CUSTOM AUTO INTERIORS.
These guys really know their stuff.USING FLEXIBLE TACKING STRIPfrom W. Lloyd Gheen's book UPHOLSTERY TECHNIQUES ILLUSTRATED.CONSTRUCT AND PAD AN OTTOMAN FRAME Here's a great add on when selling an upholstery job-make several frames at one time and adjust their height to fit your customer's chair with different thicknesses of foam.HOW TO UPHOLSTER AN OTTOMANApply This Information To Recovering Boat Seats, Benches, Bar Stools, Boxed Dining Chairs, Etc. Learning one technique will help you cover many things.Part 2-More About Ottomans-- Make a Tailored Skirt Learn to make a self-lined skirt. Takes a little more fabric but saves a lot of time.HOW TO MAKE AN OTTOMAN OR FOOTSTOOL from Quick Fabric Decorating. HOW TO MAKE A ROUND BOLSTER CUSHION including info on sewing other round cushions.MAKE CUSHIONS FOR A WICKER CHAIR From Simply Pillows by the editors of Sunset BooksMAKE BED SIZE CUSHIONS (makes a great guest bed instead of a sofa bed or futon)MAKE BULL-NOSED (waterfall) CUSHIONS from Don Casey's book CANVASWORK & SAIL REPAIR.
Waterfall cushions have boxing on the sides but not the front.YIPES STRIPES!---And plaids, patterns and other more difficult fabrics to work with.HOW TO INSTALL AUTO HEADLINERS by Ron FryerHOW TO INSTALL PRE-CUT AND SEWN AUTO CARPET by Ron FryerHOW TO INSTALL MOLDED AUTO CARPETS by Ron FryerINSTALLING PRE-MADE CONVERTIBLE TOPS By Ron FryerBOAT CANVAS PROJECTSJim Grant's book THE COMPLETE CANVASWORKER'S GUIDEHOW TO MAKE A HATCH DODGER from Karen Lipe's book THE BIG BOOK OF BOAT CANVASMAKE BULL-NOSED (waterfall) CUSHIONS from Don Casey's book CANVASWORK & SAIL REPAIRMAKE BUTTONSHOW TO MAKE BUTTONS Including button trouble shootingHOW TO INSTALL BUTTONSMORE GOOD STUFFHOW TO UPHOLSTER A CORNICE BOARD (window valance) from Seams To Be.HOW TO CANE A CHAIR WITH PRE-WOVEN CANEby Rick Teeters. Here's a skill most upholstery shops don't offer.REPAIRING LOOSE FURNITURE JOINTS from FURNITURE FINISHING by Sunset Books. You'll need to fix some wobbly frames now and then. HOW TO WEAVE A RUSH FIBER SEAT By Clay Richmond.
Here' another skill to add to your furniture refurbishing knowledge. BUILDING AND UPHOLSTERING RESTAURANT BOOTHS by Mike. There's a lot of potential work to be had from restaurants, cafes, bars, coffee shops, theaters-leave a business card for the future. OUR READERS' PROJECT PAGESPage 1: FABRIC MATCHINGPage 2: CAR AND FURNITURE RE-UPHOLSTERYPage 3: PHOTOS/ILLUSTRATIONS AND QUESTIONSPage 4: READERS' PHOTOS: BEFORE AND AFTER FURNITURE REUPHOLSTERYPage 5: READERS' PHOTOS: MOORING COVERPage 6: HOW TO UPHOLSTER BOAT SEATS, TIPSSafety: Upholstery needles, tacks, staples, scissors, etc. are sharp. Staples guns are powerful enough to penetrate hard woods. The needle on an industrial sewing machine is as large as a finishing nail. Use eye protection where appropriate and needle guards if recommended with your sewing machine. You're more likely to injure yourself on a small job like putting a button in a pillow than in a chair. A dining room chair seat can slip easily while you're stapling it if you're not careful.