Reupholstery

Here it is...I love the before and after of these chairs.

Before and After

A while back (last summer) my friend found a deal on KSL for a pair of chairs. I bought two with the plan in mind of reupholstering the chairs. However, I had never reupholstered anything (besides a headboard). So, I kept putting it off. Finally, I got tired of looking at the ugly green fabric and decided it was time to fix the chairs.

Ironically, at this same point I found this AMAZING tutorial on reupholstering chairs. I followed the tutorial about 80 percent. I figured out how to make some steps easier, quicker, and cheaper. Now, understand that this is my first upholstery job and I really am not that qualified to be giving a tutorial on how to reupholster a chair... but here is my "beginners version" on how to reupholster a chair!

Step One: Pictures

      

 

Take Pictures. It is good to have a reference of the original chair to know how fabric was folded in the corners or where to stop and start pipping.

Step Two: Pull off the pipping and remove staples.

 I used needle nose pliers and a screw driver. This was the best way to pull out the staples and there were LOTS of staples.

Be careful not to damage the wood when bracing the screw driver against the chair as leverage and support when getting under the staples to pull then up. I ended up leaving some staples because they were too hard to pull out and I was damaging the wood.

It is important to pull out as many staples as you can because it allows the fabric to remain in it original pattern shape--and the old fabric is what I used as my pattern piece to cut my new fabric.

This is only one chair-worth of staples. My hands were sore.

Remove the fabric. Be gentle as the fabric will be used as your pattern piece and the batting and foam--if in good condition--can be used again for the chair.

Label the fabric pieces

Step Three: Prep and Paint the Wood

Wash the wood with soapy water and a sponge. This is one step I changed. Instead of using a chemical stripper I just used what I had on hand--soap.

Prime. Always prime furniture, especially furniture in high-traffic areas. I used less than 1/2 a quart of primer of Home depot Behr brand latex water based primer. Chairs with a lot of curves in the wood work best with a bristled brush--not foam. Slap on one coat--does not need to be perfect--and let it dry about 2 hours. 

Paint. Apply the first layer. Stay focused on one area at a time when painting to ensure you get all the wood painted without missing a spot. Don't dilly-dally and get carried away before finishing one area. Let the first coat of paint dry for 2-3 hours. You may need to sand away drips or globs with a medium grade sanding block. This is a nice step to add but since I didn't have a sanding block on-hand I opted out of sanding and just made sure to monitor my paint for about 5 minutes after I was done painting to brush away any drips. I did end up with a few drips but nothing terribly noticeable.

I used Benjamin Moore: White Dove. It is a nice creamy white with a hint of gray which went well with my gray walls. Home Depot had this color on hand so I just had a quart made in the Behr brand.

I have only used Kwall Paint in my home as it is an excellent paint--but convenience got to me and I used Behr. It is a much thinner paint than Kwall so the first coat didn't look great. A second coat was much needed. After the second coat it was looking much better and I wasn't regretting using Behr paint (earlier I was).  I just like the quality of Kwall paint.  We all know you get what you pay for. I think in the future I will stick with Kwall.

Apply second coat of paint. Allow 2-4 hours to dry.

Step Four: Cut Fabric

I cut my fabric while the paint dried. Iron the fabric if it has creases-it makes a difference. Then lay the old fabric pattern pieces on the new fabric. Be aware of your fabric design. Lay your pieces out according to what you want your new pieces to show--especially if you have a stripe or geometric design.

Cut out the new pieces. I cut mine about 1/2 inch bigger than the original fabric just to be safe. I was glad I did.

Step Five: Staple foam and fabric

Place foam and batting in place and staple. (note: I only stapled my foam and batting in place on the vertical cushion. The lower cushion did not need staples in the batting). Add fabric and staple on top of foam and batting. Spray adhesive may be used  on the foam or fabric to add extra stability while stapling. I wasn't too concerned about it so I did not use spray adhesive and it was not a problem. 

When stapling there is a correct method to use.

Start at the top middle and put in an anchor staple. Then use this order of stapling.

Top First: Start center move out right, then center move out left

Side second: Start top right go down, top left go down

Bottom/back last: Start center move out right, then center move out left.

The corners are the best spot to end stapling so you can tuck and pull any extra fabric into the corners folds to avoid any wrinkles.

I like to use a small hammer to pound the staples in place because not all the staples were flush with the wood frame as I wanted.

When stapling pull the fabric very tight. I also like to fold the ends under and staple a nice clean edge. This minimizes fraying and the need to trim excess fabric--which can be tricky with all the curves.

On the corner of the bottom cushion simply fold it like a corner to a present. Fold in the right side staple...fold in the left side staple...and then place a staple in over all three sides to secure it in place. 

Step Six: Double Piping

Use the pipping from the chair--if possible. Simply use a seam ripper to remove the pipping. Keep the pipping fabric as your pattern piece for your new fabric. If you have enough fabric you can cut your pipping fabric pieces on the bias--however, it is totally fine to cut along the lengthwise grain, which is what I did. (Cutting on the bias helps the fabric stretch around corners and curves without wrinkling). 

To attach two pieces of pipping fabric to make a long enough length of pipping fabric place the two pieces in a "y" shape with right sides together.

Then sew along the diagonal.

Place piping about 1/4 from the edge. Roll fabric over and sew as close to the edge of the pipping as you can. I used a zipper foot but a walking foot would also work great.

After the first row of pipping is in place lay the second pipping down, roll the fabric around the first and second piece of pipping. Then sew down the middle. Make sure the pipping pieces are even at the ends.

Trim off the fabric edges leaving about 1/2 inch to fold under. Decide the best place to start/stop the pipping (refer to picture taken at step one). Glue in place.

I know there are tons of fabric glues that are wonderful but I just used a hot glue gun to put on my pipping. Whatever...it is not the best but it works fast and I like it. 

So there you have it. I really enjoyed the project and would reupholster again if I needed to. It wasn't too hard and I learned, through experience, how I could do a better job next time.

The fabric: Weaverly--Pom Pom Play in Spa color

The wall color: Benjamin Moore. Chelsey Gray