My mother and I’ve been engaged on reupholstering my desk chair for the studio. She gave me an excellent head begin on the challenge by beginning on it whereas I used to be nonetheless engaged on group, in order that was an enormous assist. The chair we’re reupholstering is one which I’ve had for a number of years, and I like it. Once I began redoing my studio, I thought of buying a brand new desk chair in the appropriate coloration to avoid wasting myself the trouble of reupholstering this one, however I couldn’t discover one which I appreciated as a lot as this one. It’s very comfy and has a excessive again, which I like. So my best choice was to reupholster the one I’ve.
Right here’s what the chair appeared like when it was new…
However after having the chair for a number of years, my cat utterly tore it up. The woven material was good for her to get her little claws into. So even when the present coloration went completely with my imaginative and prescient for my studio (it doesn’t), I’d nonetheless must reupholster it as a result of she has utterly shredded it. And naturally, I’ll be reupholstering it with velvet, which is my favourite cat-proof material.
My #1 tip for reupholstering chairs and sofas is to take the outdated material off in an orderly style. I’ll always remember the present Buying and selling Areas for a lot of causes (most of them not good 😀 ). However one factor I keep in mind very vividly is the shoddy reupholstery jobs these amateurs would do. And underneath the steering of these designers (I’m you, Hildi), they’d begin by ripping into the unique material, tearing it off as rapidly as attainable. That will make for thrilling TV, however if you happen to’re a novice at reupholstering, and even if you happen to’re like me and also you’re not a novice, however you simply don’t do it typically sufficient to be actually proficient at it, then you definately’re going to wish to take your time in eradicating the unique material.
In eradicating the unique material in an orderly method, it would take extra time firstly, however it would additionally prevent time and frustration in the long term. First, taking it aside in an orderly method will aid you see simply how the chair was upholstered within the first place. You possibly can see precisely the place each bit is stapled into place. It gives you the chance to take numerous footage of how the items match collectively. However most significantly, the unique items will function patterns that you should use to chop the brand new items of cloth.
Right here’s my mother rigorously eradicating the material one piece at a time, beginning with the very again, after which the skin of the arms and wings.
Crucial device in taking outdated material off of an upholstered chair or couch is a flat head screwdriver. This can aid you to take away all the outdated staples holding the material on.
However generally the staples are so deep into the wooden that you could’t get a flathead screwdriver underneath them. In that case, I exploit a brand new and really sharp razor blade to chop the material across the staple, leaving the material as intact as attainable.
I all the time take photographs of areas like this simply in order that I can keep in mind the way it appeared. With no image to remind me, I would begin reupholstering this half, see this bulk of cloth that gained’t lie flat, and assume that I’ve carried out one thing unsuitable. Having a photograph is useful to remind me that it appeared like this initially.
The material typically comes off of chairs and sofas on this order: the again aspect of the chair again, the outsides of the arms (and wings on a wingback chair), the within of the arms (and wings), the entrance aspect of the chair again, after which the seat. And as soon as all the material was off of my chair, right here’s the way it appeared.
That is when you have to assess if you happen to’re going to wish new foam or batting. I’ve seen chairs and sofas that had pristine foam and batting underneath outdated material. And I’ve seen others that had outdated and brittle foam and destroyed batting. Heck, I’ve even reupholstered a really outdated daybed that was initially stuffed with one thing that I can solely guess was straw. However on this case, the froth on my chair appeared fairly good, however the batting was trying fairly skinny.
So a few layers of latest batting can be wanted on this chair earlier than I add the brand new material.
The material on the again had a thick piece of cardboard underneath it, so I’ll be reusing that to present some construction to the again.
As soon as we had all the material off, I used to be able to take the items aside and put together them as my patterns for the brand new items. Right here’s a have a look at the piece that wrapped across the again of the chair and onto the skin of the arms and wings. You possibly can see the injury my cat did.
This was three items sewn collectively, so I used my sew ripper to take them aside.
I additionally measured the seam allowance and made word of that measurement. This fashion I can resolve if I wish to use that very same seam measurement or add further allowance once I lower the brand new material. These seams had been solely 3/8-inch, so I’ll most likely add at the least 1/8 inch to the seam allowances once I lower the brand new material.
After the items had been taken aside, I ironed them in order that the seams allowances would lie flat.
After which I flipped the items over and used an enormous Sharpie marker to make notes. I famous which edges had been seams, which edges had been wrap-and-staple. On the middle piece, I famous which aspect was the highest, since that could be laborious to inform on a rectangle piece as soon as the items had been separated. Principally, I simply made notes of the whole lot I believed could be useful for me to recollect. And I don’t ever assume that one thing is so apparent or primary that I’ll simply keep in mind. I’ve had too many occasions once I assumed I’d keep in mind one thing, solely to get in the course of the reupholstering challenge and get confused about one thing as a result of I didn’t make notes or take footage to remind me of the small print.
I did the identical factor for the items that went on the entrance of the seat again and the within of the arms and wings. None of those items had been sewn to one another. As a substitute, that they had eight-inch strips of skinny black material sewn to many of the edges, and that skinny black material is what’s shoved into the crevices, pulled, and stapled into place.
These items of skinny black material aren’t seen on the completed chair. So after eradicating that black material, I made notes of which edges these items (which I name “pull material”) had been sewn to.
After which I made word of which edges required a wrap-and-staple.
And at last, I did the identical factor for the seat. This chair has a seat cushion which covers most of this piece, so there’s a big piece of the skinny black material. So earlier than taking these aside, I labeled which edge wanted to be sewn, and which one was a wrap-and-staple.
So now that I’ve all of my sample items, they usually’re all labeled, I’m prepared to make use of these to chop the brand new material. And all of my notes ought to come in useful once I begin placing all of it again collectively.
It’ll return collectively within the precise reverse order that we took it aside. First, the seat, then the entrance of the chair again. Then the within of the arms and wings. And at last, the three-piece again and outdoors arms and wings piece that will get sewn collectively. And since I took footage of the difficult elements with complicated particulars, I can breeze by these difficult elements as nicely. Keep tuned for the brand new and improved desk chair!
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
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