How to reupholster old chairs with your own hands. Correct reupholstery of chairs with your own hands

home

Repair

Do-it-yourself chair reupholstery

Preparatory stage

Here is a list of tools and materials that we will need:

Fabric (chenille, jacquard, tapestry, flock). Before going to the store, you should measure the seat of the chair, adding 15-20 centimeters on each side. This reserve is needed for hems and upholstery heights.
Filling (sheet foam rubber 40 mm thick, batting, latex, padding polyester). When deciding how to reupholster a chair, we choose the appropriate padding. Polyurethane balls are definitely not suitable, buckwheat husk and other bulk materials. Still, the seat of the chair is not as airtight as a pillow, and it experiences considerable stress. After some time, the fine filler will slowly begin to crumble. If foam rubber is chosen for the seat, its density should be 30-50 kg/m3, otherwise during operation it will sag all the way to the plywood.
Cardboard for the pattern.
PVA glue.
Furniture stapler and staples (or hammer and furniture nails).
Pliers.
Screwdrivers.
Scissors, tailor's centimeter.
Pencil, chalk for marking material, ruler.

Removing old upholstery

Furniture restoration includes updating the frame, replacing upholstery, decorating and allows you to restore items that have become unusable. Chairs that have retained a strong frame are subject to repair. Upholstery with fabric will allow you to restore the aesthetic appearance and fit the furniture into the color scheme when updating the interior of the room. Before you reupholster a chair with your own hands, you will need to prepare tools and materials, draw up patterns for elements, etc.

Required Tools

Reupholstering chairs requires restoration tools. The set includes screwdrivers, pliers, keys for bolts, a furniture stapler, sheets of sandpaper, brushes, and scissors. You will also need: an anti-stapler for removing low-quality fasteners (staples), PVA glue, a hammer, a tape measure or measuring tape, a sewing machine, a ruler, a pencil and chalk. To create patterns you will need sheets of cardboard.

To restore furniture, you need appropriate padding. It is recommended to cover the chair with your own hands using padding made of padding polyester, batting or sheet foam rubber with a density of 30-50 kg/m³. Polyurethane compositions are not recommended.

The reupholstering process: step-by-step instructions

Before you reupholster a chair with your own hands, you need products. You will need to clean the furniture from old upholstery materials, sand the surfaces, and remove any unevenness. If necessary, the chair can be painted a different color or coated with translucent varnish. You will need to prepare the fabric, cut out the elements, line the surfaces of the chair parts (back and seat) with foam rubber, then reupholster them.

Removing old upholstery

Furniture restoration begins with dismantling the previous upholstery. To remove the old fabric, you need to unscrew the seat using a screwdriver. Old nails are removed, screws are unscrewed, and steel plates are removed. Using a flat screwdriver or anti-stapler, you need to remove the staples that have become unusable.

Work on cleaning surfaces from foam rubber and tape is carried out carefully so as not to damage the furniture. Then the condition of the chair frame is examined. The dried elements must be fastened with PVA glue and tightened with clamps. Cracks and unevenness are corrected using sealant or putty.

Preparing fabric and foam

Before calculating the amount of fabric, you need to measure the dimensions of the chair. The upholstery fabric must match the size of the back and seat frames. Seam allowances of 10 cm are required. To create patterns for finishing elements, you can use old fabric parts of the chair.

Furniture fabrics are produced in widths of 130-140 cm. Therefore, from one width of fabric you can cut out elements for upholstering 2 chairs. If there are patterns on the fabric, it is necessary to arrange the pattern so that all the furniture in the set looks harmonious.

The old upholstered chair base can be saved. But if the quality does not meet the requirements, the filler will need to be replaced. A thin layer of glue must be applied to the wooden seat, then a layer of foam rubber is laid out. The material must be pressed and allowed to dry, it will take about 10-15 minutes.

Foam rubber blanks can be made in advance, taking into account the size of the elements. It is allowed to stick the material to parts of the chair and then trim off the excess fabric.

A layer of thin synthetic padding is laid on top of the foam rubber. The size of the material should be slightly larger than the base so that you can freely wrap the frame on top.

Seat reupholstery

Before reupholstering the seat with fabric, it is necessary to check the integrity of the frame. It is necessary to tighten weak connections and glue cracks. The parts are tightened with clamps and left for several hours.

Then the rough upholstery is done. It is necessary to stretch the fabric over layers of foam rubber and padding polyester. It is necessary to carefully staple the edges of the rough upholstery. If the fabric becomes more stretched during the decorating process, you will need to remove the staple using a thin screwdriver. After adjusting the canvas along the frame, the material must be secured again using a stapler.

What do you do with old furniture?

High quality wooden furniture can last for a very long time. If there are beautiful chairs in the house carved wood, and the upholstery is worn out, there is no need to throw them away. The main thing is to make sure that the wooden part is intact. Upholstering such a chair with new material is not difficult at all.

How to choose the right fabric for upholstering a chair with your own hands

Fabrics produced for furniture upholstery are dense, durable and easy to care for. They can be easily cleaned with soapy water if necessary. Reupholstering a chair with your own hands will be presented step by step below.

Reference! There are fabrics with special impregnation that do not stain, even if coffee or wine is accidentally spilled on them.

The colors are selected to match the interior. Among the most popular in Lately you can note:

Flock: pile is glued onto a mixed base (65% polyester and 35% cotton). Characterized by high wear resistance and good appearance;
Chenille: A fluffy chenille thread is woven into the warp threads. It is characterized by durability, beautiful appearance;
Tapestry: high-quality fabric is extremely durable; not only is it torn, it is difficult to cut with scissors.

Sometimes, in order to fit into the interior palette, you have to purchase not the most durable fabric. This option is possible when using rough upholstery made of durable auxiliary fabric.

What tools will you need?

In order for the work to go smoothly and quickly, you need to select everything in advance. The main thing you need to prepare is an electric furniture stapler. Suitable staples for upholstery work: 10 mm for interior works and 6 mm for installation of upholstery fabric.

The track of staples on the back and seat can be covered with finishing braid. To glue it, you should prepare a glue gun with silicone sticks.

To work with foam rubber you will need a sharp knife and suitable glue.

Removing old casing

Remove old upholstery very carefully. The old back and seat cover can be used as a pattern. Under the soft part of the seat there may be a piece of plywood or furniture rubber. The latter may stretch and need to be replaced. Be especially careful when removing staples near an exposed part of the wood to avoid damaging the painted part.

When the upholstery is removed, it's time to check the strength of the wooden part. All weakened joints must be glued, where possible fixed with 14 mm staples.

Restoring the seat and chair cover

How to properly reupholster a chair with your own hands, step-by-step instruction presented below. A piece of foam rubber is glued onto the seat plywood or furniture rubber.

Reference! Foam rubber with a density of 28-35 kg/m3 is suitable for upholstering chairs.

The foam rubber is covered with padding polyester with a density of 200 g/m2 and a detail made of upholstery fabric. The upholstery fabric should be cut according to the removed cover plus 5 cm around the perimeter, this allowance is needed for ease of work; after adjusting with staples, it is cut off.

If a rough cover is used, it is upholstered first. The main load falls on the auxiliary fabric; the beautiful upper cover also experiences pressure, but much less.

The back of the chair is upholstered in the following sequence:

First, the cover is stuffed from the back of the chair;
A detail of the rough cover, it takes on the main load in this part of the furniture;
A part made of foam rubber and a part made of padding polyester are glued;
A piece of upholstery fabric is shot from above;
Excess fabric is cut off with a construction knife.

The upholstery of the seat and back is carried out with a large tension of the cover. Neat symmetrical folds are placed in the corners of the seat. The line for adjusting the upholstery fabric with staples is closed with finishing tape using glue gun with silicone sticks.

In addition to braid, you can use decorative nails. This type of finish comes in two types: in the form of tape or piece nails. It's easier to work with tape.

The Internet and print media feed us with new ideas every day, including many new products for upholstered furniture.

To reupholster chairs, you can use a combination of companion fabrics. For example: the seat is fabric with a jacquard pattern, and the back is chosen to be plain and velvety.

There are many finishes available for chairs. The second purpose of finishing is to cover the path of staples that are visible after shooting the upholstery fabric. In addition to finishing braid and decorative nails, you can use finishing twisted furniture cord.

It is produced in many colors and different diameters. The same cord is also produced sewn with braid for sewing into the seam. You can sew decorative furniture pillows along with the chairs. As a finishing sewn-in edging, there is a decorative cord, like on chairs with only braid.

The process of reupholstering furniture is very exciting. It takes very little time, but the result is pleasing long years. Nowadays it’s easy to choose upholstery fabrics in combination with curtains and the interior of the room as a whole. There is an opportunity to implement the most successful design finds at home.

Furniture, like all other things, gradually deteriorates: it begins to wobble, creak, and the upholstery wears out. It is not at all necessary to immediately run to the store - with some effort, old furniture can be restored. Moreover, things in the style of the 60-70s are now in trend. This article will talk about how to reupholster a chair, what materials to use, how and what to do. The technique is also suitable for reupholstering chairs.

Procedure for reupholstering a chair

The restoration of chairs can be divided into a sequence of actions. Each of the points requires explanation, but the general algorithm of actions can be summarized in a few dozen words:

Now you know in general outline how to reupholster a chair. But there is something to be said for each point - there are many different tricks that will make the job easier and the result more attractive.

Soft pie: materials, thickness

Before reupholstering a chair, you will have to study some information about what exactly to use when restoring a chair or armchair. Please note that you can use not only the materials listed in this paragraph. We have described the most common, synthetic, inexpensive, with acceptable characteristics. If desired or necessary, you can use natural analogues - copra in mats or rolls, batting, dried sea grass, horsehair, burlap and other materials that are exotic today and once traditional.

What materials are needed to reupholster a chair?

When restoring a chair or armchair, foam rubber or polyurethane foam (PPU) is used for the soft part. It's about about foamed polyurethane foam, not sheet. There is also furniture latex. It and polyurethane foam differ from foam rubber to the touch. They are more like rubber (latex is generally like rubber); when stretched/compressed, they tend to return to their previous shape.

To be soft enough, the density of these materials should be 30-35 kg/m³. Foam rubber and polyurethane foam are sold in large sheets - the minimum size is 1*2 meters. So that's enough for more than one chair. Latex is usually available in some standard sizes, but most often it is made to order.

What is better to use for upholstering chairs - foam rubber, latex or polyurethane foam (PPU)? If we talk about quality and durability, then latex or polyurethane foam is better. They will last up to ten years or more without signs of wear, they absorb better and wear out less. The best of this pair is latex, but it is much more expensive than even polyurethane foam, not to mention foam rubber. Therefore, if you are on a limited budget, choose foam rubber. If durability is important - polyurethane foam or latex.

Now on the thickness of these materials. For the back, a thickness of 3-5 cm of foam rubber/PPU/latex is sufficient, depending on the degree of desired softness/hardness, but for the seat it is better to use materials with a thickness of 7-8 cm or more. If the base is solid - made of plywood, without springs or tapes - a thickness of 10 cm is needed. Otherwise the base will be felt.

A padding polyester is laid on top of the foam rubber. Its thickness is small - 1 cm in a free state or so. It’s easier to navigate by density: 150-200 g/m². This layer is needed so that the foam/PPU/latex rubs less. So restored cushioned furniture will last longer.

If you want the chair or armchair you have reupholstered to last longer, another layer of spunbond is stretched over the padding polyester - this is a non-woven material made from a polymer melt using a spunbond method. Spunbond costs very little, but significantly extends the life of the seat. This layer is found in expensive furniture and increases durability (foam rubber/sintepon does not rub) and comfort of use (upholstery fabric does not fidget). A possible disadvantage is the accumulation of static electricity. But this is observed only when natural wool or silk is used in upholstery.

How to cut and fasten

The foam is cut to fit the size of the seat. The easiest way is to initial stage make a template: attach a sheet of cardboard to the seat, trace and cut out. This template will be needed more than once, so it’s better to make it.

It’s better to make a template right away, especially if you will be dragging several identical chairs

We cut out foam rubber and padding polyester strictly according to the template. In some cases, it is worth making it wider and longer by 3-5 mm so as not to feel the edges of the base. The cut foam rubber is glued to the base using furniture glue. There is a special glue in a can for foam rubber. It is more convenient to use, but it is not easy to find everywhere.

The padding polyester is laid on top - one side is more “rough”, so we place it on the foam rubber/PPU/latex, level it and smooth it with our hands. After this, it is problematic to separate the laid layers (you can try). If this method does not seem reliable enough to you, you can glue the connection by applying a mesh of suitable universal glue or the same glue for foam rubber.

Latex is usually made to order, so the edges are rounded for greater convenience.

One point: if the base of the chair is not rigid - springs, tapes, a snake - the glue you should use is not the one that forms a hard crust after drying, but the one that remains elastic.

If you decide to also use spunbond, it must be cut out with a margin, attached with staples to the base, evenly straightened and stretched. You should not pull too hard - the material is non-woven and is easily damaged. It just needs to lie without folds. Carefully trim the excess to the level of the chair/chair frame.

How to cover a chair: fabrics, stretching

Before you reupholster the chair, you will have to find fabric. And it’s not as simple as it seems: there are not just a lot of upholstery fabrics, but a lot. Moreover, it is often problematic to externally distinguish one material from another: faux suede and not every professional can distinguish some types of microvelor; chenille and jacquard are similar, and sometimes velor is very similar to flock. Nevertheless, you need to have at least the slightest idea about which upholstery fabric is best for upholstering a chair or armchair.

First of all, decide on color scheme and the type of fabric surface (fluffy or smooth). Otherwise you will get confused. Otherwise, you will have to choose “by touch.” Tactile sensations should be pleasant - the chair should be re-stretched so that it is pleasant to use. In summer you will have to touch the upholstery with leather. So this is an important selection criterion. Well, then, let's talk about the types of fabrics and their areas of application:

Other fabrics can also be used if you like them. But they are less practical than those listed above. In any case, you need to pay attention to the density of the fabric. Normal upholstery fabric should have a density of at least 200-250 g/m², as well as high abrasion resistance (15-20 thousand abrasion cycles). These characteristics can be found in the fabric specification or checked with the seller.

How to reupholster a chair: tighten the straps

You usually don’t need to sew anything for the back or seat of a chair. All you need to do is cut out a piece of fabric of a suitable shape with allowances for stretching. Next we proceed like this:

The main thing is uniform tension without folds. The fabric is usually secured with staples, placing them at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other. The staples hold the fabric quite well and do not pierce it. If there are signs that they will break through the surface, you need to reduce the force of the impact.

The second option is to use small cloves. A thick tape is needed under them - just so as not to tear the fabric. Nails - good decision, but with them it takes more time to reupholster the chair. When using nails, they should not be too long so that they do not stick out reverse side and did not tear the foam.

Base with straps or snake spring: features

Chairs and armchairs can be made with a wooden frame to which ribbons or a snake spring are attached. For very old chairs/armchairs, the tapes may not be elastic - just a thick strip of tarpaulin or similar material; new chairs are made with tapes made of synthetic material with rubber bands. They are attached to the frame using nails ( old furniture) or staples (modern). When fastening with nails, a strip of thick fabric is laid under the fasteners; usually nothing is placed under the staples.

When restoring a chair or armchair, it is advisable to use a tape of the same width or close to it. This way it will be possible to maintain the number of transverse and longitudinal stripes. This is if the previous “load-bearing” capacity of the seat suited you. If it was uncomfortable, you can either increase the width of the belts or add more stripes. Or you can do both at once.

The normal distance between the tapes is about 30 mm. Maybe a little more/less, but not much more.

You can use either elastic furniture tape or simply dense tape, such as slings or tow straps. The elastic one will “play back” when landing, the hard one will not. But this does not mean that sitting will be uncomfortable. Softness is provided by foam rubber and related materials, and the bands/springs only soften the landing. Therefore, if you old chair or a chair with springs, and they need to be restored, it’s easier and cheaper to replace them with ribbons.

In terms of softness of landing, they will be a little stiffer, but not so much that it would be worth bothering with re-tensioning the springs. If desired, you can install snake springs. They also provide elasticity, albeit less than traditional ones.

Springs can also be like this - this is a “snake”

How to fasten and with what force to pull

The straps are attached to the frame, approximately in the middle of the bar. Take the tape, fasten it with three or four staples in the opposite direction, wrap it and fasten it again. Then they tighten it and fasten it on the other side. This reliable way. And don’t be embarrassed that the attachment point is thick. Foam rubber will be laid on top, it will level out all these little things.

Now let’s talk about how hard to tighten the elastic bands. The tensile force on the seat should be 12 kg, on the back - 9 kg. In practice, the specified tension can be set using a steelyard:

We fasten one side of the tape.
We hook the steelyard hook to the second side of the tape and pull it until the desired number is on the dial.
Use a marker to make a mark.
Now we know how long the tape needs to be pulled to get the desired tension.

This procedure will have to be repeated with transverse and longitudinal stripes. And if the shape of the seat or back is uneven, then you will have to calibrate each strip separately in this way. And one more thing: when you cut, do not forget that the tape still needs to be folded and secured. That is, you still need to leave 3-5 cm from the mark - for the hem.

At the bottom of the tape, springs rest on them... too difficult to restore

If you think that you can tighten the tape simply by holding it with your hands, you are mistaken. Men with strong fingers can still pull it off, but women are unlikely to succeed in this trick. Professionals use a special tool, but it’s hardly worth buying it just to reupholster a couple of chairs. In specialized stores there are grippers for tapes with holes. They are much more convenient, and you can hook a steelyard hook into the hole.

The second option is to take wooden block cross-section 40*40 mm or so, length 40-50 cm. Secure to the central part sandpaper medium or fine grain. We glue the emery and additionally secure it with staples (or nails). Leave the edges of the bar - 15 centimeters each - free. These will be the handles. We wind the tape onto this device (a couple of turns), grab it with both hands and pull.

Snake springs

Flat coil springs available different types- in the form of a spiral made of thinner wire or actually in the form of a “snake” made of thicker steel. You can also reupholster a chair with their help. In armchairs and stools they are usually attached along the seat. They are fixed to the frame using special fasteners, and they are fixed with nails or staples with long legs. IN in good condition the snake is slightly curved towards the future load (as in the photo).

This is how you can update the chair - install snake springs

According to its properties, a chair “with snakes” turns out to be a little more elastic when seated than with ribbons. Otherwise there are almost no differences.

Features of a cake with ribbons or springs

If you need to reupholster a chair with ribbons or snakes at the base, a layer of fabric is placed between them and the foam rubber. Fabric - any thick fabric. Teak or similar material will do. This layer protects foam rubber/PUF/latex from premature abrasion. It has no other functions.

A layer of this fabric is glued to the foam rubber underneath. The fabric dimensions may be slightly larger to prevent the edges from curling up. Otherwise, the layers of the soft part of the chair are similar.

Almost every family has old furniture that was inherited, but not always this furniture has an acceptable appearance. The upholstery is quite easy to replace. Then grandma’s favorite chairs and armchairs will get a second life and sparkle with new colors.

Instead of buying new chairs, you can reupholster old ones: replace worn seats with new ones, saving money.

For this you will need:

thick tape;
lining fabric;
upholstery fabric;
filler (batting, padding polyester, coconut fiber);
furniture foam rubber;
construction stapler;
hammer and nails.

Upholstering chairs yourself is not so difficult if you follow the technology and know the assembly sequence. It happens when not only the casing, but also the internal contents require replacement. The first step is to remove the seat, remove the old nails using a nail puller, and remove the upholstery and filling. All you should have left is the wooden frame from the seat.

For upholstering a chair, the main tool is a furniture stapler.

Now you need to attach a thick tape along the bottom (in the form of a lattice), which is used for upholstering furniture. Nail one end of the tape with 3 nails, wrap the other end around a wooden block and pull it tight. On the opposite side, secure the tape with nails, then cut it off, bend the end and secure with a stapler. The distance between the strips should be about 5 cm. Usually 2-3 strips are nailed on each side on the chair seat, intertwining them together in the form of a lattice. Instead of nails, you can use a stapler - in this case, the staples are arranged in 2 rows, at a short distance from each other. For this purpose, it is better to take 8 mm staples.

After this, take the lining fabric and secure it with a stapler around the entire perimeter wooden frame. Next, lay a layer of filler. It can be batting, coconut fiber or padding polyester. Then a piece of foam rubber is cut so that it is 2-3 cm larger than the seat. First, it is secured with staples in the center of each side, then the sides are shot. The corners are finished last, with the ends gathered into small pleats. During work, you need to make sure that the foam rubber does not warp, otherwise the upholstery will turn out uneven and take on an untidy appearance.

To reupholster a chair, you must first strengthen the frame and then remove the jet upholstery fabric.

All that remains is to cover the seat with fabric. Lay the material out on the table, place the seat on top (foam down), shoot 3 staples in the center of each side. Try to stretch the fabric evenly so that you do not have distortions, otherwise it will affect the appearance products. Make beautiful folds at the corners, shoot them with a stapler, cut off all excess. Fold the ends under and secure them in the same way, and then place the seat on the chair.

Upholstering chair seats with your own hands is more difficult if the upholstery contains springs. Many furniture craftsmen do not recommend replacing them with less durable foam rubber. The first step is to carefully disassemble the contents. As a rule, the springs are already connected to each other. Then all you have to do is check the strength of the bundle. If some threads become frayed over time, they need to be replaced. After you have nailed the ribbons and lining, install a bunch of springs on it, sewing each one from the bottom (with a few stitches on all sides). Secure a thick lining fabric over the structure and sew the springs to it in the same way. This is followed by a layer of batting or padding polyester, after which the seat is upholstered with fabric and installed on the chair.

Return to contents

Covering a chair with a hard seat

For this you will need:

thick furniture foam;
thick fabric;
construction stapler;
braid;
glue gun

Upholstering a chair with a hard seat is quite simple: even a person who has nothing to do with furniture can easily handle it. First you need to cut the foam rubber, it must completely match the dimensions of the seat. There is no need to cut the fabric, since it is much easier to work with a cut that is 15-20 cm larger than required.

Foam rubber is placed on the chair seat and covered with a cloth. First, shoot (along the side) each side in the center, then on the sides. After this, the corners are decorated: the fabric is gathered into small folds and secured with staples. It is important to ensure that the staples are positioned clearly along the line. Next, the material is cut off, departing from the fastening by about 5-7 mm.

All that remains is to glue the tape that will hide the staples. The easiest way to do this is with a glue gun - although the work is easy, it requires maximum attention and accuracy. The upholstery of a stool is done in exactly the same way, but in in this case The upholstery fabric is not shot along the side, but from the back side of the seat. Therefore, there is no need to decorate the seam with braid.

Sections