Reupholstering a chair is not only an economical way to give your favorite seat a new look, but it is also one of the most environmentally friendly furniture renovations you can make. You will have a chair that lasts longer and saves discarded materials from becoming landfill. However, this type of home project is not without risk and requires a bit of time to complete. If you are not confident in your abilities, it may be best to hire a professional.
A top-rated chair upholstery pro will provide the quality of work you expect and can handle any additional services you may require such as button tufting or nailhead trim. They can also provide you with a range of fabric samples to help you decide what works with your space.
If you are planning to reupholster your own chair, it is important that you take accurate measurements and have the right tools. If you don’t, your finished product will not be a perfect fit and you may end up with a chair that is less than comfortable to sit in. If you do not have a sewing machine, you can still recover a chair with the use of fabric glue or decorative upholstery tacks.
The first step in chair upholstery is to remove the old fabric. To do this, you will need to yank out the existing staples using either a flathead screwdriver or needle-nose pliers. If you are reupholstering multiple chairs, it is a good idea to number each seat and the foam beneath each seat so that when it comes time to reinstall them, they line up correctly.
Once the seats are removed, you will need to prepare your chair frame for reupholstery by sanding it down and cleaning any dirt or debris that is visible. This will make it easier to attach the new fabric and will prevent any ripping or fraying of your newly upholstered seat.
When choosing a fabric, you will need to consider whether you want it fitted or loose cover. A fitted upholstery will give your chair a sleek appearance but will be more difficult to clean. A loose cover is more practical and is especially ideal if you have children or pets that will be using the chair regularly.
To determine how much fabric you will need for your chair, run a measuring tape along the outside of the chair frame to get its width and then measure from the back of the chair to the front to decide the length. Make sure that you round up the measurements to the nearest half-yard when purchasing your fabric; this will ensure that you have enough material for a good fit.
If you are using a patterned fabric, be sure to consider the pattern repeat when calculating how much fabric you will need. This is the distance between the longest and shortest rows of the design in inches. For example, if the pattern has four columns of two-inch-wide vertical stripes and you need to cover a chair with three of these wide bands, you will need about 4 yards of fabric for this section alone.