How to Reupholster a Chair

Not too long ago we needed more seating (this feels like a never ending problem). I couldn’t find anything I liked. The only way to get it was to reupholster a chair on my own. Here is how I did it:

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I found this chair at a thrift store. I sat in it a few times and it was actually pretty comfy. Not incredibly attractive… but that was about to change. I am a bit of a novice at upholstery but not afraid to give it a go. After all, I made a tufted headboard with no experience, this seemed much more simple.

Supplies

• needle nose pliers
• fabric
• upholstery skewers
• twist pins
• staple gun and staples
• tack strip roll
• muslin or dust cloth fabric
• cut tacks
• tack hammer
• twisted trim
• hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• tack remover (optional)

The first thing to do is start stripping the chair. Pull off the trim around the edges. Just grab it at any edge you can get a hold of and yank. If you’re having trouble, needle nose pliers might help. This chair had a layer of muslin under the fabric. This made the whole reupholstery project much faster. The original foam was in good shape so I didn’t have to replace that either.

I went to a local craft store and found this striped chenille fabric. It is soft and has great vivid colors.

Holding the fabric in place by yourself can be tricky. Upholstery skewers and twist pins make it much easier.

I find it easiest to cut a piece of fabric in a rough outline of what you need and then pin it in place to hold it and keep it flush against the profile of the chair back. I used a hand stapler to attach the fabric around the edges just inside the wood frame.

Once you get the entire section stapled in, use a utility knife to trim the fabric just inside the frame. It’s important that you pull the fabric tight as you move around the chair. If you don’t, you may end up with wrinkled or sagging fabric. Keep moving through each section of the chair until you get them all.

Then flip the chair over to do the bottom. I left the old muslin dust cover in place because it was just easier. I used muslin to create a new dust cover- you could use black dust cloth as well. Using upholstery tack strip gives a professional finished look to the project. First you staple it down with the fabric thrown over the opposite way you want it to fall.

Then pull the fabric back in the “proper” direction to create a cover to hide the chair bottom. Staple it around the other edges all around folding and tucking as you go. I find cut tacks and a tack hammer are easiest in tight spots around legs. The head of a stapler can be a bit too bulky to get in there tightly.

Once you’re done with the main body fabric. You will need to add trim to cover the staples. (I forgot pictures). Use a glue gun to add a thin bead of glue around the edge just next to the wood frame. Immediately place the trim into the hot glue to hold it in place. Go all the way around the entire chair on all the edges of each panel.

When I was done, We had a comfortable and far more attractive chair for people to sit in. Taking the time to reupholster a chair instead of buying new got exactly the look we were going for. Total bonus that it cost less too!

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