How to Upholster

Making furniture is a true craft; when done right it can last you for a long time. As I always like to say Quality isn't expensive, it is priceless. Quality furniture stands up to the test of time, but just like everything else these quality pieces may may need a fresh lift as over the years the wear and tear starts to show.

K International Woodworking does refinishing. We are always happy to bring back life to furniture as can be seen from our past blogs. Re-finshing is also a craft, as it takes time and patients to restore pieces to its original glow. Re-finishing and restoring old furniture is something that requires knowledge and skills and is not easily done by the everyday homeowner. There is however one way a homeowner can put on a fresh new look on their furniture. Pinterest has easy tutorials and ideas on how you can vamp up your old stuff by simple adding a fresh new coat of paint or upholstery.

Just changing the material on your chairs or sofas can give it a whole different look. K International Woodworking has been asked to restore several chairs and part of that restoration was adding new polstery.  There are many helpful websites that demonstrate how to upholster chairs, but here is our version of it:

What you will need:
Heavy Duty Stapler
Fabric
Hammer (optional)
Scissors
Foam (if your surface needs new or extra cushion)

Start by cutting an appropriate size for your project. Keep in mind that you will need at least 1 inch on all four sides of fabric to wrap around. Tip: It is always better to have extra then not enough, you can always trim if necessary. 

Position your seat in the middle of the material, if need to place your foam on top (this is for extra or new cushion). Do one side first, line the material up evenly across the surface then use your staple to secure the fabric. Tip: Go over all the staples with a hammer to make sure that it is secure.

Once you have completed one side, do the opposite side next. Pull the fabric very tightly and then staple. Pull as tight as possible. Do the same to the other two sides. Remember to pull tight. Leave the corners free.

Once all four sides have been completed, start the corners. There are several different ways to tackle the corners. I always do my corner differently depending on the material I am working with. When its light colored fabric or leather then I try to use as little staples as possible as they become more visible.

The best way to get the corners done is by tightly stapling one side of the corner at 45 degrees (start first staple at the bottom of the corner and work your way up).  Then slice the fabric from top tip to the corner. Cut across from the stapled side, basically cutting out a triangle. Then take the remaining fabric, tug the tip under and lie down over the staples. Staple it straight over.

Remember to always pull tight and use the hammer over each side to fasten the staples even further.

For any questions, please leave comment or email us at tina.kwoodart@gmail.com.