DIY Chair Upholstery

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Last month a friend called to asked if I could do a chair upholstery for his two chairs. I said yes, of course. I was excited to bring those vintage chairs back to life with new upholstery fabric, foam, webbing, cotton batting, burlap, and Dacron.

**I enjoy DIY furniture makeovers, so I have included more amazing makeovers by some talented bloggers at the end of this post.

DIY Chair Upholstery

My friend won these gorgeous channel-back style vintage chairs in an auction; however, they needed an overhaul. We used modern upholstery techniques to recover and repair his chairs.

How to Reupholster a Chair 

I like to wear gloves when removing the old upholstery fabric, staples, and tacks.

The first step was to remove the old fabric. I gently removed the channel-back panel to use it as a guide to constructing the new seatback.  Once the material is off, we can assess what might need repairing. After I removed the chair’s fabric, I noticed that the seat cushion foam was falling apart and the frame was broken.

Wood Repair

The upper chair back frame was constructed with two pieces of wood joined in the center with wooden support attached under the joint. The joint support on one of the chairs was broken. I cut new support out of hardwood and attached it to the frame with glue and screws.

Supplies

• Ruler
• Quilting ruler
• Marker (water-soluble)
• Pins (heavy glass head)
• Cutting mat
• Silk film plastic (used to stuff channels)
• Upholstery regulator

 

Assembling the Channel-back

Note: if you want to refinish the wood frame, do so before starting this step. You can see how pretty this vintage chair frame looked after painting it with chalk paint for an updated farmhouse look.

Learning how to staple the fabric to the wood frame after creating the backchannel back section is key to getting the perfect result along the back edge.  Learning to upholster channel-backs is not an easy technique to master.

 DIY Chair Upholstery Completed

**More DIY Furniture Makeovers

My friend Tarah from Grandmas House DIY has been updating her Grandmother’s farmhouse one project at a time. Her latest project is this gorgeous hickory workbench and shelves.

Niky from The House on Silverado shares how she updated her barstools.

I enjoy seeing an antique piece of furniture being updated and finding a new life. My friend Kim from Shiplap and Shells shares how she transformed her 100-year old cabinet into a bedroom cabinet.

This dropleaf table and chairs got a paint makeover by Chas as Chas’s Crazy Creations.

I love slipcovers for a quick furniture update. Mary from Life at Bella Terra shares her dining room chair slipcover update.

Andrea from Design Morsels shares how she updates furniture without paint. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you found some inspiration and are ready to start your chair upholstery.

See you soon,

Kippi