While many think about reupholstering furniture and get a little frightened by what they think to be an enormous project, it is actually quite simple if you have some basic skills. Sewing skills combined with only a small assortment of tools-standard staple gun, hammer, pliers, screwdriver-can easily be the beginnings of one’s first reupholstering project. Make no mistake, courses in reupholstering will give you more than the skills you need to accomplish a simple job, but it is necessary to understand that almost all upholstered furniture is created to allow for reupholstering. Most furniture pieces will, in fact, teach you you how to reupholster as you work.
To begin one’s first project make sure you have the tools listed above, and also purchase some cheap stuffing and low quality fabric as your cover. This will be a training run, and the fabric and stuffing can always be removed later. Remember to always buy more fabric than you need. Mistakes in measurements, sewing and the like can, and do, happen, so be prepared.
Start the process by checking each of the furniture’s seams for the exact method of binding. This is a good time to also start note taking by documenting the type of binding-stapled, sewn, or tacked-and any differences in binding present. Once this is done find the piece of fabric, or panel, by which most, if not all, of the fabric is bound to. This is usually the bottom or top section of the furniture and is easy to spot. Unbind the panel and remove it from the frame. This panel is important so avoid damaging it and keep it safe.
Continue fabric removal, notating each piece of paneling as it is removed. While removing panels, one should be careful to not disrupt the padding or stuffing structure on the frame. Darcon wrap is a good idea for those pieces of furniture whose stuffing falls apart when fabric is removed. This wrap will assist in flattening out bumps and misshapen stuffing before fabric is placed over it.
Once you have completed removal of the fabric panels, begin tracing the different panels on the practice fabric you purchased. Always remember to provide at least an inch of extra space when tracing fabrics, otherwise be as economical as possible. Be sure and trace cushion fabrics for each top and bottom side too. Pair cut panels to their original panels for simplicity’s sake and use any leftover scraps for trim or buttons.
At this point you should begin placing the cut fabric panels on the piece of furniture, in the opposite order from which the originals were taken. When binding each piece to it’s place, remember to leave a little space for movement of the fabric so as not to cause tears, but avoid any wrinkles or stuffing bumps.
