The choice of design and instructions for the upholstery of the sofa

Even the most “sturdy” furniture wears out over time. The upholstery shines, worn and squeezed places appear. Looks ugly, right? Replacing the upholstery of the sofa will solve the problem.

But it is worth doing it if the structure of the furniture has remained the same strong, and the only problem is the loss of external gloss and comfort. This can be done at home without calling a specialist.

Why do the sofa upholstery

The main reason for replacing upholstery is to save money: it is much cheaper than buying new high-quality furniture. But one cannot argue that the fresh trim will delight the eye. With her, the interior will sparkle with new colors, and the surprised guests will be sincerely interested in which designer catalog this new, completely unique sofa was found in.

And only the owners of the house will know the secret. The upholstery of the sofa will also be useful hygienically. Upholstered furniture collects a huge amount of dust that cannot be removed even with a powerful vacuum cleaner and household chemicals.

Therefore, periodically, the upholstery and decorative fabric should be changed.

How to pull a sofa with your own hands

Replacing the skin is not as difficult and scary as it might seem at first glance. However, you need to be patient, choose reliable tools and think about a new design three times.

We will tell you how to change the upholstery of the sofa in stages.

Choice of design

What will the new look of old furniture be like? There are a lot of options, ranging from good old textile classics to ultra-popular eco-leather. For an apartment, a house, the design of which is made in one of the classic styles, both fabric and leather upholstery are suitable. It can be high-quality velor, boucle, jacquard and even flock.

For country styles (country, Provence, rustic) it is worth choosing the most “simple” externally fabric with plant or checkered patterns.

The leather sofa will harmoniously fit into minimalism, hi-tech, constructivism, loft and strict classical style.

Within the framework of kitsch and avant-garde, the sofa can be sheathed not only with expensive tapestry or chenille, but also with practical matting and budget flock.

Required materials and tools

To disassemble furniture, drag and assemble furniture, you need a minimum set of tools:

• a large screwdriver to unscrew the external bolts, if any;
• pliers / staple remover to remove fasteners;
• a set of keys to disassemble and assemble the sofa;
• screwdriver / drill;
• sewing machine;
• small screwdriver.

To fix the new upholstery, it is enough to purchase a furniture stapler. To avoid damaging the fabric, it is best to use large staples.

Additional tools:

• rulers (sewing meter, square, metal ruler);
• knife / scissors;
• hammer;
• nails / staples;
• glue for attaching foam rubber;
• pencil or marker for marking.

Upholstery fabric and filling are the main materials of the work. But if there are minor flaws in the frame, for example, loose springs, then you may need a wire with a diameter of 1.5 mm and nylon constrictions.

How to calculate the required amount of upholstery: add the length and width of the sofa, multiply the resulting number by two. That is, for a sofa with dimensions of 2 x 1.8, you will need about 7.6 m of fabric.

For fabrics with large patterns or stripes, the consumption increases, since the parts must be cut strictly in one direction.

The constriction process

The first step is to disassemble the sofa. The legs, armrests, backrest are unscrewed first. When the external parts are separated, the main can be disassembled. design.

To avoid confusion during assembly, all loose bolts should be folded into separate cells of the case / ziplock bags and signed.

Before you dispose of obsolete materials - upholstery, filler - you need to take measurements from them to make new upholstery.

Next - the old upholstery is removed and all "layers" are removed from the frame of the sofa: filler, spring block (if any). As a result, a bare base should remain.

If there are damaged elements in the design of the sofa, for example, the plywood has sagged, they should be replaced: make accurate measurements and order / cut out the part yourself from a suitable material. It is also worth tightening all the bolts, removing dust and dirt from the frame.

If a spring block is included in the design of the sofa, and it is "loose", you can fix it yourself. You will need U-shaped staples (preferably with sharpened ends). You can make them yourself from wire. The staples are hammered into the base with a hammer, then the spring block is attached to the frame with nylon constrictions (twine folded in two layers is suitable).

This is necessary to achieve better fixation. After the constriction, the block should not “ride”. The braces are also fastened with staples to the frame.

It is important to ensure that the springs are not pinched by nylon threads, but retain their elasticity. A dense material (felt) is laid on top of the block, and is attached to the springs with strong threads. A replenisher will be attached to it.

The new filler is attached with glue in place of the worn one. It is better to purchase material with a margin, so that inconvenience does not arise during work.

Details of the new upholstery are sewn on a typewriter (this work can be entrusted to a tailor if you do not have the necessary skills). To qualitatively change the upholstery of the sofa, you need to start with the decorative elements, then the seat, sides and back. The trim parts are tightly pulled onto the structural element and fastened with a furniture stapler.

The optimal distance between the brackets is 4 cm. When all the elements are overtightened, you just need to assemble the sofa in accordance with the instructions.

Filler selection

Although the spring blocks are considered obsolete, they still compete with springless designs.

• Spring blocks are quiet and comfortable, the block is wrapped on both sides with dense material (felt, coconut crust), then covered with foam rubber and padding polyester for maximum softness.
• Springless fillers are elastic, retain their shape, reliable, usually polyurethane foam (PPU) is used in springless structures, the material is 98% filled with air, it is soft and pliable.

For stuffing the sofa, you can use the classic combination of foam rubber and padding polyester.These are relatively budget materials. Sintepon (synthetic winterizer, holofiber) is laid on top of foam rubber or polyurethane foam. Armrests and decorative elements are also stuffed with it.

Instead of synthetic fibers, you can use natural latex - foamed rubber tree sap. It is a hypoallergenic, allergic pure material with a service life of at least 10 years.

Design Feature

The most important thing when tightening is to keep the seat height at the same level. And you can experiment with other details. For example, to give more volume to the armrests and not just sheathe the sofa with a new fabric on your own at home, but completely change the appearance of outdated furniture.

You will need to carve out a base from foam rubber or polyurethane foam, as well as prepare new parts from upholstery fabric (parts based on patterns taken from the old upholstery will not work). You will need accurate calculations or the help of a professional seamstress.

Craftsmen with little experience should choose a thick fleecy fabric for upholstery. There will be noticeably fewer flaws with it. And upholstery with a small pattern will significantly reduce the cost of fabric, as it eliminates the need to "fit" the pattern.

Companion fabrics can be used to constrain individual parts. For example, cover the back and seat with a patterned fabric, and the armrests with a darker plain fabric of the same shade.

Leather wrapping feature

To cover a sofa with natural or artificial leather, you need to take into account the characteristics of the material. The skin does not tolerate excessive stretching. You need to take the most accurate measurements and follow the straight seam line.

Working with leather is the most laborious, so inexperienced craftsmen are advised to choose less capricious fabrics for work.

Advantages and disadvantages of the procedure

Should you change the finish of the sofa yourself? Why not. This is an invaluable experience that will open up new possibilities for the home craftsman. The main advantage is savings on the purchase of new furniture. But besides, pulling the sofa yourself, you can show your imagination and radically change the look of your favorite, but shabby furniture.

The main disadvantage is the need to carry out accurate calculations. Otherwise, some material may not be enough. Plus, before starting work, it will not be superfluous to practice operating a furniture stapler, as well as sewing on a machine. After all, rather large parts will have to be sewn, and the smoother the seam turns out, the less artisanal the pulled furniture will look.

Video: independent seat upholstery

Options for covering the sofa in the photo