How to sheathe an old chair with a beautiful new fabric

After a certain period of time, upholstered chairs or stools fail. Moreover, the frame remains more or less attractive, while the soft elements are intensely abraded or dirty. All this makes the chair or stool unpresentable. But this is not a reason to throw the old product into a landfill.

hauling chairs design photo — One of the most effective ways to change the look of any chair with a removable seat is to simply change the upholstery.

In this case, remodeling the house with your own efforts will allow an updated chair. And if you approach the process creatively, you can get a modern model with a claim to designer furniture.

hauling chairs ideas photo — Do-it-yourself chair restoration is not so difficult.

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How to choose the right material
- For soft backing
- For upholstery
What tools are needed to work
The process of tightening a chair with a new fabric with your own hands
Highchair back decoupage
Master classes
Video: master class on replacing upholstery on chairs
50 options for chair designs after constriction

How to choose the right material

Before you pull the chair with your own hands, it is important to choose the right material to replace the old one. Upholstery should take into account:

Suitable strength. After all, the soft elements of the chair - the seat and backrest are subject to increased wear due to friction and mechanical stress.
Use only those canvases that keep their shape well. Otherwise, after a short period of time, they will stretch and the furniture will not look presentable.
Also a necessary parameter is the ability to cleanse. The best choice in this case is cloths that can be washed, cleaned, vacuumed or cleaned in some other way.
Don't forget about the base. The material in this part of the furniture, when pulled, acts as a kind of softener. It creates a soft, somewhat springy backing that provides comfort when upholstered.

chair painting — You will definitely love this quick method of restoring your favorite things.

For soft backing

In order for the constriction to be complete, materials such as are used for a soft substrate:

Foam rubber is its advantage in cheapness. But after some time of use, it tends to flatten.
The synthetic winterizer has the best characteristics. But the price is higher.
Batting, copra, burlap and horsehair are good because they are quite environmentally friendly.

Before you pull the furniture, you should consider the basic rule for the backing. Its thickness should fluctuate in the range from 3 to 5 cm. Only in this case the covering will be comfortable enough during operation.

Another important detail is the choice of filler. Sintepon, latex, batting will do, but sheet foam rubber is the best option.

For upholstery

It is best to purchase fabrics and leather materials such as:

Jacquard fabrics - are distinguished by a long service life due to their complex weaving structure and sufficient thickness.
Skin - you should take dense, but at the same time elastic, as too rough can crack. Since natural materials of animal origin are a rather expensive class, they can be replaced with dermantine.
Such a chair repair is ideal for the kitchen, since this type of fabric material with imitation leather can be cleaned quite well with a damp cloth.
Flock allows furniture to wear out slowly, but is quite expensive.
Velvet is perfect for decorating an armchair or chair for a living room.Due to the fact that the fabric begins to shine quickly enough, it is better to cover it with furniture that is not used daily.
The tapestry is quite durable and reliable. It is easy to clean and has an attractive appearance.
Micro velor is well suited for living rooms.
Chenille - due to its rough structure, it creates interesting light and shadow effects. And the special weave, which forms 3 layers, allows you to create a sufficiently strong surface during restoration.

What tools are needed to work

To make a new upholstery for a chair at home, you need to prepare the following tools and additional materials:

Thick cardboard.
Stapler for working with furniture.
Hammer and thin nails for wallpaper.
Flexible meter, square, ruler.
A simple pencil and tailor's chalk.
Glue with a brush.
A staple remover or a knife that is thick enough with a thin blade that does not bend too much to pull the staples out.

The process of tightening a chair with a new fabric with your own hands

Do-it-yourself chair repair can take place in different ways, but still, the basic step-by-step instructions will look like this:

First, the chair is disassembled if its upholstery is inserted into the frame. If the upholstery goes beyond the outer edge of the chair seat, then it simply begins to detach.
Then a new canvas is cut out. Before that, it is necessary to clearly measure the overall dimensions. Take into account that in order to properly sheathe the back and seat, fabrics must be taken with a margin, so that it is enough to wrap by the edges and nail down from below.
Also, to keep the upholstered chair soft, you need to consider what material is best for the backing and cut exactly the same shape as the seat of the chair.
Cut out the same backing from cardboard and glue soft material on it.
Fix the cardboard on the basis of the chair in any way. Most often, a cardboard interlayer is used so that a synthetic winterizer or other selected material does not tear.
Then everything is sheathed on top with a cloth.
The elements of the chair that have been disassembled are assembled.

do-it-yourself chair hauling — To make the chair upright, and then use it for a long time, you need to act carefully.

It is this particular order that helps to repair the products the way professionals do it. But, this step-by-step instruction gives a general idea. If we talk about the technological subtleties that masters use in their work, then it is worth considering them in more detail.

Removing the old fabric

When it becomes necessary to pull the chair, the old tissue is first removed. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it is attached with a construction stapler, which drives the staples into wood or wood-like material. Of course, the best way to do this is to use a device that allows you to remove such brackets. Its edge is aligned with the center of the metal plate and lifted up, pressing on the frame. So one of the ends of the bracket is easily and quickly removed. And then with the help of nippers, the second part is pulled out.

chair upholstery — Carefully open and remove the old staples that secure the upholstery.

But, if there is no staple remover, then you will have to use a knife with a thin but durable blade. True, this work will be more dangerous from the point of view of the possibility of injury.

We disassemble the frame

After the upholstery has been removed, it is important to disassemble the frame. This step is performed when it is necessary not only to cover the furniture, but also to restore the chair frame. At home, this is done with a screwdriver or mallet - it all depends on how the chair was assembled.

After all the elements are disconnected from each other, they are inspected for chips, cracks, other damage or the presence of fungus.

removing the upholstery — We check the integrity of the frame, tighten the loosened joints, glue the cracks.

Restoration is performed if required.It is easiest to carry out with wooden products. Using sandpaper, the surface is cleaned, and then processing with decorative materials is carried out.

stripping — You can very well give it a second life by repairing it yourself.

We make a soft substrate

Then you need to take the seat of the chair and make a pattern exactly along it. Thick cardboard will do - it is necessary to transfer the shape of the seat to it. Then cut out the cardboard, put it on a synthetic winterizer, horsehair, foam rubber or some other material for the base. With a sharp clerical knife, carefully cut along the contour, without clinging to the cardboard.

chair seat — When choosing a filler, you should not focus solely on the cost of the material, if you do not want to have squeezed chairs that have lost their attractiveness in the near future.

Fastening a new fabric

The next step is to cover the chair with fabric. But before that, you need to put foam rubber on the seat and fix it. This can be done with glue.

Then lay the fabric on top, centering it. Turn gently to prevent the contents from shifting. Then, gently bending all the edges of the upholstery fabric, walk along the contour with a furniture stapler. You need to apply fasteners as often as possible. Only in this way will it be possible to upholster with a sufficient degree of reliability.

hauling chairs design — The main thing is to correctly approach the choice of the necessary materials, to think over everything in advance and without fuss, slowly translate what you want into reality.

Highchair back decoupage

If you want to get an original product that can become an integral part of the interior in Provence, country or eco-friendly style, you should perform decoupage. To do this, you need to select drawings on paper that are appropriate in style and color. Stick them on a wooden frame in such a way that they form an original pattern. After that, open with several layers of varnish for fixing.

decoupage chairs — You can come up with your own original and beautiful way to change chair designs.

Master classes

Of course, the manufacturer making upholstered chairs uses proven technology. But this does not mean that it is impossible to repeat it as plausibly as possible at home. To make a quality product, you just need to study master classes. Information can be presented in the form of sequential pictures or video tutorials. This makes the chair upholstery process even easier. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between work with metal and wooden structures. After all, the methods of fixing the constituent parts are completely different here. Therefore, before you buy material for a new covering, you need to figure out what methods the chair will be disassembled.