Reupholstering A Chair

So let's call this part two of a three part series on painting and reupholstering a chair. The first part was all about painting a chair in oil-based gel paint. This post is going to be about reupholstering a chair and the third and final post will be about making/attaching double welting to finish off the job.

The first step in reupholstering a chair like this one actually comes before the painting. That is taking some detailed shots of how the chair was put together and carefully taking the fabric off in such a way that you end up with a template for the new fabric. Once I had done that, I took the template and laid it out on the new fabric cutting around it and leaving plenty of excess fabric around all sides. I was careful to make sure the template was centered on the fabric just right too.

With the fabric ready and the chair painted, I pulled out my staple gun. Turns out it is too heavy duty (we just did a test staple into the wood of the chair to figure this out), so we went to Home Depot and picked up this TruTac stapler. Aaron picked it out and with it's design, it is sooo much easier for my small, woman hands to squeeze the handle/trigger. I'd definitely recommend it.

It is best to start with the hardest part but I also wanted to start with the most inconspicuous place...the back. This is actually the front but wanted to show how my fabric was cut quite a bit larger than it needed to be. So....

 I pulled out my fabric scissors and cut the fabric down so it could fit around the arms (I did this as I got to each arm and not at all at once in the beginning) . I also frequently referenced the old fabric template to see how it was cut previously.

Making sure the fabric was centered on the chair, I stapled the center of the back down while Aaron held it tight in the front. I stapled the whole back section, then the front (starting in the center and working my way out on each side), followed by the sides.

I did have to pull out some staples here and there (see that double shot staple on the left) and retighten the fabric. So be prepared to make corrections as you go along. The staples do need to be tapped in a bit better in some places. This is also a good close up of the fabric - I love it!

Getting around those arms was a little tricky but not not too difficult.

Don't mind our ugly kitchen floors, we might have plans for those for when the weather gets a little nicer. :) I used the corner where the cabinets meet to wedge the chair so that I could get enough leverage to pull and staple.

Is it me or does it almost look cute with the little fabric skirt? I'll be getting rid of that in the next post though. Oh and you can get a little sneak peek of our new-to-us dining room chairs and table.

I'll be back in a week-ish with the final part of the series. I have made piping before (interestingly enough, Leo, one of our orange kitties, made a cameo in that post too) but I'm a little nervous about making the double welting. 

What projects do you guys have planned for the weekend? We might be making a trip to Ikea because I mentioned it and Ruby's been asking to go there everyday since (it is the only place the poor thing gets ice cream). We'll see. Happy early St. Patrick's Day!

♥ Crystal