Tuesday 16 July 2013

Upholstered Chair - Summer Project #1

I was lucky enough to save this chair from the landfill about 3 years ago!  I liked the shape of the chair and knew with new fabric and some varnish that it could look great again.

Apologies for the lack of before photos but you can see the original fabric below, a thick faded yellow stripe:


This is the back rest cushion, which was just stapled down at the bottom.  It's attached to the chair with screws so you cannot see that bit.  One less bit to sew!









I did not know what was going on in the inside of the back rest, so it was interesting to remove the fabric cover and see the construction.


The webbing and foam needed replacing, I followed the instructions in a book called House Proud by Danielle Proud, which worked a treat.

















My husband helped me stretch and attach the herringbone webbing with upholstery tacks.
I then tacked on a piece of hessian over the webbing.  The 1" foam was laid down on top of that and then lightweight batting was stretched down on top of the foam and stapled into place to hold down the foam.



To make the fabric for the back rest piece, I unpicked the back rest cover and used that as my pattern piece.  I have reupholstered the chair with Anna Maria Horner's "Drawing Room" fabric in home dec weight.



 The cover was just pulled down tight over the back rest frame and stapled firmly into place.

I made a box cushion to cover the new 3" foam seat pad, that has a zip fastening at the back

Obligatory gratuitous shots:






I am really proud of our efforts here.  My husband still has to sand and varnish the wood, but I've done my side of the bargain.  I bought all the webbing and upholstery supplies from ebay shops, and the foam locally.  Now that I know we have sorted out the structure, I wouldn't be worried about changing the fabric again.  Any questions, please ask.