Reupholstered chairs refresh a living space.
Reupholstering kitchen and dining room chairs is one of the easiest and least expensive ways of refreshing the look of those rooms. New fabric on chair seats instantly brightens and renews the look of the room and can be accomplished in only a few minutes.
Instructions
1. Remove the chair seats from the chair frame by turning the chair over and loosening the connecting bolts or screws that attach the seat to the frame. It is not necessary to remove the old fabric and seat cushion foam and batting. Leaving the old chair materials only adds to the softness and comfort of the chair once finished and will not affect its placement back on the frame.
2. Use a tape measure to record the width and length of the chair's seat cushion. Add two inches to the measurements to ensure you purchase enough fabric. Alternatively, you can remove the old fabric covering from one chair and lay it on newspaper to create a template for the new fabric. Trace the dimensions of the old covering onto the newspaper using a black tip marker. This will give you both the correct size as well as the most accurate form to use for the new upholstery sizing.
3. Visit your local fabric store to select fabrics. If you only need a small amount of fabric, check the remnant bin for bargains on upholstery weight fabrics. You'll want to select a heavier fabric that can stand up to the constant use that chairs demand. Consider the color of window treatments and other décor in the room to get a fabric that will complement and enhance the room.
4. Press out any creases in the fabric on the wrong side to prevent iron marks, then fold the fabric in two. Use a tape measure or your newspaper template as a basis to cut out fabric squares for the chairs to be covered.
5. Remove all of the old seat bottoms from the chairs. One at time, lay the seat bottoms cushion side down onto a fabric square. Starting on one side of the cushion, grasp the new fabric in the center and pull it tautly over the cushion frame and staple it to wood seat bottom.
6. Move to the opposite side of the seat cushion. Starting at the center, pull the fabric taut and staple it to the wood seat bottom. Do not staple the corners at this point. Add additional staples about every half-inch to secure the fabric to the side. Repeat this entire process on the two remaining sides of the chair seat, turning the cushion over to smooth the fabric over the seat as needed.
7. Gather one end of the corner fabric into a neat tri-fold, pull it taut, then staple it several times as needed to secure to the corner. Repeat with the three remaining corners, attempting to create the same tri-fold fabric design on each. Secure the newly upholstered seat cushions to the chair frame.
Tags: seat cushion, center pull, , chair seat, chair seats, fabric that, from chair