Seat covers add color and texture to a room.
Covering the seats of dining chairs provides the opportunity to quickly change the feel and appearance of your dining room. This can be done without great cost and by someone who has never done upholstery work before. In fact, this project can be accomplished as a weekend decorating upgrade if the fabric and tools have been obtained in advance. It may be the first and only upholstery project you're attempting or the bridge to more complicated projects. "It provides the creative satisfaction of returning a tattered cast-off to like-new state, as well as the money saved," according to the book "Singer Upholstery Basics."
Instructions
Prepare to Upholster the Dining Room Chairs
1. Measure the chair seat, both its length and width. Add 4 to 6 inches in the fabric estimation per side, to adjust for the chair shape and to allow for padding on the seat. Plot the fabric squares on a piece of paper or graph paper for clarity. Estimate for foam padding and upholstery batting by measuring the length and width of the seat and adding 1 inch on each side for the padding and 2 inches per side for the upholstery batting and fabric on the bottom, the cambric. Write this information down as the material comes in various purchase sizes.
2. Examine the chair to determine if the seat is made of a thin board or webbing. If it is composed of webbing, the condition of each chair will need to be checked. If covered with cambric, stiff fabric under the seat, this may need to be sliced to see the webbing. Frayed, worn or snapped webbing must be repaired before the seat is recovered. Measure for the amount of webbing that needs to be replaced, allowing an extra 4 inches on each end in the estimate for where it will be stapled or tacked. Estimate the number of tacks needed, using these only for points of great strain, such as in the center of the chair. It is best to cover the webbing with burlap on the top; if this is desired add this to the list. The size will be the same as for the cambric fabric on the bottom. Include all this information on the paper with sizing and estimates.
3. Buy all the needed fabric and other items either online or at a local shop, using the written information as a guide.
Upholster the Chairs
4. The right tools keep the project moving.
Remove the seats from the chairs using the screwdriver. Screws holding the seat in place are normally found in the corner area; place screws in a bowl to prevent loss. Keep the seat with the chair; slight differences in cut or wear create an individual fit. Pry off old batting and foam and fabric. It will be thrown out, but for now, leave the material nearby so you can check the specific pattern size on the fabrics. Use one that comes off in one piece and is fairly clean.
5. Cut webbing straight across and fold down one inch if the chair needs webbing repair. Tack at desired rear or side locations with three to five staples or tacks. "Upholstery Basics" suggests using the stretcher to pull webbing taut, and tacking in place with three nails. Finally, trim webbing, allowing one inch to fold back and tack down. Weave the webbing, under and over, to complete the side-to-side webbing.
6. Cover the webbing on top with burlap if desired; the burlap will need to be trimmed to the seat size, plus 2 inches. At this point, you can create a base pattern from a large paper bag, a large sheet of paper or a newspaper to make it easier to cut out all the burlap seat covers on a work table. Use one of the discarded cambric covers as a guide for the pattern. Cut the burlap to size, position on the seat, fold under 2 inches, staple, fold, staple, until the entire seat is covered.
7. Trim the foam to 1 inch wider and longer than the seat; this can be accomplished by placing the seat on the foam and cutting around the seat. Again, a pattern for the foam can be created with large paper during this step; in the long run it will speed things up. Follow directions on the spray adhesive and glue the foam to the seat top and let dry.
8. Place the batting on a work surface and pull it up around the foam and the base; trim the batting so it is even with the wood. Speed things up a paper pattern for subsequent chairs. Create the actual seat cover in the same manner, but wrap the fabric onto the wood by several inches. Check the cover size against the old cover. Trial and error on the first chair will save time on later chairs. If uncertain, use sample fabric to get the sizing before cutting into the expensive decorative fabric.
9. Prepare the seat fabric cover by pressing it with a steam iron. Notch a small "V" at three places on each side of the fabric, including the center, and at five locations around each corner. Position the fabric on a sturdy work surface or the floor, layer on the batting and the seat with the wood side up. Mark the center point of with a pencil. Staple fabric to the bottom of the seat at the center back, pull taut and staple the center front. Do the same to the two sides at their center point. Work around the seat, pulling the fabric firmly as the staples are shot into the wood. Envision the corners as bed sheet corners and pull up the corner of the fabric and staple, then pull up the fabric on one of the sides of the corner, staple, and then the other side, and staple.
10. Create a stiff covering for the bottom, a cambric, in the same manner as the burlap in Step 3, if desired. This will cover the bottom of the seat and provide a finished appearance. Reassemble the chair with the screwdriver, placing the completed seatback on the chair frame.
Tags: each side, fabric bottom, around seat, bottom cambric, bottom seat, center point