Attach new fabric to your dining chairs with a staple gun.
Give your dining room a fresh, new look by changing the fabric on your dining chairs. Reupholstering your dining chairs updates your decor without the cost of new furniture or the mess of painting and remodeling. The project is ideal for beginners and you can likely complete it in a day -- as long as you have the proper tools for the job.
Removing and Reattaching the Seat
Most dining chairs have removable seats called slip seats. They attach to the chairs with screws or tack strips. For screw-on slip seats, you'll need a drill with a screwdriver bit or a manual screwdriver for your screw type, either flat-head or Phillips. For chair seats attached with tack strips, you can pry the seat from the frame with a flat-head screwdriver. Use a rubber mallet or hammer to reattach tack-strip seats with a thick towel covering the new fabric to protect it.
Removing the Old Fabric and Trim
Whether your dining chair seat is detachable or fixed, you'll need a staple remover to remove the old fabric from the seat and from the back and arms if your chair has fabric there. Keep a pair of needle-nosed pliers on hand also for removing stubborn and broken staples.
If you're reupholstering a dining a fixed seat, it may have nailhead trim covering the staples. On antique chairs, you may encounter fabric attached with old-fashioned tacks. To remove either, professional upholsterers use a ripping chisel or a tack puller. Both have a groove for gripping the stems of nails and tacks.
Preparing the Chair, New Fabric and Trim
To cut the new dining chair fabric, you can use scissors or a rotary cutter and a cutting mat. If you opt for the rotary cutter, you'll still need scissors to trim the fabric and cut trim to the proper length. If the chair needs new batting, cut it to size with your scissors. Cut and shape new foam, if needed, with an electric carving knife.
Use a cloth measuring tape to measure for trim lengths and a straight-edge ruler to center patterned fabric repeats before cutting. If you're making welt to trim your chair, you'll need a sewing machine with a zipper or piping foot.
Attaching the New Fabric and Trim
Attach new fabric -- and new batting if your chair needs it -- to your chair seat, back and arms with a staple gun and staples. If you're applying fabric-covered welt or twisted cord with a flange to a slip seat, use the staple gun to affix the flange to the underside of the seat, after you apply the seat fabric. Use a hot glue gun to trim your chair with gimp, flangeless cord or flangeless welt, double or single. Affix nailhead trim to your chair with a nylon-tipped hammer to avoid denting the heads.
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