Sweetwater Style: Reupholstery: Should You or Shouldn't You?

Monday, May 9, 2016

Reupholstery: Should You or Shouldn't You?

We have a nice little chair here that originally came from the thrift store.
It is a nice size. It fits into small spaces.
It is reasonably comfortable for an occasional chair.
It has a caned back which made it simple to just make a new cushion cover to fit with the decor.
(Would you believe this is the best photo of the chair I could find in my archives?)

Alas....Marvin has decided that the caned back of the chair is a terrific scratching post!!!

Remind me again why we love our pets!?

I knew that having the chair recaned not worth it for a thrift store chair.

Or more to the point....to reupholster or not?

Well....it wouldn't make much of a story if I simply told you that I decided NOT to do it!

So here is what and how the project unfolded....

It will be up to you to decide if it was worth it!!!

When I saw this fabric, I knew it was perfect for our house.

The rust color will work in the family room.

The gray is nice for the den.

The camel is the exact color of the living room couch.

Remember....this is an OCCASIONAL chair! That means it will "occasionally" be in any of these rooms depending on the OCCASION!

It was important that this fabric had a nice strength to it.
I knew I would be pulling and tugging a lot during the project.

The first step was to cut templates of the back sections of the chair on both the front and the back.

Then pieces of quilt batting were cut and glued to each section.

(YUP that is just the regular glue gun!)

The pattern was used to cut fabric pieces for the sections.
I decided that the sections needed to have self-fabric welting.

Here is a great explanation/tutorial for the process of making your own welting.

Apartment Therapy How to Make Your Own Welting

I actually HATE making this stuff....but it really takes a project to the professional looking level!

I did the two side sections first.

It was super tricky to get the staples into the "ditch" between the welt and fabric.

I used very few staples....then added a few dots of glue for stability.

I realized that I would be doing some hand stitching at the end...more about that later!

The center back section overlaps the two sides. After attaching the top of the fabric to the chair, I used a curved needle to hand stitch the welting on to the side pieces.

Then lots of staples to attach the bottom of the fabric to the chair.
I cut a piece of fabric for the bottom of the seat. The front edge was stapled and folded in. Then used staples all around the back.

For the back sections....it was just tuck and glue gun!
Not fancy...but it worked!

The cushion got recovered with more self welting.

I know that I should have used a zipper....but I didn't have one...and I didn't want to go to the store....

I just left an opening in the back and hand stitched it closed.
Again....it isn't fancy...but it works!

So....this project took me more than a few hours....
I am lucky to have a space to leave the mess for extended time....
It was picky, icky work and not always fun...
There were times when I really considered throwing in the towel because it wasn't working the way I wanted....
BUT....the results are nice enough!

Would I do this again?
Probably NOT!
The cost of the investment of fabric and cording was around $60.
My time and frustration.....priceless?
There are really nice inexpensive occasional chairs out there that would cost out to be less costly in terms of time spent....

But Hey!
It is done now....
and Marvin is happy!