Are you sick of the unsightly patterns on that really comfy, expensive chair in your living room? Why did you pay so much for something with such a strange pattern?
In any case, you don’t have to throw that chair away. You can reupholster it on your own without getting expensive repairs done at furniture shops. We’re going to help you out with that in this article.
Hopefully, you’ll find that furniture reupholstery isn’t as challenging as it may seem.
Basics of DIY Furniture Reupholstery
Whenever you casually bring up the idea of doing some of your own work to a chair or couch in your home, without fail, someone says “yeah but that’s harder than it looks.”
While they’re right, it’s not that much harder than it looks. It just takes a little time, know-how, and effort.
You can definitely do the job right, and we’re here to help.
Let’s get started:
1. Have Tools Ready
You’re going to need a few specific tools for furniture reupholstery. These probably aren’t laying around the house if you’ve never reupholstered anything, either.
You’ll need a sewing machine, a staple gun, a pad and pencil, needle-nose pliers, scissors, straight pins, and a marking pen. Tools may vary depending on the nature of your furniture.
2. Have Materials Ready
On the other end, you’ll need the materials to do the job. First, you’ll need your fabric. You should also get all of the needed supplies for your tools (staples, fabric glue, tacks, etc.).
You also need batting, chalk, weight thread, and tack strips.
3. Be Delicate as You Remove Old Fabric
It can be tedious to remove the fabric, we know. With that said, it’s important that you’re patient with it and don’t break the skeleton of the chair in the process of removal.
If there are any parts of the furniture that must be removed and replaced (wooden screws, etc.) be sure to treat them with a lot of care. Break one piece and you could be out of luck with the whole chair.
4. Get New Batting
Make sure to replace the batting as well as the fabric. This will bring some more life to the piece and make it more comfortable. Additionally, batting can harbor odors and get limp after a while.
Replace it and bring the piece back to its original glory.
5. Use Original Pieces as Templates
If you’re not sure of the dimensions to cut into your fabric, use the old pieces as guides to cut the right sizes. This is a really easy way of saving fabric.
6. Remove Fabric Before Buying Fabric
If you can get the dimensions of your original fabric, you’ll save a lot of money when buying the new material.
Fabric can be expensive, and you want to make sure that you’re not wasting anything. If you have extra scraps, they’re probably just going to get thrown out anyway.
7. Get Creative
So long as your furniture looks and feels great, you’ve succeeded. There are tried and true ways to reupholster items, but it’s your furniture at the end of the day.
If you’re happy with your work, that’s all that matters. Do what you feel and use your intuition!
Need More Ideas?
Making your home the best it can be hard. In most cases, it’s a lot easier when you put the time in and care about what you’re doing.
There’s no reason you have to let things stay the way they are if you’re unhappy with them. Furniture reupholstery is just one of the DIY options for home improvement at your disposal. Explore our site for more ideas for your home design.