The Chair - Part I

Thanks to our excellent real estate agent, my husband I and I procured this chair with the purchase of our house. I knew it needed some work, but up until now I've been too intimidated to tackle the project.

The chair is a sturdy piece of furniture; but the upholstery left much to be desired. Sitting on the chair, you can feel the springs pushing through the thin layer of padding. Another issue is all the rips and tears; we can blame the cat for that. Clearly, much work needs to be done.


As I mentioned previously, I'm new to upholstery. I decided the best way to approach this project is under the guidance of an upholstery instructor. Over the next six weeks, I'll be working on fixing up this chair during a weekly upholstery class. Hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze another project or two in there.


This is what I've managed to get done so far. It's a start!


Step One: Disassemble the chair and remove the fabric and stables


Easy peasy!

A tack puller made quick work of this task.


I'm not sure if it's really necessary, but I've held on to the original fabric in case I need it for pattern purposes. 


Step Two: Tie the springs


The point of tying springs is to distribute the weight of a seated person equally over all springs. This becomes really important in larger pieces, like couches.

Word to the wise: wear gloves when tying springs.

Step Three: Burlap!


OK, so I didn't use burlap to cover the springs, and you shouldn't feel obligated to do so either. What you're looking for is a strong fabric with a tight weave. 


The goal here is to pull this fabric taut and staple it a gazillion times around the periphery of the frame.

More to come as the project progresses.