Re-Upholstering No-Welt Chair Seats
Are your dining chairs
stained, dingy or just plain out of style? Does your dining room need new inspiration? Re-Upholstering
your dining room chair seats is
inexpensive, easy to do and can really give the room a lift.
With just a few yards of
fabric, a screwdriver and a staple gun you can have Re-Upholstered dining room
chairs in no time. Chairs with a simple rectangular design are almost as easy
to reupholster as wrapping a package.
To start Re-Upholstering
your dining room chairs. Turn the chair over and unscrew the entire seat. Inspect the decking on the
underside. If it is in good
condition and can be re-used, remove the staples carefully so as to keep the
decking intact. A sturdy flat head
screwdriver will usually work best.
If you have trouble prying them out with the screwdriver, be creative… Look around your tool bench, your
kitchen draws, etc and see what might work best. My friend recently used a cheese knife; the kind with forked
tip. Worked like a charm!
Next, you will have to make
some decisions. Inspect the
condition of the current upholstery, including:
The general
condition of the fabric. Look for
holes, tears or any other wearing that compromises the integrity of the fabric.
Inspect the condition and the suitability of the padding.
Inspect the condition and the suitability of the padding.
If the current fabric and
padding is in good condition, your project just got even easier! You will be able to wrap the new fabric
right over the existing. Before you
make this decision though, be sure the old fabric won’t show through the
new.
If the existing fabric needs
to be removed, pull out the staples and peel the fabric away from the
padding. If your padding also
needs replacing, you can just pull it all off as expeditiously as possible.
Replacing the padding can be
done in a number of ways. Cotton
or polyester batting work well.
You may also choose foam or a combination of the two. Experiment a bit to see what materials
will give you the look, feel and comfort you wish to achieve.
When I am Re-Upholstering
dining room chairs I like to make a paper template from which to cut the
fabric. This does not have to be
precise. Fortunately, there is a bit of latitude in determining how much fabric
to wrap around. For the template,
you can use newspaper, wrapping paper, tissue paper; any paper that is large
enough to make a pattern from will suffice.
If you have removed the
existing fabric, you may be able to make the template from this piece. If not, lay the base on the template
and draw a margin wide enough to wrap around and on to the backside.
It should be large enough to securely staple it on to the base. Usually this is about 1 – 1.5”.
Now you are ready to cut the
new fabric! Slow down and pay
attention here. If you are using
material with a repeat, plan this part carefully. You will want the repeat to be uniform for all the chairs. If it has a central design, take care
to position the design in a pleasing manner.
If you are Re-Upholstering
several dining room chairs, I recommend completing the first one before cutting
the fabric for the rest. If you
have made any errors, you want to figure that out now – not when you have
everything cut assembly line style.
Now you are ready for the
fun part. Your project begins to
‘come to life’ as you position the batting and wrap the fabric around the
base. Turn it upside down and
begin to staple center back, then center front. Turn it and check your positioning. Then gradually work your way toward the
corners, stapling about every 1-2”.
Next staple the center left then center right. Work out toward the corners leaving about 2” either side of
every corner.
Here is where you have to
make some judgments and determine how to ease and finesse the corners for the
most pleasing outcome. Take your time here and experiment with stretching,
folding, easing to see what methods provide the best outcome. It will vary depending on the shape of
the chair seat and the thickness of your fabric. Once you decide on the best method, just be sure to be
consistent with all the corners
on all the chairs. You will probably need to trim some of
the excess fabric from the corners.
Just be careful and THINK before you trim.
Now, your fabric is secure,
the front looks great, the corners are neat and smooth. You will finish it off with a
decking. This will give the
underside extra stability and most of all a professional, clean, finished
look. If you can reuse the old
decking, simply position it and staple it on. You’re almost finished!
If you need new decking, a
dark, lightweight fabric is typical.
You can however, be as creative or as practical as you like. You could purchase fabric for this purpose
at a fabric store, use up fabric you have around or even choose a coordinating
fabric. (Although that is not really all that exciting, since it only shows to
pets, children and the occasional adult that may crawl under the chairs.) Just be sure to choose a lightweight
fabric that you will be able to turn the raw edges under and staple down for
the proper finish.
You will need to cut the
decking to match the underside of the base of the chair, allowing a bit of
fabric to turn under to give it a finished professional look. You can work this out with just a
little pre-planning and concentration.
Once you have the piece cut, staple it in much the same way you did the
top. Beginning with the back
center, then the front center working your way out to the corners. Then continue in the same manner for
the sides. When your staples are
in place, flip it over, place it on the chair, take a moment to admire before
you flip the chair over and drive the final screws to put it all back together.
This project is easy! Along with these guidelines, use your
creativity, your intuition and mostly your common sense to achieve a fabulous
new look!
Tips and Tricks for Re-Upholstering
dining room chairs:
-If replacing batting or foam, a little spray adhesive on the
wood base of the chair will keep the batting from slipping.
-Pull the decorative material as taut as possible without
stretching or disfiguring the fabric.
-If your fabric has a repeat or a design, using tissue with a
bit of transparency for the template will make aligning the design much easier.
-Keep the bases and the chairs paired correctly. When you go to screw the base back
down, if you’ve mixed up the bases and chairs, the screw holes may not line up
consistently.
- Pay attention to the screw
holes on the base as you staple the fabric. Try to keep the fabric from covering the screw hole. If it MUST be covered, mark it with a
pen or chalk mark as you work. If
the fabric covers the hole, you will need to make a small hole to control the
fabric so it doesn’t skew with the twists of the screw.
