How To Reupholster Wooden Dining Chairs To Recover Them?

Reupholstering dining chairs may be quite smooth relying on the type of chair.  The vital issue to discern before you start, is that you have structurally sound chairs. If they are a piece at the wobbly aspect, you may want to attach/screw them securely before you begin, as some of the growing older vintage chairs may not be salvageable.

Methods to Reupholster a Chair

The perfect manner to reupholster a chair cushion is to eliminate the cushion from the chair, take the old fabric off, and fix new fabric across the cushion. Select a sturdy fabric intended for upholstery for a long-lasting dining chair recover. One yard of fabric can normally reupholster popular dining chairs. Read through to understand whether you can do it on your own or need professional assistance.

Do Away with the Seat

Flip the chair the other way up, and unscrew the seat from the body, using a drill or screwdriver. Make any necessary repairs to the wooden part of the chair - painting, refinishing, or tightening joints. Make sure the whole lot is completely dry, and not sticky. After that, reattach the seat.

You could come upon a non-removable chair seat whilst reupholstering that consists of a tack strip: a protracted strip of cardboard with tacks protecting the seat to the frame as opposed to screws. Do away with the strip by prying the seat off with a flathead screwdriver.

Dispose of the Seat’s Old Fabric

Flip the chair the other way up, and unscrew the seat from the body, with the usage of a drill or screwdriver. Make any vital repairs to the wooden part of the chair -- painting, refinishing, or tightening joints. Ensure the entirety is dry, and no longer sticky to the touch, then reattach the seat.  

If the padding is in bad form, or you just need a softer seat, you may upload a new layer of foam batting. It is offered in most fabric and interest shops.

Centre Your sample

If your new seat material has a sample, turn the seat right-side up and region the brand-new fabric on top. Pressing across the perimeter of the seat, middle of your sample, then mark the corners with direct pins.

Note: you may pass this step in case your material would not have a sample.

Cut the Brand new Seat Cover

Flip the new cloth proper-aspect down, and positioned the antique seat cover on the pinnacle as a pattern. Word the locations of your pins, and regulate if wished, feeling underneath. Line up the corner creases of the antique seat cover together with your immediate pins.

Crush the vintage cover on the chair seat corners, then hint around the antique seat cover with a pencil or chalk. Smooth out the edges together with your arms as you hint it so your new cover does not turn out to be too small. You could pin the old seat cover to your new cloth earlier than tracing in case you do not feel confident approximately smoothing it as you go.

Cast off the vintage seat cover, then reduce out the brand new one, using the pencil or chalk lines as your manual. To prevent fraying, use your sewing device to zigzag or serge around the rims of your material. If you do not need to stitch, fold the tape alongside the edges. Press down your material if it's wrinkled or creased.

Attach the Fabric to the Seat

Turn the new seat cover right-side down and then place the seat cushion, on top of it also right-side down.  If you have pins to mark the corners of the patterned fabric, make sure they are aligned with the corners of the seat cushion.

Start stapling from the top edge, and once in the centre. With the bottom edge, repeat the same. Before stapling, pull the fabric tight. Keep repeating with each side. Go on pulling the fabric tight before stapling.

Working one side at a time, a staple from the centre outward until the side is completely stapled. As you work, keep pulling the fabric tight and smooth the fabric underneath from the centre. Leave the corners unstapled. Till everything on all the corners has been stapled, keep on repeating on all sides.

Complete the Corners

Grasp one corner of the cover and pull the point toward the centre of the seat cushion, then staple it. Arrange the remaining unstapled corner fabric into small and even pleats to finish reupholstering the seat’s corners. Pull tightly and staple down.

For the chairs with rounded corners being reupholstered, multiple pleats are to be done on each corner to achieve a smooth and flat finish. Ensure not stapling over the screw holes. Repeat for the three remaining corners.

Reattach the Seat

After placing the seat on the chair frame, be careful to align the screw holes. Start using the screws to prevent the seat from falling after turning the chair upside down. Tighten the screws till after turning the chair over, to firmly attach the seat. But refrain from over-tightening – the holes should not be stripped.

Reupholstering to recover a chair is rather a cost-effective process compared to its replacement. At the time of reupholstering the dining chair seats, you will need only ½ yard of fabric. More materials are needed for upholstering the chair seat fully based on the fabric type and amount, but the cost of purchasing a new chair is often more.