Dining Chair Upholstery - Tutorial

          Turkey day is a big day for me.  Being such, I like to have a house ready for company.  We love our apartment and we love our dining room table and chairs, but the upholstery didn’t quite match the rest of the décor, so I decided while everything was cooking I would reupholster our chairs.  It’s a super-easy process and the end result is something unique and wonderful.  I was lucky to have the help of my handsome and wonderful husband.  Check out our handy-work below.  And while you’re at it, try it for yourself!

What you need:

·       Canvas or another thick fabric

·       Scissors (I use pinking shears to minimize fray)

·       Staple gun and staples

·       Screwdriver

How you do it:

1.      Grab your chair.

2.     Flip it over and remove the screws from the base of the chair using your screwdriver (or drill if you’re a lucky duck).  The bottom of the chair should pop right off.  Remove the fabric already existing on the bottom.  Keep one of these pieces.

3.     Quickly inventory your chair bottom.  Mine had a base with screw holes (obviously) and 2 pieces of foam cushion.  Measure the height of your cushion and base. 

Measure the width and length.  Using these dimensions, cut your fabric to the dimensions you need.  All chairs are different, so you may need something different than I do.  Keep in mind you may not need to measure if you’re able to salvage a piece from one of the old upholstered pieces.  You can use this as a template for size.

4.    Lay the fabric on the ground face down.  Next lie your seat bottom, cushion down on top of this.

5.     Starting with one side, tightly pull the fabric over the edge and staple along the fabric edge.  Do this to the opposite side.

6.     Staple the fabric along the edge of the base.

7.     Fold the fabric over like you would wrap a present and staple this down.  Repeat on the left and right of the side you are working on.

8.     Fold the excess fabric up and finish stapling.  Repeat these steps on each chair.

9.    Put the base of the chair back on the chair and reattach it with the screws removed.  Double check for stability, then enjoy your quick, easy, beautiful work.