3 Upholstery Tacks I used 1cm (3/8″) long tacks. If you have a wooden chair seat, you may find it rather uncomfortable without a cushion. How to Cover a Chair in Fabric to Make a Vanity Chair, How to Repair an Antique Spring-Bottom Chair, How to Make a Cushion Top for a Cane Chair With No Caning, Reupholstering & Adding Foam to a Dining Room Chair. This way you can give about 1cm (0.39 inches) of thickness to the middle of the seat. I'll be touching that up with hot glue. We used a sander to taper the edges to match the profile of the old one. Spray the seat of the chair with adhesive and put the seat foam in place. Fold the center inward, then overlap each side onto that fold (Photo 8). All the staplers shown will do the trick. Article by Lisa Brooks. We bought our fabric, foam and batting at a fabric store. Lay a piece of upholstery batting on top and cut the excess at the front corners so the batting lays flat. These drive the staples flush with the pull of a finger and allow you to be extremely accurate in the placement of your staples. In order to have a cushion which suits your seat, you will need to make one yourself. Then drive a single staple on each side to hold the foam in place. You don't want this: You do want this: ARGH! Lightly stretch the batting and drive one staple (Photo 4) along each edge. Just as home improvement stores will cut plywood for little to no cost, large fabric stores can cut foam core to size. The inside of the fabric should be facing you. Place the upholstered cushion on the seat and secure it by placing screws into the holes and driving them in tightly with a drill/driver. When you shop, buy 'upholstery grade' fabric for its strength and stain resistance. This will ensure that the upholstery doesn’t move. How to Clean Upholstery in 15 Minutes or Less. I made sure to remove these, so that when I put on the new fabric, the batting would be nice and smooth. Fabric prices vary wildly; you might find something for $5 in the bargain bin or spend 10 times as much. To my surprise the back of the chair is just cardboard with upholstery tape around it. Dang. 2. Shaddy began publishing in various magazines in 1992, and published a novel, “Dark Canyon,” in 2008. This is an important step. Flip the seat over and drive staples to hold the corner tight. Repeat the process along the back edge and sides. This is the most efficient way to upholster straight-backed chairs. Remove the old staples from the wooden seat base. Choose an appropriate upholstery foam for the seat or back. Tip: Old, dull side cutters are perfect. After all, a well-crafted chair will hold up a lot longer than the upholstery you cover it with, no matter what the specific material might be. Plop the seat on top of the foam and outline it with a marker. For the dust cover, we used landscape fabric from a home center. Cut the material so you'll be able to wrap it up onto the chair bottom at least 4 in. 1 Chair Duh! Trace the outline of the seat onto 1-in.-thick foam. For the outer surfaces of the arms and backrest, you can use the cushions with leather upholstery … If you're going to be stapling for hours on end, invest in a pneumatic stapler. Plywood is the obvious choice because it's lightweight and strong. Sign up for our newsletter! They grip staples well but don't cut them off. Layout the marks for tufting. Cut the batting so it overhangs all sides of the seat by about 4 in. Carefully adjust the tufting on the front before securing the back. The cushions can be foam, cotton or other natural materials. Then you can drill holes on the edges till it penetrates into the wooden chair up to 2 or 3 mm. Pry and yank the staples with a small, flat tip screwdriver and pliers or side cutters. Your foam core should be at least three inches (7.5cm) thick to assure comfort. Then complete the sides, again repeatedly checking the pattern. I'm not an expert.