diy furniture
By Richelle Plett
If you don’t know what you’re doing, upholstery can be scary. Thankfully we’ve got good advisors. Here’s an easy project to whet your whistle.
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putting it back on! The biggest beginner mistake is to rush through to get the old off and the new on. Just like any great finished craft, the true skill is in the time spent on prep work. Step 2 Remove the slip seat from the frame with a screwdriver. If you are doing a set of chairs, label each plywood base with its cor- responding chair. While it may be a matched set, the screws could be in different places on the frame. Keep the screws in a safe place while you work! Step 3 Strip off the padding and founda- tion. Typically, if a piece needs to be reuphol- stered, it needs new padding too. I always say it’s like taking a shower and putting on dirty underwear to reuse old foam. Step 4 Remove all staples and tacks from the plywood base frame with a staple remover and needle nose pliers. Scrub the frame with a stiff brush to clean old glue and dust before proceeding. Step 5 Place the plywood frame on the foam and mark around the circumference,
pholstered seats on dining chairs are often called slip seats. Most upholstered pieces of this kind consist of a piece of plywood
” to all sides. Cut out the foam using
an electric carving knife. Step 6 Spray adhesive all over both the plywood form top and the bottom of the foam. Wait about two minutes for the glue to set, and then place the foam on top of the plywood base, glued sides together. Be certain to line up precisely before bonding together. What you need Screwdriver and tack lifter Needle nose pliers Scissors 20” square of 1-1/2” wide LX45 blue foam 313 spray adhesive 3/4 yard Dacron
padded with foam and Dacron (a polyester fiber). They are a great project for a beginner because they don’t require a huge investment in professional tools, they use only a little bit of fabric, and a set of four dining chairs can easily be completed in just a few hours! The first thing you will need is a willing chair. If you are feeling unsure about your skills, its best to start on a single seat, like a desk chair. That way you don’t have to worry about matching three other chairs. All measurements are for an 18” wide x 16” deep drop seat. Adjust your materials list according to your own stool or chair. Step 1 Pull out your camera. Take plenty of pictures both before and during the stripping process. This will help you reassemble the piece. Removing the old fabric, padding and founda- tion requires as much attention to detail as
3/4 yard upholstery fabric Staple gun with staples Metal yardstick or ruler Permanent marker Wire brush Electric carving knife
VintageKC / Winter 2012 12
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