Re-Upholstering a Chair

I love the idea of re-upholstering old furniture. Taking something loved and refurbishing it so it can be enjoyed again, it maintains history, environmental integrity and it makes sense. But I don't really enjoy doing it, unless it is for a client I really like or is a project which interests me. That I guess is the luxury one has when upholstery isn't their main line of work.

I have no formal training in anything, upholstery included. When I started my business I needed to make as much income as possible and would take every project I could get my hands on. I had no idea how to upholster sofas, but I would take them on, did some one say wingback chair? No problem... yikes. I would take the pieces home (my shop was in my garage) disassemble them, take notes and then figure out how they would go back together. I would purchase my supplies on a job by job basis and just did the best I could. I bought books, ordered videos, everything to help me. That has been the way I learn everything I know. I soon discovered that I am a very good upholsterer, thanks to my tailoring and dressmaking background, plus my slipcovering experience, I was easily able to determine how to upholster pieces. I had no fear of cutting cloth, i just enjoyed the process. I taught myself how to tie springs, how to alter frames, how to pad frames, tuft... all that good stuff. I pride myself on always working to the best of my abilities and upholstery was no different. The only problem with re-upholstery is that it is very messy. Curtains cannot be around this mess, and so once we started making curtains, re-upholstery was out the door, for the most part.
For those of you at home I must differentiate between upholstery and re-upholstery. The former being all new product and from scratch, which we do a lot of. The latter being the ripping fabric off frames, cutting oneself on sharp staples half embedded in frames, breathing in one hundred year old horsehair dust, etc. which we do very little of.
A while back I was commissioned to re-invigorate a living room in a modern home in Vancouver's Point Grey. One of the pieces in the living room was an old chair, probably from the sixties, probably with some sentimental significance. Normally I would have turned this away but I made an instant connection with the client and I knew this was a project I had to undertake. The chair was a moulded plywood frame, glued on foam and then fabric moulded and glued to the whole chair... much like Womb Chair. The fabric we selected was a wool, in a mousey brown colour with decent elasticity and was quite a  perfect choice for the chair. I had never upholstered anything like this, no idea how to do it, i was little nervous.

Below you can see the chair in its original condition. The foam had broken down completely, the fabric was as good as new, all suspension was completely shot.

A view inside the chair. you can see the foam erosion clearly. These chairs are so dependant on the foam padding for shape and comfort, when they start to go, the chair is a write off.

Below you can see the chair with all new foam padding in place. I used a firm grade of Ultracell 1/2" thick. I built up the padding by layering the foams one on top of the other to get the desired level of comfort. I glued batting to the arms for a slightly cushioned feel.

A detail of the front edge being upholstered.

The underside of the chair showing the upholstered front edge and new strapping in place.

A view of the finished front edge. the deck is quilted linen, I made it using a piece of heavy linen and a layer of batting. I like the linen because it has elasticity and looked good with the chair fabric.

Here you can see the fabric laid over the chair. I have already cut and sewn the pattern together.

Marking the cloth preparing for cutting out the extra bulk...

Here I am preparing the chair for applying the face fabric. I am using a technique used in applique work. I am using a fusible web to basically glue the fabric to the foam. Using the iron I am going to steam the fabric and activate the fusing, in effect moulding the fabric to the  chair.

Below you can see the process working. I used temporary adhesive spray to place the bonding web and again to place the material on the chair.

WOW! that is like a second skin. You have only one chance to do this right.... Apparently only one chance was all I needed!

Wool is easy to mould and shape.... use heat, steam, pressure.

Look at how the chair is looking starting to look upholstered and all I have done is glue on the back.

I anchored the fabric to the back side.

Finishing the deck

Now I have stapled the entire back of the chair, and am hand sewing the darts under the arm.

Wow, the front of the chair is done. I remember at this point in the upholstery I was so proud of myself.

Onto on the back.... I have recut the back pieces. The chair back  was upholstered cardboard padded and wrapped in cloth.

To shape the back cardboard, I stapled it in place and steamed the snot out of it, let it dry and voila... Shaped!

Here you can see the Fabric wrapped onto the cardboard, the card was padded with a thin cloth padding.

Once the glue is dry on the back I handsewed the ENTIRE back on.... it sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't. Really.

Voila!!!

Here is the chair upholstered, mounted onto it's frame. I was really proud of myself for rebuilding this chair, I think it was really a great project, where I was able to use a number of different skills and test out some new techniques too. Most of all my client was so happy with it, I know she sits in it every day watching the world go by!