Useful DIY Tips for Reupholstering Chairs To Look Brand New

Yup, we are reupholstering chairs again! You may have noticed the two ugly chairs below in photos taken in my living room. I say ugly but the truth is that the fabric was torn to shreds by cats but the chairs were otherwise like new. Very solid, very firm.

I thrifted these chairs intending to recover them with new fabric as soon as possible. That was three years ago! I was excited to tackle this DIY upholstery project but it kept moving down my to-do list.

Choosing the Right Fabric for Reupholstering Chairs

Part of the reason it took me so long to finish this project was that I couldn’t decide what fabric to use. What finally got me started was discovering an online fabric store with a great selection of affordable fabric and bonus, they ship to Canada! I spent a good amount of time browsing Fabric Wholesale Direct’s upholstery fabric selection.

Materials and Tools I Used for This Project

• 10 Yards Microsuede Fabric in the color Copper
• Dust Cover Fabric
• Staple Puller
• Staple Gun
• Upholstery Staples
• Fabric Scissors
• Seam Ripper
• Sewing Machine

I reused:

• The felt fabric on the bottom of the seat cushion and the top of the chair seat
• The velcro to keep the cushion in place
• The cushion zippers
• The piping cord along the edge of the back and armrests
• The upholstery foam was in perfect condition
• The batting was also in good condition

Reupholstering Chairs Step-by-step

Step 1

I started by removing the legs and dust cover on the underside of the chair. I worked on one chair at a time, in case I was unsure what to do and needed to see how it was done originally. Since I’m not a seasoned upholsterer, I was a tad nervous about this project and copied the original upholstery to a T.

Step 2

Once the bottom was open, I started pulling staples to remove the original fabric without ripping it apart. Thousands of staples! I don’t have a staple remover or staple puller, but a thin flathead screwdriver and pliers worked just fine.

Step 3

By carefully ripping all the seams apart, I could use the existing fabric panels to cut panels from the new fabric.

Step 4

After cutting out all the new fabric panels, I used my sewing machine to sew together all the panels that needed to be attached. Getting the curves of the wings and inner arms right was challenging, to say the least.

Step 5

Reupholstering chairs with arms and wings and all the bells and whistles sounded fun, but there were times I questioned this decision. I’ve been down this oh-so-familiar road before because I have that gene called: “How hard can it be?”. This part turned out to be very hard!

I put the inner back panel back first and was stumped about where to pull tight and start stapling. The top? The bottom? The middle? My saving grace was the intact foam with indents where the old upholstery’s seams used to sit. Once I got all those aligned, I had more clarity.

Step 5.2 – Undo! Undo! I realized (a little too late) that the seat panel had to go on first, and THEN the big inner back panel.

Step 6

Folding perfect pleats, equally spaced, around the curves of the arms and wings and ensuring they are identical on each side. As I cut the new fabric panels, most of them were cut the exact same size except for the areas where the pleats needed to form around the curves. I left a bit extra to have enough fabric to easily pull it tight. The excess fabric can be cut away after stapling all the pleats.

Step 7

Sewing piping to the outer back panel. At this stage, I was so focused that I forgot to take photos. Sewing the fabric-covered piping cord to the outer back panel, meant more tricky curves!

I used pins to position the outer panel from one arm to the other arm, around the back of the chair.

These curves were extra tricky because when sewing the piping to the back panel, I had to create a little overlapping “flap” that could be pulled open for the staples to be applied.

When flipped back, the staples are concealed! The thick weave of the old fabric was much more forgiving in these areas. The staples were also “camouflaged” by the gray fabric color. I had to make sure no staples were visible against the copper-colored fabric.

The piping had to be stapled from above one front leg, around the top of the back, and down again to the other front leg.

With that in place, the outer panel could be pulled tight at the bottom of the chair and secured with staples.

Step 8

The black dust cover fabric at the bottom was cut from a piece I had left over after covering a headboard a while back. I also reused the discs that protect the fabric from twisting when the legs are screwed back.

Step 9

Using the old felt fabric and zippers, I sewed covers for each seat cushion.

The “Almost New” Chairs In Our Living Room

I think they look amazing! Who knew copper and navy made such a pretty pair? I always felt that the living room was lacking something but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. My impulsive color choice might have solved the puzzle. Let me know in the comments what you think!

Is reupholstering Chairs cheaper than buying new?

In most cases, no. Professional (re)upholstering is an expensive service for a reason. It is labor-intensive and time-consuming. As a DIY project, sure. If you want to save money and have lots of time and patience, go for it!

Until next time, happy DIYing!

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