# Upholstering 2 Chairs For My Living Room



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*My Thoughts Before Beginning.*

Lumberjock Friends,

I've been thinking hard about how I can give back to all of you. One thing is for sure, I can't give back by being your residential woodworking expert. There is not a single thing I can say about woodworking that another lumberjock can't improve upon. I know next to nothing that I didn't learn from you all. Even the woodworking knowledge I have is subject to refinement. In short, I am far more of a student here than I am teacher.

I have seen quite a bit of woodworking that includes upholstery. If you will allow me, I'd like to share my experience with upholstering 2 chairs. I'd like to add as much detail as I can and hopefully, I'll remove quite a bit of the mystery behind upholstery. And again I hope - one of you will give it a try.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


The forum splash page has been acting a little strangely lately. I'm saving the bulk of my thoughts for subsequent posts so I don't put a book on the main screen. I'll come back to this particular thread as nuances to upholstery occur to me.

The question is why even start a blog set with "My Thoughts". It sounds rather self important to me. If you know me, then you know that I'm turning red in the face at the thought of raising myself up above anyone. I'm literally embarrassed right now… Let me get past this…

A few breaths later….

And a Few more….

I suppose the point I want to make up front is that I believe that YOU can do upholstery. At least enough to handle the upholstery of your wood working projects on your own. I believe this.

Despite my belief in you, I know there is a bit of artistry in upholstery. I can't hand it over. Still I encourage you to think along the lines of this metaphor. Someone taught you how to write. You may have even used the same workbooks I used as a child. How come your signature is different? How come I can't make my signature look like yours? Nonetheless, I can still write my signature.

When it comes down to "artistry" in upholstery, know that every upholsterer has a toolbox of skills and knowledge. They use those when they have to solve a problem. What did they see to make them try it this way or that way. Why did they take that tiny piece of cotton and stuff it over there. Why did they change their mind about how they were doing something? Why did they snip the fabric that way. Why didn't they add a staple there and there?

I'll call it artistry because I know that the descriptions I use are not going to be enough sometimes. Put another way, I'm not smart enough to put some things into words. I'll try my best.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


Another Thought before I create an entry that rally gets to the nuts and bolts.

Upholstery is not as precise as woodworking. I don't really care about 1/8 inch here and there. Fine woodworking requires far more precision. I like to think of it with this little example. Make a chessboard with 2.5 inch squares. However, Go ahead and cut the lighter squares 1/64 smaller than the dark squares. Anyone?

You don't have to get out the micrometer every time you snip a piece of fabric. You don't have to make sure your staples are placed at the exact same distance from each other and set in an exact line.

There is quite a bit of freeform work going on and you may enjoy the slight liberation from woodworking precision. I advise that you literally lighten up a little. You'll need to be able see how the upholstery is taking shape far more than you will need to line all of your snips and staples up.

I say enjoy the liberty and look at the overall effect rather than the tiniest of details. When the details are very important, I'll try to draw your attention to it through out the blog.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


I hoped this wouldn't happen. It is taking longer to post than it is do the actual work. Thus far, the work is taking twice as long as I try figure out how to show everyone how to do it through pictures. Lol. I'll keep after it and try to find off hours for posting.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


Mark,

I'll be following this. I'm glad to know there's a resident expert upholsterer I can go to for answers. I've done several pieces in the past, but totally self-taught. Now, with the digital camera, it's easier for me. I take pictures as I take it apart and then go back and look at them when, in my old age and slowness to get the job done, I forget how I disassembled it.

My first project was a simple tufted piano bench about 30 years ago. After that, I built and upholstered a loveseat. (It was pathetically bad and very uncomfortable; I didn't have a clue what I was doing!) I've done a footstool, chair with separate seat and back, 6 dining chairs, numerous valances, four wing chairs (three different styles, all of which should have been thrown away because I needed to rebuild the frames and even repair and carve feet on one). I've got quite a stash of fabric (purchased before a local liquidator retired and went out of business so most of my projects cost me under $20 to complete). I also have a few more pieces of furniture needing reupholstered.

I'm really looking forward to getting some REAL direction. I borrowed videos from the library but they aren't interactive (no one to whom to ask the questions). ;-)

L/W


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


...well "Pay it Forward" then, brother.

We all need to know how to at least add a little padding to our shop stools as we seek a little comfort in the shop.

...btw, your Southwest design series of tables taught a few of us to think outside the Breadboard.

You do have talents to share here on LumberJocks and we look forward to what you and every other LJ has to enlighten us with.

Best Regards. - Len
Work Safely and have Fun.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


Howdy L/W - anytime you like. Just drop me a PM and I'll try to help. Interactive style. If you get in touch with me before you begin upholstery, I'll give you my cell phone number so you can call when your hands are in it.

Len,
How are you brother? I'm going to keep it failrly simple. Most of the stuff I show will be what an Upholsterer/Cutter/Seamstress - whoever and what ever gender is exposed to almost every day. I'm going to step outside of the box - twice. Not crazy out of the box, just a slight twist to the everyday.

Now I have a question, why does the seamstress have to be a gender specific position. In my youth, When the guys ran the sewing machines, they were upholsterers. I haven't been exposed to the industry in many years, but I never met a female upholsterer. I have never met a single man in the business who's ONLY job was sewing. If I met one today - would he be a seamster?

Hmm….


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *My Thoughts Before Beginning.*
> 
> Lumberjock Friends,
> 
> ...


Mark,

Male seamstresses are called tailors. Have you ever heard females called tailoresses? LOL I always felt that a tailor was an honorable profession, but being a seamstress has a lowly connotation-that a tailor was more skilled than a seamstress. Go figure!

L/W


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Fabric - What's the big deal?*

So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?

In this part of the blog, I'll answer some of those questions. I'll focus a lot on the fabric I selected. And then I'll just answer your questions as they come up like - Is this a good fabric? How many yards do I need to buy?

I hope it helps!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


I'd like to give you a very quick guide toward upholstery fabric.

1) Do not use drapery fabric.

It may look OK but it's not designed for durability AND THAT is the least of it. 
Drapery fabric tends to be stretchy. If I don't pull with the exact same tension, I'll get waves in the upholstery. Those are inconsistent ripples across what should be a smooth tailored surface.
Drapery fabric is not made for staples. A staple can grab a thread in drapery fabric and pull it out of alignment. It creates flawed stripes. That's the good news - the bad news is your staple my just slice right through that fabric like a knife.
Drapery fabric does not hide bulk - at all. If your padding is not perfectly consistent, you will see little bumps all over the place.
Drapery fabric is semi-transparent. That sort of speaks for itself doesn't it. 
I have more and more. Just don't get it.

Cotton prints might be an exception but it a reverse notion. You are talking about an upholstery fabric that can be used for drapes. But that is the key - upholstery first.

2) Do not buy fabric that frays easily. Have you ever cut the legs off your blue jeans? You get a bunch of string hanging and you have to keep pulling them off until you end up with that bit of fluffy threads. When you shop for fabric, take a look at the end of the fabric. If there is already substantial fraying, just say no.

Guess what - I covered 98% of the no-no's in 2 bullets.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


What did I get?










It's a polyester cotton blend that is semi durable. You don't want it in the Den or on your favorite easy chair.

I really want to talk to you about the repeat of the fabric because it will really effect how I have to think about the fabric.

If you can follow the yardstick, I placed the edge on top of a gold line. The distance to the next gold line is 7 1/4 inches. That is the horizontal repeat.

So what? At 7 1/4 inches add about 20% to your yardage estimate.

The vertical repeat is about one inch. I say about because I really don't care. It won't mess up my life and I may make a few decisions based on that small repeat later but it will not be a decision that wastes a lot of fabric.

So what? At 1 inch repeat - Don't add anything to your yardage estimate.

Is there a top and bottom? Hmm.. I did a quick edit on my photo to show you if there is a top and bottom.










It's a mirror image. The pattern changed direction like you would expect. If the pattern seemed to continue through then there would not really be a top or bottom - sort of. Any how - The fabric will change direction as I roll it over an arm. Sometimes the arrows will be pointing up and sometimes down. It knocks precision matching right out of the picture.

So What? I know that I can't match perfectly and either I live with it - OR - Choose another fabric. *If* up/down the mirror image just seemed like a continuation and you wanted to take advantage of it, add 10% to yardage estimate.

Is there a left and right? Take a look at another edit.










The bottom of the pic shows the normal run of the fabric. The top right of the image shows yet another mirror image. The mirror image and the bottom do not match up. There is a right and left to the fabric.

So What? I know that I can't match perfectly and either I live with it - OR - Choose another fabric. *If* the left/right mirror image just seemed like a continuation and you wanted to take advantage of it no need to add yardage.

Of course there are tons of things to think about with this fabric like how will I prevent the furniture from looking chaotic? - That's a big one actually but I'll show you how I handle it later.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


Did you know that there is a definite top and bottom to velvet? Huh? It looks like one solid color.

Take your hand and actually pet the velvet in a long stroke down (or maybe up) the length of the fabric. Does it feel smooth or rough? Ok - no fair - You need context. Pet it the opposite direction. NOW you can feel a difference. That's called the nap. The nap should feel smooth in the downward direction and rough in the upward direction. If you don't consider that when you upholster you'll get some interesting results. The velvet will look different colors if you run it in opposite directions because the nap direction catches the light differently.

Something to think about.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


Did you know that upholstery fabric is 54 inches wide?

That is a most of the time measurement. Sometimes I see 56 inches. When you get a yardage quote, they are basing it on 54 inches.

Sometimes you will see 60 inch wide upholstery fabric. It is the real thing. It just wasn't intended for your furniture. It was made for your car.  There are some other 60 inch wide fabric out there. Be wary. If they are thin - they just might have been made for cubicle walls. You definitely don't want that.

Sometime you will see 40 to 48 inch fabric. You need to suspect that it was one of 2 things:
A) Not upholstery fabric.
B) Made by hand.

Some of the 'made by hand fabric' is ok to use but I wouldn't ever do my first project in one of those. They are real finicky and you practically need to double the yardage you use.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


Mark,

We ran across some very wide upholstery fabric that we used to reupholster the church pews in a 100-year-old country church (don't remember if it was 72" or even wider). I think it was $1.00/yard if I remember correctly. It made for an affordable fix for the dirty, mismatched slipcovers. That's the only fabric I've ever bought that wide besides nylon netting.

L/W


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


Mark,

We LJs are to verying degrees, familiar with the durability, or lack of, the different types of wood finishes and each has their proper uses.
What considerations went in to your fabric selection for your 'Living Room Chair' project?

If I've asked this question, out of order and you are going to cover it later, just tell me to …wait for it.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


Howdy Len,

I'll answer it real fast so you can skip my story if you like.
1) It matches my color scheme.
2) Most importantly - thrift.

Now a little more detail. This fabric at one time retailed at $30 to $50 a yard. Not because I ever saw the price. I'm just giving opinions.

The weave is very tight and bonded to the back side. It has a very high thread count. 
When I pull the fabric diagonally, there is very little stretch. 
The dye is extraordinarily intense compared to lesser fabrics. You'll have to do some side to side comparisons to try and see what I am saying.
When I pet the fabric, my calloused hands don't catch anything. It feels luxurious. This is no knock off.
The fabric has a tiny amount of fraying - maybe a thread or two at the cut edges. That's good.
This is what I expect from a high quality thin fabric.

Now the thrifty part requires a story. 
Years ago - I entered a local thrift store. They were trying to unload the 100 yard bolts of material. I bought 5 of them for 32.50.
I used bits and pieces of that fabric for all kinds of things. I even upholstered a couch in it. (not pleased)

Well - I was sitting on over 450 yards of this stuff - regretting that I bought it and had to store it when I decided to try my luck at a swap. I remembered a close out fabric place in Dallas and hauled the whole batch down there. They sell fabrics that have been discontinued for some reason or another. Even though I drop by fairly often, they hardly ever have anything worth buying - but this time - they did. Talk about luck!

I offered them the bolts of fabric for a $100 dollar swap. The owner said yes very easily then spoke with the sales clerk. She said - go take a look.

Well I picked out this fabric and that. It was about $3 to $4 a yard but well over $250 worth. I just wanted to check yardage before deciding. The clerk checked yardage for me and I started thinking about how to maximize my $100 credit. She asked "Do you like all of these?" Yes I do. She said "Done".

They gave me over $250 in credit in the end.

Now I speak of just this one fabric with over 20 yards. At the low retail estimate - It sold for $600. I still have other bolts of fabric and I already upholstered a large sectional in other choices.

Remember my original cash outlay? $32.50.
It took a lot of shopping around but I thoroughly enjoyed that part as I met contacts here and there.

That is the biggest "Boast" I can think of but the truth be told, It's not MY boast. The man upstairs was watching out for me. He knocks it out of the park when he steps up to bat for you.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


AH HA!! ...material 'Gloat' ...you suck.  
Don't ya just love the Barter System??

O.K., durability, I got it, oak vs. pine. Costs a little more but the right material for the purpose.

Thanks.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


LW - The widest I have seen is 120 inches. They keep it on 60 inch bolts. I have only seen very thin and sheer fabrics for large drapery panels. I've only seen that a few times.

The 72 inch wide upholstery weight fabric is way cool - You have seen something I never have. I have to add it to my fabric bucket list.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Fabric - What's the big deal?*
> 
> So what is the big Deal about upholstery fabric. What do I need to know? Is there a top, left side, right side and bottom. Is it stretchy, is it velvet, is it thin, is it thick, is it heavy, is it slippery, is it clothing fabric, is it drapery fabric, is it upholstery fabric, is it, is it and is it?
> 
> ...


Mark,

I had some of that upholstery fabric left so I went out to the shop and measured it: 74" wide. It seems like a really strange width. Maybe that's why I found it at a liquidator so cheap.

L/W


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Measuring the Chair Body*

What size do all those upholstery pieces need to be? It's not so bad actually to determine that. It's exactly like making a cut list.

I labeled some parts of the chair for you.


























In case it's hard to read,

I have an inside back, Outside back, 2 inside arms, 2 outside arms, Deck and front. The rest of the parts are like trim pieces.

Here is what you need to get started (aside from the chair).










Yup - that's paper, a pen (pencil, crayon, tablet etc..) and measuring tape. Take a look at the blog to see how it's done.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Measuring the Chair Body*
> 
> What size do all those upholstery pieces need to be? It's not so bad actually to determine that. It's exactly like making a cut list.
> 
> ...


Go ahead and write the parts you are going to cut on your paper.









You can start any place you like. I'll start with the deck.









I pushed the measuring tape a few inches into that crack that catches all the cheerios and loose change.










And then I came all the way to the line where the deck is sewn to the front (or front deck). There is about a half inch of fabric involved with that seam so you can add that into you measurement. That is the front and back.

Now side to side. I skipped the fabulous photography and just measured from out side arm to at side arm at deck level.

Write it down.

How about the front of the chair?








This time start measuring at the deck seam and remember that extra half inch. 








I wrapped that tape all the way to the underside the added an inch and a half (or just add 2 inches to your one measurement…)
Write it down.

How about side to side of the front?








I started an ample amount past the outside arm then went wrapped the whole front of the chair and added an equal about to the other side.
Write it down.

We have the Deck and the front measured.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Measuring the Chair Body*
> 
> What size do all those upholstery pieces need to be? It's not so bad actually to determine that. It's exactly like making a cut list.
> 
> ...


Arms next.

Top to bottom:








Get that tape a few inches into the cheerios trap.








Then wrap the tape all the way around to the outside arm and add a few inches.
Write it down.









I started with an ample amount of slack to the middle of that cover-up panel then found the longest distance to the back of the chair. 









Write it down.

Outside arms top to bottom.








Start at the place where inside arm meets outside arm.










Bring the tape underneath and add 3 inches.
Write it down.

Those are the arms.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Measuring the Chair Body*
> 
> What size do all those upholstery pieces need to be? It's not so bad actually to determine that. It's exactly like making a cut list.
> 
> ...


Alrighty then,

Martha wanted to use the pc so this is an iPhone post. No images included this time.

Inside back top to bottom. 
Insert the measuring tape into the fruit loop catcher were the deck and inside back meet. Wrap the tape all the around to where the outside back meets the inside back. Add a few inches.

Write it down.

Side to side. 
Wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of the inside back. It's usually at the top of the arms. Add at least 5 inches because of the slant of the back. You have to reach further with the fabric, the lower you go.

Write it down.

Outside back.

Just measure top to bottom and side to side. Add 3 inches to both and write it down.

You are finally ready to get out the scissors. Have a lot of fun. I'll post a body cutting blog when I can get to the pc and the urge.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Measuring the Chair Body*
> 
> What size do all those upholstery pieces need to be? It's not so bad actually to determine that. It's exactly like making a cut list.
> 
> ...


...'deer in the headlights' stare, ...but i'm good to go 'cause you included visual aids to refer back to.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Measuring the Chair Body*
> 
> What size do all those upholstery pieces need to be? It's not so bad actually to determine that. It's exactly like making a cut list.
> 
> ...


Howdy Len,

For the most part - If you measure how big it is and add 3 inches, You're going to be correct most of the time. The rest of the time - you may need to extend the fabric by sewing on a pull. I actually had to do that on this project.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Cutting the body*

We have all of the body measurements. It's a good time to pull out the scissors.

Here is what you may need.










Cutting list, Chalk, pen, Yardstick of straight edge, measuring tape and in most cases a carpenter square.

I bought a carpenter square at a sewing supply company for $20 once. I bought the one you see for $9.00. It is far better than the one I bought at the sewing supply store. Live and learn.

Here we go - let's hurry up and pause. Before marking my cut lines - I need to know what the center is and which way is up. It's decision time.










My green arrows point to the center. And the top of the image is the top of the fabric from now on.
You are going to cut rectangles to the sizes you measured in the cutting list BUT your center has to be dead on. For this striped fabric, the deck, front, inside back and outside back should all center in the same place.

Let's say I had to cut a 36 inch wide rectangle. The center is 18 inches. I carefully measure the edge of the fabric to my fabric center. 








That's about 19.5 inches. Good! It's over half what I need. Now - from the center I need to measure 18 inches in the opposite direction.









Since the fabric is almost a perfect stripe, I don't have to lay down vertical chalk lines. The horizontal lines are a must.









I love not having to mark some lines. 









When I cut the pieces that have to have a center - I mark it clearly so I can see. Here is the center of the inside back.









It may look like I got my fabric upside down. I'll be more specific, It is the top center of the inside back. 









IB - that stands for inside back. No need to guess. You should label every piece. The label should be at the the top of the piece every time.

OK - you have cut the Back pieces and the Deck pieces. You used your center and carefully measured from there. You also marked the center so you can find it at a glance.

We still need the arms.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Cutting the body*
> 
> We have all of the body measurements. It's a good time to pull out the scissors.
> 
> ...


I have to go back to my earlier posts. I have to know my fabric. I have a repeat of 7.25 inches but no reflections in the fabric. Top to bottom and side to side prohibit matching on every part of the chair. The arms are not going to match each other unless I put one arm upside down. I decided not to do that.

I have plenty of extra fabric so I'm going to do something that is somewhat of a luxury and slightly wasteful. I will cut my rectangles for the arms but I will add one repeat to the width. If my arm is 30 inches front to back, I add the repeat of 7.25 and get 37.25. That's my new size. Without having to center anything I just cut 4 of them. I'll decide how to line up the stripes at upholstery time.

I also had a piece of fabric left over that was 28.5 top to bottom. I looked at my cut list and found that I marked the outside arms at 15 inches top to bottom. I went back and re-measured the arms and see that I can use 14.25 inches instead of 15. I just have to be careful at upholstery time. That's a saving.

A word of caution. Don't cut the fabric so close to the actual size that you can't get your fingers on the fabric. If the finished measurement is 13, don't try 13.5. It is next to impossible to upholster that close to the mark. There is nothing for the staple to hang onto and you can't pull the fabric evenly. It will cost you several times over in time if you don't waste it completely.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Cutting the body*
> 
> We have all of the body measurements. It's a good time to pull out the scissors.
> 
> ...


Chalk - How utterly fascinating…

Well - not in the least. It's hard to draw a line that is not 1/2 inch thick with a stick of chalk. A picture is worth a thousand words so here we go with 2000 words.


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## Kryptic (Nov 8, 2013)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Cutting the body*
> 
> We have all of the body measurements. It's a good time to pull out the scissors.
> 
> ...


life is a box of crayons

made from fabric

an underestimated skill in tapestry

too few appreciate


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Cutting the body*
> 
> We have all of the body measurements. It's a good time to pull out the scissors.
> 
> ...


...I'm gonna' need to make more coffee…


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*A little body stitching.*

There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.

The front of the chair and deck need a bit of sewing. Take a look at this rounded front edge and the old stiches.









There are several ways to skin this cat. One is to take off the fabric, undo the stitches then trace the cutouts onto you new fabric. I have to do that sometimes. Let's get a little adventurous.

Since I have a pattern with a center, measure the old fabric on the chair and mark the center.









Get your front piece that you already clearly marked and line it up to that center mark.









Now slide the fabric over that old seam about 1/2 inch because that's how thick your seam will be. If you need to remark you center on the old fabric - go for it.









You might want to pin the new fabric to the old so you can work on you markings without fear of slippage. Me, I just wrapped that fabric around the front. I had to line it up with that half inch seam and make sure I wasn't losing any length. The I almost let the fabric fold up the way it felt like doing. A couple of loose pleats and I got this.









You may notice that I marked the tip of the pleat with chalk. It tells me - THE PLEAT ENDS HERE. Oh, that must have been some incorporeal booming voice. I'll ask it to quiet down.

Let's do some more chalking.









I just marked a shadow of where the seam will be. It will touch the edges of the chalk but not go into the chalk. If I take that front to my cutting board and lay it out, I see a crooked M for MARK the Fiddler. I used blue chalk to show you where I plan on cutting the fabric which near to 1/2 inch inside the white chalk shadow. I fudged it a little bit but you won't need to.









Cut out your M by following the blue chalk.









Fold your fabric over on your center and trace out the opposite side.









Cut it out!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


Stitching time.

I am so sorry I can't teach you how to sew in this blog. I'll see what I can come up with. If you follow my id to home refurbers, you can find some sewing vids there.

I started by taking the inner angle of the M cutout and folding it very carefully with the top of the M as the apex. I didn't allow any shifting of the fabric.









I Stitched that up.








I folded the second angle of the M the same way and stitched it up.
Here is the result.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...












A quick check on the chair…









Stitch the other side the same way and check that on the chair.









Next - we need to attach the front to the deck. But I'm taking a break - See you soon!!


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


I wish I could do That Mark.

You are really good at it.
Nice blog.


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all your time and info Mark. This is really interesting to me. Off & on I make wing chair upholstery frames for an antique dealer. I only see the finished chair. On the real chair the arm is 90* to the position in the photo.




























My wife is very interested in this as well, she is in the rag trade and is very good at men's & women's tailoring but mostly coordinats overseas work. I have a couple nice vests, still waiting for my tweed riding coat.

By the look of those cigs we have more in common than just sawing away on fiddles.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


Mark,

I'm finding out that I haven't done anything right! I never cut the excess out of the darts or pleats and I've never sewn them. ;-( I've just tucked it as I stapled, but I've never had a deck quite like that one either. Also, I've never measured the parts . . . just taken the old upholstery off and cut around it, adding a little excess to the edges.

Live and learn. Thanks for your teaching.

L/W


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


Howdy!

Lan - I have seen your woodworking. I really believe you can do this. One step at a time my friend.

Tex - I really like what I see. I have the feeling that I'll be seeing some upholstery coming from your neck of the woods. When you get a chance, please show me more of the chairs.

L/W - Wrong/Right? If it looks good and keeps it's shape - it's right. It really sounds like you have been into this adventure for a while. For you, this will merely be a few new techniques to add to your toolbox. Maybe this blog will make something easier in the future. Feel free to ask away. On the flip side, feel free to share your techniques. They are going to help someone.

I have forgotten why I do some things and I'm trying to ask myself those questions as I upholster the chairs. Why did I do that? My biggest fear is I'll gloss over something major. You can be a big help by pointing something out. I would really appreciate it. I think anyone interested in upholstering their work will appreciate it as well.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


Now that the front of the chair is stitched, we need to attach it to the deck. Normally, I wouldn't use the same fabric on the deck, if I needed to conserve fabric. I suppose I can elaborate on that in a different post but I'll give a short reason why you would use a different fabric on the deck.

$50 a yard vs. $2 a yard.

I flopped my front and deck pieces on the sewing machine table to look at how I want them to line up. 









Then I flipped the Front onto the deck. 









You'll notice that I can see the pattern on the backside. It will really make matching a lot easier. I just have to make sure that what I see on the back side is what I get on the front side. Look at front on the same piece of fabric very carefully. Does the gold strip on the back represent the gold stripe on the front? In my case, the back matches the front perfectly.

Ok, pictures and words are going to fail me here. I'll try. I know the front will be sewn onto the deck in an L shape at both ends. I'm going to disregard the "L" for the moment and just sew the longest part of the front to the deck. 








It's hard to tell but I'm targeting the seam to start 1/2 inch into the L. I had to carefully position the L so I wouldn't catch any fabric underneath. I set the sewing machine arm down and started stitching. I made the machine run backwards (Backed up) to reinforce my starting spot.

You have just connected 2 pieces of fabric but before you stitch the whole thing, take a quick peek to see if you are matching the fabric.









If no - carefully undo and start over. I don't recommend fudging. You will get unexpected puckers and ripples than translate badly into the upholstery and cause you 10 times the work in the end.

If yes.
Sew all the way through and 1/2 inch past the "L" shape on the other side.









Back up your stitch to reinforce the take a look at your work.









Nice Match!

We need to secure the "L" shapes down at the ends of the deck.
Here is what it looks like on the underside right by a future L shape.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


I need to snip a little piece of fabric so I can stich a right hand turn.









Do not snip over 1/2 inch into the fabric. That is your margin. However, added the little snip keeps the fabric from curling up when you turn it 90 degrees. Curls are hard to work with. 

Ok, Lay the front down at a right angle to the deck and drop a few stitches. *Adjust *a little bit if necessary and sew a little more. We'll have to come back to that word adjust. If I miss the boat, remind me. It's important.










You may noticed that I flipped the end of my fabric over before I stitched off into never land? That 1/2 inch fold just hid the ragged edge.

Take a peek at the top side. 









Not bad. Not perfect either. It is very good for something that will be covered with a cushion. Making that right hand turn can get a little tricky. This is an excellent place to try a tricky bit of stitchery because it is under the cushion and just about anything you do will look better than what the factory did.

While I'm at it, I'll throw in an optional top stitch just to add a chance to practice some tricky stuff. (I'm way out of practice.)










Not bad - not perfect. It's going to look great.

Let's throw the deck and front onto the chair and see what we have.










Ah ha! The main body of the chairs have been cut and sewn - It's time to get out the stapler.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *A little body stitching.*
> 
> There is very little on these chairs that I need to sew on the body. Still, a little might be just enough of an example for some of you.
> 
> ...


...blurry eyed, but the caffine is kicking in.

BTW, the geometric pattern that you choose, helps to follow the match ups as opposed to a solid color material, on the twisty, turny sewed down parts.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Striping the old fabric and padding off*

I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.

In the meantime, I put together an incomplete blog series on home refurbers. Since we weren't getting much readership over there, I got lazy and didn't flesh it out like I plan on doing here. This is actually a benefit because I can switch back and forth and take pictures of what was and how I'm making it happen.

Stay tuned for more on these particular chairs.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Mark,

Thanks for the break, I was getting a cramp in my cerebral cortex, nothing that a small dose of sawdust won't rectify, but hey, I'm enjoying the blog. ;-)


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Has the cerebral cortex unwound yet? I think the brain would understand it better while working on it. Do you have any of your progress photos to share?


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Howdy,

Even though this blog won't be current, I promised to come back and flesh this blog entry out. Here we go…

Get yourself a tool an upholstery supply store to help you lift the staple. There is NO substitute for a stripping tool. They are a little proud of these tools so expect to pay around $20.
















Anyhow, you can take that tool and pry the staples up. I usually use a mallet to get the sharp edge under the staple then pry up immediately. After you pry up the staple, get a DULL and comfortable pair of wire cutters and pry the rest of the staple up. You'll get in the flow.

Turn the chair upside down and start removing staples. You see those rusty staples? Um - this chair didn't go swimming or anything like that. I found it on the curb. Get it? That means, I need to wipe down the wood underneath with bleach. For that reason - I'm going to say optional quite a bit. These upholstery supplies are expensive. If you are reupholstering your own furniture, you may be able to reuse your padding.









Alrighty then - I removed the grey fuzzy dust cover and revealed the bottom of the chair upholstery. Take ALL of those staple out.









Did it take a while? It usually does. You are about 20% done.









Now we need to work on the back of the chair.









I just grabbed that skirt with a pair of pliers and yanked it off.









The staples left behind were easy to pry out with those dull wire cutters.










In this next shot, I removed some staples so I could grab the corner of the outside back.









One quick yank later and Presto!










Warning: there is a nasty injury waiting for your right here. It called a tack strip with nails. This is the modern version of it. Carefully remove it and deposit in the trash.








Do the other side of the back. I had some cover-ups in my way. I popped them loose with a screwdriver.








It was destroyed in the process. I chucked it. Good thing too because you don't want to step on it.









Now I can remove the staples holding that part of the outside back on.








Now I can see the top of the outside back. Give this part a good yank and it should come out with most of the staples.








Ok now I can clearly see where the side upholstery is usually covered by the outside back. Take all those staples out.








I can also see where the inside of the arm is attached to the chair, Take out those staples. 









The section where the seat and back are attached is also hiding back here. Pull up those staples.









And of course the inside back is stapled up top (bottom cuz the chair is upside down). Get rid of those staples.









OPTIONAL: The inside back padding is usually attached here. Remove those staples. 









Did that take long? Whew! Let's say 50% done.









I've got to give my angelic daughter the PC for a while. I'll finish up here later.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Let's work on the sides of the chair. I just sat it on the floor and started to work.
Part of the skirt was left behind so I just grabbed that hunk of cording and ripped it off. Most of the staples got partially pulled out of the wood so it was a quick job to pry them out with the dull wire cutters.










The outside arm is already look at the bottom.









I just popped the front cover-up off then removed the few staples holding the outside arm to the front of the arm.









I just grabbed the outside arm with the wire cutters and yanked it loose. I had a few loose staples leftover. The I loosened and removed the rest of those staples.

















I pulled the fabric over the arm to expose the padding underneath.

Optional: Remove the staples holding the padding in place.
Optional: Remove the forming cardboard.









There are a few staples holding the seat to the outside arm. Remove those staples.









Remove the staples holding the inside back to the side of the chair.









Remove the staples holding the fabric to the front of the arm.









Remove the staples holding the inside arm and seat to the inside base.









Take a breath! you are 70% done!









Flip the chair over and start over on the other arm.









I ran into some foam deterioration on the second arm. 
NOTE: The 2 arms have now changed. I went from optionally removing the arm padding to MUST remove the arm padding because of this little bit of foam dust.









That padding will no longer outlast the fabric you place on top of it. If you see this tell tale sign. Repad - even if you were the only owner. Any upholstery shop that will leave the old padding there is after the quick buck.

Finished with that side. 90% done and you are about to reap the rewards of your patience. Not only will you have a cleanly stripped piece of furniture, but you're gonna enjoy the next part.

Put the chair on the work surface right side up - Finally… If you have any skirt left over - rip it off and remove any straggling staples.








Lift the front of the seat up. 








Grab the padding and tear it off. 
Optional: If you want to reuse that padding - you can. Just remove the staples carefully and save it to the side.









Sorry about following photos. 
I grabbed the fabric on the inside arm.









One quick tug and it MOST of it came right off.









It looks like I didn't do what I told you all to do because the fabric is still attached at the front of the arm. BAH!









I just yanked the fabric and padding off then cleaned up the remnants.









Ok - Grab a hold of that inside back material.










YANK and 2 seconds later--









Optional: Grab the inside back padding and yank.









You can remove the seat through the same method. 

















I also removed that piece of nasty padding.









You are DONE!!! Stripping that is.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Bulky garbage….. I can fill my little dumpster after stripping one piece of furniture.

I've got a trick for you if you get bulk trash pick up.

I throw a piece of cording or a very long strip of waste fabric on the floor. Then I spread the biggest piece of discarded fabric I can find on top of that cord. After that - I stack large bulky piece of fabric and padding I can find on top of it.










And then. Well…. You get it.









A Burrito! Just set out for bulk pick up.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Mark I gotta' tell ya, nothing this erotic ever happened in any of my past workshops…

…take a pair of pliers, grab her skirt and rip it off…
...reach under her arm, grab that fabric and yank it, most of it should come off…

I gotta go have a cigarette, be back in a minute…

Work Safely and have* Fun*. Len


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Striping the old fabric and padding off*
> 
> I left one chair fully upholstered and I stripped one to the bone a year ago. No it doesn't take a year  I just stripped it and stashed it. That means I don't have any current pictures to show you. I'll need to come back to this post and flesh it out later.
> 
> ...


Lmao!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Preparing the seat.*

Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.

I'll give some pretty decent details about mine though.

I'll say something else before we go too far because we are a woodworking community, They don't make em like they used to. However, this frame is pretty good for having been constructed in the last 10 years or so. Mostly Solid oak. Decent joinery. Very sturdy. I'll confess something - I picked these chairs out of a dumpster behind a donation center. They correctly assumed that no one would pay for the old ratty chairs. Me on the other hand - I tore the bottom off one of the chairs and said - YES!!!










That bit of white thing hanging off the front of the chair is called edge roll. More on that later.

The front of the arm meets the seat solidly. That will make this job easier when I get down to upholstering it. I knew that before I did all the sewing on the seat itself. In retrospect, it influenced how I put the seat together.

Take a closer look at the springs. Those are reinforced coil springs. Those coil springs are the best and I will dare say that they are better than the old ways. They take minutes to install and are ready to go. It used to take me half a day to install a coil spring base on a couch. That was enough time to upholster the body on 2 other couches.









I have to put some burlap over the springs so the padding will have something to rest against. Except - I don't have any. I bought this super tough, super ugly fabric a few years back. It will out perform burlap and I paid about 20 cents a yard.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Preparing the seat.*
> 
> Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.
> 
> ...


In this case I don't have to worry about pulling the burlap too hard and compressing the springs so it's an easy job. Just line it up front and add staples. Go around to the back of the chair and pull it through.










Tug really hard and staple it down to with a few inches of each arm.









Snip out the places where the burlap needs to go past the wood. You don't want to create a lot of bulk and you don't want to cut too much or your padding will fall through.










Cut off the excess and fold it over. Add a few staples to keep it out of your way.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Preparing the seat.*
> 
> Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.
> 
> ...












In my case, I was able to just staple the edge roll back down.









I am mostly done with discussing the seat preparation and some of what I add now is part of the actual upholstery but let's go a little further.

I want to pad the seat directly under the deck material so I did the following.

I measured the old chair from where the front meets the deck to the roll over. It was 3 1/4 inches. Since I am using a half inch seam, I subtracted that and got 2 3/4 inches. I drew the horizontal line you see below at 2 3/4 inches. I also measured the outside arm to outside arm at the horizontal line to get my center. I marked it.










The seat has been prepared. It's after 9 AM and I want to go to church and build a picture frame for a buddy. I'll continue posting after I finish my day.


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Preparing the seat.*
> 
> Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.
> 
> ...


YARD SALE TOOLS ONE MIGHT NEED SOME DAY.

About 10 years ago Joyce, (SWMBO) bought a nice Singer, cabinet, sewing machine at the neighbor's yard sale for $25.00, "cause I mignt make new kitchen curtains", ...never happened. The machine has lived in my last three shops with a 3/4" plywood protective top, supporting my bench top drill press and two bench grinders, the drawers are quite handy storage, and my shop vac fits nicely in the knee hole under it.
...fast forward 10 years to this blog, a little TLC and some machine oil and it may see the light of day once again
...just a thought, no real expectations anytime soon. ...bobbins and needles and thread, oh my!

Enjoying your Blog, with a little light levity. - Len 
...hmm, wondering if I may need a SawStop sewing machine…


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Preparing the seat.*
> 
> Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.
> 
> ...


This is a really interesting blog. Thanks for putting it together!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Preparing the seat.*
> 
> Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.
> 
> ...


Ha Len, A saw-stop sewing machine.

Wait a moment while I go take a picture.

There we are.

Oh sorry - I need to finish my printer installation.

Ok - done. Oops. Restroom break.

Ok - wow I'm real sorry - I had a smoke after the restroom break. Are you hungry - BRB.

Whew, that was a lot of food…










That right there is the business part of my old industrial machine. It's called a walking foot because it will grab the fabric and move it away from you one notch at a time. The needle comes down and make a stitch then the walking foot does it's thing again.

I have never put that hefty needle through my finger. The foot is in the way. Still I think the needle would have been far less painful. I got my finger under that walking foot once consider a direct and unyielding hammer strike to the side of your finger where it gets compressed down to 1/16 of an inch, then while it is squashed the hammer then turns into a pair of pliers that yanks your flesh forward. Finally the foot will lift up to a geyser of the red stuff.

That's not near as bad as a saw accident but I can see a SEW STOP out there.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Preparing the seat.*
> 
> Man oh man - there are tons of ways that the seat of a piece of furniture can be prepared. I just don't have time to go into all of them. If you have questions about yours, feel free to ask.
> 
> ...


Steve,

I missed your post!! I'm very sorry.

You are one of the people I was thinking about when I started putting this together. You have already shown glimmers of brilliance in the upholstery battlefield. All of your work looks professional. It's all there. I hope you try something big next time.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Upholstering the seat*

Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!

45% preparation - 45% finishing 10% upholstery.

You will need cotton which can be bought at an upholster supply company for about $30. Mine is 30 inches wide which is just right for upholstery.

I walked over to my roll and literally tore off about a 25 inch length. I'm going to say my magic words again. This isn't wood working. You measure precisely and cut with scissors. There is no benefit except for saving a few inches of cotton in the end of your cutting and measuring ordeal. Once again - I'll say relax.

Anyhow, I flopped the cotton right down on top of the deck.










Now I'm going to tuck the cotton under the back and arms of the chair. That will leave me all the extra right up front. I need to make this cotton reach to within 1/2 inch of the chalk line I marked in the last Blog. It's to long so I can cut it, OR (You guessed it) Tear it. I just put my left hand on the cotton so I could hold it close to the line then tore away excess with the right hand.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


Here is what it looks like after I tore it and tucked it under.


















The following picture shows a big wad of cotton sticking out the back of the chair. That cotton is also right on top of where I'm going to put staples. You want it out of the way and you don't want to put staples through it if you can avoid it. Guess how I removed the excess. 










Now - Grab the seat of the chair. That's the deck and the front we carefully stitch together. Lay it down on top of the cotton. Only the deck will be covering the cotton, The front of the chair will be folded back and out of the way. While your at it, line up those two center marks you chalked in earlier. Look down this blog for context pictures - because - I forgot…

Now you need a big curved needle and some tough nylon twine.

The needle - you can buy at one of those artsy craftsy stores - OR - pick one up at the upholstery supply while you're buying the cotton.

Now the twine. Button twine is the best. Unless the upholstery supply store sells tiny spools - It's going to cost over $50. Let's go to Walmart instead. Don't buy kite string and thread just won't cut it. Pick one of these spools up for 97 cents and you'll meet your needs nicely.










Cut the string at 1.5 times the width of the deck. Thread the needle. Line up your center and hold it down with your left hand. Gently pull the seam to the right with your right hand without loosing the center. Remember that the half inch seam is meeting the horizontal chalk line. Press down with your right hand to secure where your first stitch goes. You can let go of your left hand and take over the job of holding the fabric that your right hand is doing. With your right hand, make a small stitch with the curved needle that goes front to back. Tie it in a knot.

Let's see if this picture helps.










Now start stitching right to left. Get that needle really close to the hem as you're doing so.










Alrighty then. All that amounts to is you just centered your seat, found your start point to the right and stitched it down. Then you started sewing. If you are left handed. Flip all of my directions.

Check your center. If you have to tug kind of hard or you jumped past it. Start over. It's all good. If you allow yourself to be off center, no matter what fabric you are using, you will pay dearly with time spent trying to correct the mistake.

Another alrigthy and I'm at the center.









Yet another alrighty and I'm at the end and tying it down. Except I cheated and stapled the twine to the wood. I did not pull hard to the wood! I just took out the slack and stapled it. 









This is what it will look like.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...












WARNING!! If your stiches catch the springs - It's going to look lumpy and the spring action will eventually wear through the twine. Don't do that. Just catch the burlap with the curved needle.

Now tuck the deck in - No staples, no sniping just tucking.

Here is what it looked like on the back side after I tucked it in.








Can you see my fabric? It's about two inches from the wood at the back. 
If you have ever found a board stretcher - you can use it to fix *my big FAT mistake*.

LMAO - I had to take the deck off - sew some extra pieces on at the sewing machine. RE-Hand sew the deck down and one quick picture later I get---


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


A quick thought - The one layer of cotton we put under the deck is not enough for comfort. A thick cushion will be going on top of it.

Alright now. Let's pad the front. I just ripped a short width of cotton off the roll and laid it right down on the front. Using my left hand hold down and right hand tearing technique, I fitted my cotton so it lays on top of the half inch seam we sewed down and it just peeks over the edge roll. Since I have sides on the front of my chair, (Oxymoron) I picked a scrap of cotton off the floor and laid it down on those little sides. With a few quick rips it did the trick.


















Nice! but we need more!! Another layer of cotton should do the trick - But wait just a moment…. This chair used to have a skirt and the new skirt will be stapled on. I don't want to have to staple that skirt on through a bunch of lumpy cotton. I think I'll put a chalk line across the front of the chair. That's the spot with all the old staple holes from the original skirt.









Now I'll add my second layer of cotton on top of my first and I'll wrap down the front. I'll tear it off just above the chalk line.









You know we are just about ready to do some fabric snipping and stapling but let's do ourselves a little favor and mark a few more centers. This is the bottom center of the front of the chair.










Apparently - the back side has no center because I forgot to take a picture of it. Picture or no - I'd mark that center now.

Once again - Precision is not a must here - The more precise your try to be when laying down the cotton, the more you mess with it. The truth is - tearing the cotton is like beveling the thickness. That's a lot easier to work with than a straight scissor cut.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


Ok - I'm about to have a really tough time putting this next part into words. I'll try.
Pull the front fabric over the cotton and place one staple dead center. Add a couple more to either side.










Pull the fabric down on the right hand side and add look ay your stripe. Is it straight up and down. Since the front is wider at the top than the bottom, your stripe may not be perfect. Still, You want to pull downward firmly and gently to the right all at the same time. Add a couple of staples.










Now work the left side. Pull down firmly and left gently. Staple it twice. 
A thought. When I say staple it twice, don't just pull the trigger twice. Space the staples out about half an inch or so.

Warning! The front of my chair is firm. If is made out of wood and edge roll. If there were springs that I could compress that would be a soft edge. Let me know and I'll add some detail to this blog thread. There is more you to consider.

Fun Fun fun - Now we get to staple in between our holding staples. If you just tug down the fabric and staple; you will get ripples. That is major yuck. I'm going to use a left hand smoothing technique to prevent that.










I started with my hand at the seam where the deck and front are sewn together. That's all the way on the top side of the front. I firmly slid my hand over the edge and down almost to the bottom. It's like you are petting an animal in one stroke. When my hand got close to the bottom, I stopped it but kept my thumb going until it was on the underside of the chair. I placed about 3 staples between where my thumb and index finger are separated. This make s a very nice and smooth finish. Practice a few times before adding staples. Even though it doesn't seem like it - You are pulling the fabric. Make sure you hand travels straight down to the bottom without side to side drift. 

















Looks nice. - That one is a huge trick. You will be using it over and over.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


This next section is full of fitting techniques and I took a lot of pictures. I don't know if I can describe what I do but - again - I will try.

I'm jumping ahead to a finished picture so you can see where we are going.

My picture is pointing to three places we have to make very careful cuts to navigate around the board that is the front of the arm.

I advise you to nibble away at your snips and keep double checking. Do it very patiently and slowly. 
First - look at the following two images.


















I have a front of arm, arm brace and the seat in front of the arm. I'm looking at it from where the cushion would be.

You should now have a reference for one of the cuts. Take a look at the following.


























The excess fabric has been pulled toward the center of the chair and you are snipping toward the back side of the front board. Make sure you are cutting at the blue angle. The red angle will ruin the deck.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


Ok - I'm tired so I'll quit till tomorrow night.

I'll answer a question that I may be popping up in your minds.

Why is there a good cut line and a bad cut line.

Let's take a look shall we?

Good cut line.









Bad cut line.









See you tomorrow.


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


Still following.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


I am going to save all these blogs Mark. 
These are a treasure.

Thanks!


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the seat*
> 
> Finally!!! We get to do some upholstery!!!
> 
> ...


Mark,
The text is easy to follow when accompanied by all the photos and visual aids. So far so good.
My right brain is humming happily, while my left brain is more curiously cautious and my mind's eye, in reallity, sees an image a little more Picasso-esque.* :-/*

...remembering years ago of my first attempt at dovetailling 4 corners of a box, it fit fairly well till I tried to mate up the forth corner, ...poof,* ...Picasso*.

...hands on and practice.

Totally enjoying this blog. - Len


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Upholstering the Seat - A bit more*

Howdy - it's been a few days and I thank you all for the kind comments. 
Some of you doubt that you can upholster anything on the first try. I understand the sentiment. I've got to say that my father went into furniture manufacturing after he upholstered his first piece of furniture. It wasn't just Old couch to 20 employees. But you can see the progression starting. He did a great job on his first couch and he said - I think I can do this.

I've got to say that upholstering a seat may seem like a lot of work or it may seem difficult. It's not that bad. Just keep following and you'll be able to do it yourself.

Let's pick up from the last blog.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the Seat - A bit more*
> 
> Howdy - it's been a few days and I thank you all for the kind comments.
> Some of you doubt that you can upholster anything on the first try. I understand the sentiment. I've got to say that my father went into furniture manufacturing after he upholstered his first piece of furniture. It wasn't just Old couch to 20 employees. But you can see the progression starting. He did a great job on his first couch and he said - I think I can do this.
> ...


We have made snips to make the deck fit underneath the arm of the chair. Now we need to make some cuts to make the seat fit around the outside arm of the chair.

Warning! If you have a T shaped chair seat like mine, and the T is made from springs, contact me for more information.

Here's a view of the seat as we look at the front of the arm. 








I have got to clip that fabric a little bit so I can staple the seat to the side of the arm. The Blue line shows the appropriate angle. go Slow as you approach the wooden edge of the outside of the chair. You will be able to sneak up to it with a few tries.








I had two layers to cut because of how I sewed the front of the chair to the deck.

Take a look at what I'm doing, I'm testing the turn from the front piece as it wraps around the wood on the outside arm. I added a blue arrow to show you an area of interest. If you get a pucker in that area, snip a little deeper into the fabric.









My cut was perfect  so I just stapled it down by working from top to bottom. I pulled downward fairly firmly and tugged toward the wood gently at the same time. I laid a row of staples. 









While I was at it, I stapled that side to the bottom of the chair.









The last thing is to staple the fabric to the front of the arm.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Upholstering the Seat - A bit more*
> 
> Howdy - it's been a few days and I thank you all for the kind comments.
> Some of you doubt that you can upholster anything on the first try. I understand the sentiment. I've got to say that my father went into furniture manufacturing after he upholstered his first piece of furniture. It wasn't just Old couch to 20 employees. But you can see the progression starting. He did a great job on his first couch and he said - I think I can do this.
> ...


You might as well attach the seat around the other arm because we are near the finish line (on the seat).

If you haven't done it yet, tuck the back of the seat under the back and tuck the rest of the sides under the arms.

I stapled some of the back down first. Since I'm matching - I added a chalk line to my fabric center and the wood frame center so I could line up the stripes. (EDIT: I don't see my chalk line. I knew I'd miss it if I wasn't thinking about you all.)









We need to make a few more snip but these can be a little bit more forgiving than the front snips were. You will need to un-tuck your fabric by just the corner toward. Once you have that triangular flap of fabric exposed, cut from the tip of the corner to the frame. I forgot to take a picture of that so I did a mock-up in paint.








I pulled the very corner to me then snipped along the green line to the frame.

Now tuck it back in. The rest of the seat is VERY easy.



















Be sure you trim off a bunch of the bulk like my fingers are pointing to the staple the back of the seat follow by both sides. As you staple down the sides, watch that you don't distort your strip. You just need to pull medium firm and add staples.

And then - Stand back and Look!!! The seat is done!!!


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Shaping the Arms*

Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.

On top of that - it's Easy!!!

On top of that - Spend time on the foundation and the rest will be easier.

That's "Two On Top of that's." You can't loose!

Take a look at the bare shape of these arms.










Without doing something to add shape to the arms, I'm going to have a diamond shape when I try to roll the fabric around it. Most manufactures use stiff cardboard to give the arm shape. It's not bad and it's fairly tough. How many times have you sat of the arm of a piece of furniture? Just once can crush the cardboard. Don't do that unless you know how it was shaped. If you knock on the curve, and it makes a sound - It was shaped with cardboard.

Some manufactures do something worse, they pull jute webbing of synthetic strap very tightly from front to back and staple it down. Well - The straps stretch over time or tear loose from the staples. Saggy arm. I won't tell you how to test for this because you can destroy the shape of the arm and the sales staff won't like you.

Some manufacturers do something worse. The just stretch burlap over it which is not near as tough as the jute webbing or the straps. If you feel any of that wood through the fabric by pressing down firmly - just say no.

I'll show you my shaping technique. Again - easy to do.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


Let's change those gaps into curves. I grabbed some 2 inch foam and cut it into strips about 2 inches wide. No need to be precise and measure it out then cut it on the band saw. Just hack away.

I the stapled the foam into the gap on the top outside part of the rolled arm.









I gave it shape by compressing the foam into the slot and stapling top and bottom. I beveled it toward the back as the board diminished to meet the back. Beveling just meant compressing the foam a little harder.

Underneath the outside roll I took some very stiff Dacron polyester scraps, 2 inches wide, and stapled them to the underside of the outer curved board. I left the bottom of the Dacron hanging in the wind. On the inside of the arm, I stapled another two inch strip of foam to the top side only. The bottom was hanging in the wind.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


Now I want to add a layer of burlap to my arm. Again - a Good sturdy fabric will do fine.









Just toss a hunk of it on the arm. Make sure it reaches front to back and all the wall around the arm curve. Go ahead and position it so you can staple it under the outside roll and the bottom rail inside arm.

Staple all the way around the front of the arm.









On the outside arm portion of the cure pull very firmly the back and fairly firm downwards. Add a few staple to the outside arm near the back of the chair. Once you do that. you can tug the rest of the burlap and staple it down the rest of the way to complete the shape of the outside arm curve.









Warning!!! When I stapled down this section, I stapled high and grabbed as little of the wood as I could. In addition, I didn't catch the shaping Dacron underneath. We want all of this work to be out of our way and as thin as possible. A big part of upholstery is bulk management.

Now let's work on the inside of the arm. Pull the burlap down firmly until our piece of shaping foam look like a curve. Staple the burlap to the bottom on the inside arm.









Snip the back corner were the back bottom of the arm meets the inside back bottom wood. Tuck the burlap in to the slot between the back and the arm.









I didn't take a picture of this part but I made a snip near the upper brace as well. You can see where I tucked the burlap through the slot I was describing from the back of the chair.








Go ahead and pull it as tight as you can through the slot and staple it in place. JUST - keep that slot open. 
Trim off the excess and you have something that looks rolled.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


I didn't include this in the rest of the post because it is optional. I wanted to make the front of the arms look a little more tailored so I added edge roll all the way around the front arm. It's the white stuff in the following picture.










That edge roll is going to keep my padding from compressing down to a very thin layer as I upholster that section. I was out of edge roll so I cut a two inch strip of that super stiff Dacron. I doubled it over and stapled it down with the fold toward the front to the chair.

This is a 'me' thing and It may make your life difficult, I overlapped the front wood by about an eighth of an inch when I staple the edge roll down. I'm going to have come back later and add a picture that show you why. Remember - The edge roll is optional and I don't always use it.

We have formed the arm and are ready to go on to add padding. Part 2 of the amazing inside arm series. LMAO


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


Very insightful. When I do my Morris chair, I want to try the upholstery myself. Though I may ask my mother in law.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


That's awesome Norman. A lot of the better generation know how to sew. It's becoming a lost art.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


This is very interesting & educational…

Thank you very much.


----------



## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Shaping the Arms*
> 
> Let's upholster the arms in three stages. This stage, shaping the arms, is most often skipped or ignored especially in these days of Quick Buck furniture. There is no need for that especially if you want your chair to look really good.
> 
> ...


Mark,

I haven't commented because with this dial-up, it times out before all the photos open and I haven't had the time to open them all individually. When I have a little more time and am able to get to a WIFI hotspot, I'll review your tutorial (and save to my computer) so I don't have to worry about my slow connection speed.

Thanks for all the effort you're putting into this.

L/W


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Padding the Arms*

Howdy,

The chair arms have been formed into a nice rolled shape and they are ready to accept padding. This will be fun and it's easier than you may be thinking. It is certainly less exacting than most would expect. Lets get started.

There are 3 major products you can use to pad the arms of a chair. Foam, Cotton or Dacron Polyester.

Foam, 1 to 2 inches thick usually. It Gives a nice uniform shape. but it can be compressed to nothing. When Foam begins to deteriorate, it turns to dust. It's as bad as saw dust and worse for you to breath. I wouldn't worry though, foam will probably last through the next 2 upholstery jobs if it's decent quality.

Cotton, This is the old stand by. It's been around for years and it holds it's shape amazingly well. It's also very easy to work with. When upholstery cotton is milled, you would be surprised how little refinement it gets. That being the case, there are sometimes little twigs in the courser grades. Those little inconsistencies in the texture can show through thinner material. Get it wet and - oh man oh man - It gives off a really musty smell and it takes forever to dry.

Dacron, Does a really good job of shaping and forming your padding but you need a lot to pad an arm well. It's too expensive to try use Dacron exclusively. By the way - this is a solid roll of Dacron - not a bag of fiber fill.

I usually use foam or cotton, with a layer of Dacron on top. It's just my preference for appearance and keeping it's shape.

Now that I gave an intro, I'll start on the how to do it post next.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Padding the Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...












I tore just enough cotton off the roll to warp around the arm. I positioned my first layer of foam to sit just back of my edge roll.








There is not enough to tuck it under the arm and there is not enough to staple it to the roll on the outside arm. I positioned my first layer of foam to sit just back of my edge roll.








I tucked the cotton into the slot between the arms and the back and I have a little bit of bulk to manage at the top and back of the arm.









Before I ripped that hunk off, I went around the side and fitted the cotton along side the back.

Good, Let's get another layer. This time a little longer. I lay the cotton on the arm exactly like before with one difference. This time I overlapped the edge roll in the front by about 1.2 inch or less.









We are ready for the final layer of padding. This time, it's a layer of Dacron. We need to cut it long enough so we CAN tuck it under the bottom of the arm and staple it up and over the curve.









Head around to the back of the arm and put one staple as high up the support rail as you can.









Now you can add a line of staple all the way to the front.









As a reminder, there are two layers of cotton under that Dacron, I made sure that my staple did NOT catch any of the cotton. Dacron will compress flat when I put a staple through it. Cotton will leave a lump. You don't really want to learn how to work with cotton so much that you will need to worry about lumps at the staple site. It you just catch the Dacron with the staples, the rest of your work will be much easier.

I left the back of the arm padding loose. You'll see why when we add the fabric. 









I tuck the Dacron down under the arm by the chair seat and into the slot at the back of the arm. 

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content









In the picture above, my hand is pointing to an area we don't really want to bulk up. The Dacron was cut away from that section intentionally.

As for the front of the arms, I just staple it down around the edge as close to the edge as possible. Once again, I made sure I didn't catch the under layers of cotton with the staples.










Here's a sneak peek at the next blog entry.









I'll continue SOON. Have and a great evening!


----------



## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Padding the Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


...now you're cookin' with P-Nut Oil, startin' to look real comfortable.

Great Blog Mark.

Work Safely and have Fun. - Len.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Padding the Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Thanks Len!

Sometimes I wonder. If I didn't have any typo's - would I have have any content at all? The answer is YES. I'd have grammatical mistakes.

There is one typo that is really bad. On top of that - I used horrendous grammar.
"This time I overlapped the edge roll in the front by about 1.2 inch or less" 
Change 1.2 to 1/2.


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Padding the Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


This is really great Mark!

(FYI - you can go back and edit your original posts, but not the comments. Instead of adding comment for the detail you could edit the post. Either way works - just a style choice)


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*The Inside Arms*

We have formed the arms. We have padded the arms. What's left? Fabric!

I have four cut pieces labeled IA or inside Arm.. I just threw it on top of a padded arm and started laying it out like a bedspread. 









It looks like there is plenty of fabric to reach under the arm but very little fabric staple down. 









I'm going to sew a "pull" onto it.









Funny thing Is I had the opportunity to be real selective about where I wanted 'what' stripe on the inside arm. I didn't give it a thought. I just started stapling.

Just kidding! I decided to put this at the front of the arm.









Holding by selection in place I smoothed out the fabric to about the center of the arm and added a few staples.










I worked from that center to to within a few inches of the front of the arm and a few inches from the back of the arm.

I then threw stuffed the bottom of the arm (with the green pull) into the slot under the arm.









I added 3 staples so I could see how things were shaping up.









Back around to look at the inside and I see the have created some ripples. That's totally expected because we are pulling the fabric on fairly tight.










Now can do some of my smoothing tricks. I smooth the fabric at the bottom of the chair forward, while my other hand pulls it tight from outside arm. 









A few holding staples on the other side.









We already went through a big snipping class on the deck and seat so I'm going to let you review as you clip the arm fabric so we can tuck it under neatly and wrap around to the front of the arm.




























Ok - it's getting late - I'll flesh this post out soon.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *The Inside Arms*
> 
> We have formed the arms. We have padded the arms. What's left? Fabric!
> 
> ...


Howdy,

It's been hard to dedicate some time to this blog during the week because I been havin' fun! I'm trying a little carving. So far - Looks like hell. 

Last time we laid the inside arm on the chair and stapled it down in a few places. The whole front of the arm is still loose. Let's get that stapled down.

We'll start where we left off. I only added a couple of staple to the bottom side, front arm.









Now I'm going to pull the fabric medium up and medium forward, I just want to see if my stripes will shift as I start stapling.










That looks almost perfect, I'll just throw in a staple right now.









While I'm at it - I'll staple it from the bottom staples to the top staple.









Warning! I'm going to use a cover up on the front of the arms. I need to make sure the staples, cuts and whatever "Mess" I make on the front of the arm will not be exposed. This picture jumps way ahead but it shows a little of what I'm talking about. It is just a cardboard template.









Ok back to this blog. 
I'm going to pull the fabric up a little more. I don't want to get odd stretches or loose fabric but I need about two more inches.










Don't staple just yet. Fold the fabric into a pleat and see if you like it.










If you like it - staple it. Woo Hoo!










In fact - keep testing and stapling.




































Make sure you have enough fabric to hit the outside rail of the arm - OR you don't a bunch of excess. If you have either problem, carefully remove your staple to the first pleat and try again.
Here was my first try. Not too shabby - that is - unless - you don't like my one handed, I-phone photography.










I can now staple more of the front.









I didn't staple all the way to the end yet because I have a small snip to make. Go EASY on this one. TEST each fraction of material you snip.










Pull the fabric at the snip forward medium and ever so slightly down. You can add a few more staples.










That'll do it! Here is another nasty photo showing the stripes from the inside of the arm. I maintained them through out. That thing on top of the arm is my hand blocking most of the glare.

Front of arm - Complete! Let's get the rest.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *The Inside Arms*
> 
> We have formed the arms. We have padded the arms. What's left? Fabric!
> 
> ...


I have a big mess of fabric at the back of the arm.









The first thing I want to do is fold all of it neatly toward me. On this chair, there is a gap between the top of the arm and the back. I tucked it in a little.









I cut the fabric straight back on the inside part of the arm. Notice the wooden support for the back of the chair. Check out which side I made the cut on.









Warning! If I had cut on the other side of that back board, I would be removing the entire arm and starting over.

I checked out the outside part of the arm and I see a little snipping will be required.









And there it is.









I also started to tuck the fabric into the slot at the back of the arm so I can see where I'll need another snip.









I cut the fabric toward my snip point. (Where the fancy pointing finger was) 









And I just tucked all that in.









At the bottom tuck I smoothed the fabric down (smoothing method) then pulled out the slack at the bottom and stapled.









I also stapled the whole inside arm down through the back slot.









Now - I have a wrestling match. I didn't like the way they tailored the chairs on the exposed side at the back. I want to maintain some of the curved shape and give it a few pleats. 









I had a little bit of scrap cotton with me to help shape the arm here. I had to play with it. I added a few staples here and there then removed them. I did add a little fluff of cotton to help me keep the shape. I went under the Dacron to avoid lumps. In other words, I messed with it enough so I can't give you precise picture of the process. It was trial and error. 3 attempts. BUT - they were quick attempts. I didn't like what I saw the first 2 times so I tried again.


















And Finally.









Now - a quick word about matching. This fabric is a one direction stripe, There is a definite UP direction and a definite Right left direction. It is impossible to match the arms to each other unless I put one arm on upside down. Just lay the fabric for the second arm out and look across the arms. You can play with how you lay it out until you are pleased.










You are not going to believe how long I took putting the fabric on the second arm. It was less than 12 minutes.  Don't race me. It took me almost an hour and a half for the first one as I thought about how I might show you HOW I do it. Spend some time thinking about 'How' Before you make any cuts.

Mom told me once as I complained about ironing my own pants - Well actually after I sheepishly STOPPED complaining, Most of the ironing work should be done before you ever pick up the iron. Hope that helps. Next time we work on the Inside back.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Form and Pad the inside back.*

Howdy,

A lot of the techniques for shaping this inside back have already been discussed at length in the inside arm Blog. I'm going to skim over a few details until I get to something different.

I've got some loose synthetic burlap on the back of the chair.









It's happens to be the only 'material' I kept. I removed the staple holding the top half.









I cut myself some 2"ish inch wide by 2" inch thick foam strips. 









I just stapled them securely to the top to give a true curved shape.


















On the back side, under the curve, I added a hunk of foam that was a about 1.5 X 2. I only stapled it to the upper board.









Now I pulled that burlap up and around the top. It doesn't reach all the way but it does reach one of the boards. I'll just staple the burlap to that one.

















Now I'll staple it to the sides of the inside back. 









I've got a little excess so I'll just give it a snip.










Remember my burlap on reached to a board on the back, starting from that board, I'll finish the wrap.










Here is our shaped back.










Now let's get some padding on the chair. I measured all the way around the formed back without padding and got 35 inches.










The I threw a piece of scrap foam over the curve, re-measured and got 46 inches.










Neither measurement is correct, The piece of foam I bought is 82 inches long by 30 Hmmmm. Half of 82 is 41.
That is really close to splitting the difference. Ok - Let's go with it! Typically - You add 2/3 the difference to the shorter measurement.

Uh oh, we need a width. Measure the widest part. I've got 27 and the foam is 30 wide. Good enough!









Ok now - we don't need scientific or even woodworking accuracy for this. Just measure and mark with a pencil or score it with a scratch awl if you like.

























I just used my scissors to cut it.









Alrighty then, I threw the foam on the chair and overlapped the width by about a quarter inch. I curved it around the back and added several staples. I went up pretty high on the wood and I only caught about 3/4 inch of foam. at the very edge.

Try to get yours to look like this.



















You can staple the rest if you like what you see.









Staple the foam straight up the side now.









You can now compress the foam and add a second set of staples. Watch what happens as I compress the top one section at a time.


















































That little bubble you see toward the edge is quite thin and will be upholstered out.
The foam was too wide so I cut off all but 1/4 inch of the excess on the other side.








I snipped the foam right were the back meets the top of the arms.









I snipped a couple of small rectangles out of the corners where the arm and back meet the seat. The snips will decrease bulk in those corners. Even with the snips the foam is still about an inch wider than the measurement from arm to arm.









I tucked the foam into the sides and just left it hanging at the bottom center.









That's all I did.

I SHOULD have added a layer of Dacron to the top of that. That meant I would not have enough to finish the chairs and I would own almost a full roll that I have no plans on using in the near future. But still I SHOULD have nonetheless.

We'll get busy upholstering that back in the next blog. The staples will fly!!!


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Form and Pad the inside back.*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Flying Staples …can't wait.

Work Safely and have Fun. - Len


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Form and Pad the inside back.*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Where do you buy the foam you use?

Your blog made me feel I can refurbish a couple of chair seats…


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Form and Pad the inside back.*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Len,

Oh yeah - flying staples. I used to own a few Senco automatics. They would fire off up to 8 a second. They weren't really good for that kind of use. They were really cool for having staple gun fights with my brother. Um - not incredibly safe, I know. My sister decided to join in with an 18 gauge crown nailer. Fortunately, she didn't know about the safety.

LAN, the foam can be bought from any upholstery supply store. Get ready to pay A Lot for good foam. I mean figure out what you think is expensive and double it. I paid 34.50 for the 2 inch foam. Barely enough to do 2 chair backs.

You can definitely upholster some seats. I'm glad my blog is removing some of the mystery.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Form and Pad the inside back.*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


That is expensive!

Thanks for the info!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Form and Pad the inside back.*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


It is Lan. When I was in the business - YEARS ago. I paid 1/3 the price. I got sticker shock when I priced seat foam. My five piece sectional was $168 for just the foam. BUT - I use the good stuff. Decent foam can be had for about 1/3 less.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*5 minute time lapse*

Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )

Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Nice work a fine looking chair,you did cheat a bit ,growing up in the upholster business


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Howdy Jim,

Thank you so much sir!

You know - I still don't like doing upholstery. I was burned out on it by the age of 25. What I do like is being able to save money and get good furniture off front curbs. Still, I've to strip every bit of material and padding off. I don't know where it's been - yuck.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Great upholstery job, Mark. You did a fine job of lining up that directional fabric so the lines line up!!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Hey brother!

Thank you much.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Hey, if you could put them into flipable album, we could flip them as if they were on paper… Like we used to when kids!

Very COOL, Mark…

Very educational!

Thank you!


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Great work Mark!

Is that cotton pad I see in picture 4 and 5 on the arms? If so why not foam like the rest?

Thanks!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Hey Joe, ought to be cool! Let's get to flipping.

Lan, great question.

Cotton has a lot of uses. In the good old days, there was rubberized horse hair and cotton. They used cotton on everything. Arms were just a part of it. It is completely legal to pad arms with cotton.

Nowadays, foam has replaced cotton in most furniture manufacturing. It's fairly convenient and can be precut to size and shape. It looks good initially. However, these arms would have required the use of 1 inch foam. 1 inch foam can compress to 1/4 inch. It just doesn't hold it's shape well enough for me. No worries though, it can last a good 15 years.

Cotton can last 30 years. Both will absorb dust and sweat. You might get stinky arms before cotton will loose its shape.

The biggest thing is that cotton is way cheaper. About 4 times cheaper.

Drawback to cotton. It can sag after a while. I usually don't use it in areas where I have a big vertical surface. The arms had a short vertical surface. The inside backs have a big drop. I chose foam on the backs for that reason.

Still - either will work interchangeably. It's just hard to build up 2 inches of cotton on the back. I've seen a 4 inch build up.

I'm rambling. I hope my answer makes sense.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Perfect sense. Thanks for the extensive answer.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


Mark,

I sure wish I could get all the photos to load before this dial-up times out. What I did see, looks great.

I've finally gotten motivated back into the shop so when I get the 33 drawers completed for my cabinet (that's A LOT of dovetails), maybe my next project will be an upholstery one. And by that time, maybe we'll actually have high-speed internet available here.

Thanks for all your work in putting this blog together.

L/W


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *5 minute time lapse*
> 
> Howdy, I've still got a whole lot more blog to do but I felt like showing you all that it is not as time consuming to upholster furniture as it seems to be--through this blog.  I don't expect that anyone to knock a chair out in a few hours (Unless that's your job - then you need to do better than me.  )
> 
> Anyhow, I enjoyed making this for you. It's the second chair. I still need cover-ups, skirt and cushion. Not finished yet.


L/w,

You're very welcome! I'm not done with the blog. I hope I'm done by the time you're ready! I'll try to be there for you.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*So this is woodworking??!!*

Take a look at what the manufacturers allowed to pass!?









I get it. It's not woodworking - but really - I could move that board back and forth with ease. If I stretched any fabric across it, it would pull that poor construction to the center. So my problem was this. How do I fix that problem without taking the whole dang chair apart?

Well I pulled out the staples then removed that bit of problem wood.









I chiseled out one end then got out my cheap jigsaw. I had to take about one inch off the blade because it smacked a board on the other side as I attempted to cut. DUMB! However, loosing an inch off that old blade was a no brainer.

I cut the rest out without incident. I also cut a piece of left over oak to fill the gap. Perfection was not required! I only needed a good firm bond.









When the glue set for a little bit, I removed the clamps then glued the curved piece of wood in place. On went the clamps again.










Simple enough. You don't need a woodworking masterpiece underneath your upholstered furniture. You do need it to be sturdy and secure. That Wing repair made that the sturdiest of all 4 on the two chairs.

I still owe you all a little blog on upholstering the inside back. The good news is, I went back and filled out the stripping section. I don't have any unfinished entries before this one leftover. Yay.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *So this is woodworking??!!*
> 
> Take a look at what the manufacturers allowed to pass!?
> 
> ...


Well, if they did it perfect you wont have the joy of fixing it…

I am sure they don't care since it's hidden below foam and fabric.


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## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *So this is woodworking??!!*
> 
> Take a look at what the manufacturers allowed to pass!?
> 
> ...


Mark,

It really is amazing what is sometimes hidden beneath the upholstery!

L/W


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Adding Fabric to the inside back*

Howdy,

It's time for a little catch-up. I added a blog about padding the inside back. It's time to put some fabric on it. 
In fact, you can just toss that fabric on the back and count that step as done! You'll notice that I sewed a scrap onto the bottom of it. That little extra won't be seen and it will give me something to grab a hold of.










You may as well mark the center of your back on the topside of the outside back.









Will you're at it, mark center at the bottom where you're going to pull the fabric through.
Yes - I did use purple chalk. The science behind the purple chalk is that, I didn't want to use up my white chalk. 










Let's look at the top again. Line up your center stripe with the chalk line and add a few staples. Don't staple too high and don't staple the under padding. Too high and the staples might be visible later. If you put a staple through the padding, you wont like yourself later.










Tuck the bottom fabric in and pull it relatively tight but don't staple.
Use one hand to press on the back to compress the foam a little and smooth the fabric in a downward direction. 









I used my dominant right hand to do the smoothing. My left hand was holding was catching the slack by lightly pulling on the fabric that was tucked under the backside. You can add a few staples right now because that left hand was holding your place and you can grab the stapler with your right hand and fire away.









So far, this is what we have.

















Now you can pretty much staple the whole top to within about 4 inches of the end. Sorry about the awful lighting.









Uh oh - gotta go. More later.


----------



## lightweightladylefty (Mar 27, 2008)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Adding Fabric to the inside back*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Mark,

I actually got all the pictures to open before my dial-up timed out so I saved this file. I plan to save your whole blog eventually when I'm at a WIFI hot spot so I can review things without relying on this unreliable dial-up!

Two drawers done; just 31 more to go on my shop cabinet. I should be able to start my upholstery some time around my 93rd birthday . . . if all goes well!

L/W


----------



## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Adding Fabric to the inside back*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


great work Mark. You definitely know your stuff.

Even the log line are lined up all the way.


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Adding Fabric to the inside back*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Howdy l/w,

It may take me another 2 years to finish this blog. I think we'll both be set by then.

Lan,

That's funny! May I use that 'line'?


----------



## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Adding Fabric to the inside back*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


----------



## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Adding Fabric to the inside back*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Let's see how far I can get this time.

I had to add a little bit of cotton to the back because those small lumps of foam would translate into the final appearance. I once before said put a layer of Dacron over the foam back. I stand by that recommendation and I don't advise that you use this following trick. I put a strip of cotton on the sides of the back on both chairs. I 'beveled' the cotton on the side of the strip closest to the center by pulling bits off the underside.

If you haven't done this before (and if your reading this you haven't done it before) just put a layer of Dacron over the foam like I did with the chair arms. 










Now that I have thrown my disclaimer out there, you can start from here.
Without distorting my center stripe, I smoothed out the fabric from the center of the back to the side. That got rid of my loose fabric. 









Now I want to staple the fabric to the side, I smoothed the fabric out from where my hand is -









- All the way to the edge. You can see most of my hand is right at the edge. The hand stopped but my thumb kept going. Basically - the hand smoothed out the surface then the thumb set me up to add a few staples.









Holding my hand just like that - I added staples in the gap between my thumb and forefinger. Here are the results.









I want to point out that I am going to use a cover-up to finish off that part. You have to know what the cover-up will cover before you add the staples. Make sense? If my staples were placed too close to the edge, the cover-up wouldn't---- cover them up.

You may notice some puckers right about now. Ignore them, they wont be there in a minute.
Now I smoothed the fabric in an up ward direction (goodbye puckers) when I got to where I want to be, my hand stopped and my thumb went around the curve to once again set up for a few staples.









Well I added staple like before. But that smoothing action also set me up to create a tidy little pleat. Yep one quick fold and -









You can look at your pleats before stapling them. If you have to force your fabric into a pleat, take out a few staples and figure out where you went wrong. A forced pleat will come apart and just look like a wrinkle In the final product. A pleat that fell into place is a thing of beauty and deserving of a few staples.










Let's get on a roll here.
Smooth, fold pleat, set with thumb:








Staple, then repeat until you get:









Ok - the top part looks marvelous but the bottom looks like Un-marvelous.









Nonetheless, it's taking shape. 









Times up. More on another day.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Adding Fabric to the inside back*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


I have time to add a little more.

I want to work on tucking the sides in now. We need to make a very important cut. I'll just take my last picture and slap an arrow on it.










The reason this cut is really important is because you have a lot of padding right here. You will have a tendency to slightly over cut. The beautiful stuffing will show! On a chair with a cushion - it's not so much of an issue. If I didn't have a cushion - REDO!

I suggest you get a good look at your target area before you cut. I pulled fabric and padding out of the way as much I could to try to catch a little daylight from the backside of the chair. It might help you see it better.

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










I need to make sure my cut will clear my target BUT leave enough fabric to cover the padding when it is fully expanded.

I may have scared you off - so let me come back now and say forewarned is forearmed. You can do this! Just be slow about it and sneak up to it the fit. Another thing to consider is that you are doing two sides. Center your fabric and do mirror cuts. You should be able to see some good results as you tuck the fabric in before you staple.

Here is my first cut.










It is not a beautiful chalk marked slice in the material but it is fairly straight back. You are aiming for a more or less 80 degree angle cut on the fabric to your chair frame obstruction. You also notice that I'm really far from the chair frame. I literally gave a few inches of play room.

I tucked it in and I got this.









I'm looking for a bunch of wadded up fabric to indicate that I didn't cut enough. I can't see any mess there. The cut is perfect! So I scared you. It wasn't hard at all once you knew what to look out for.

Let's tackle the hardest part of the back now.

YES - first comes the scare!!! 


















We are trying to make a 2D fabric do a curve. It can surely be done but let's take it slow again.

First I tucked the fabric in to just take a look at the inevitable puckering.









I added 2 green arrows to the same image so you can see the puckers clearly. No amount of stretching will make those better. We'll have to make some cuts to "Relax" the fabric out of it's 2D state. 









Before I do that - Let me try to illustrate what you are going to do here. Imagine cutting a circle of wood on the band saw from a square. Also imagine that you can do the whole thing in once pass. You have a square piece of wood with a big round hole in it. Now imagine that we cut that square into 90 degree quarters. Just keep that quarter in your mind. 









Now think about a gluing a square piece of paper to the surface of that corner. In my picture, the dotted line represents the wood we covered with the paper.










All that set up for this question that you already know the answer to. How do we wrap the paper over that rounded edge? We have to cut the paper. Let's call this image paper cuts.










For paper, the more cuts the better the curve. The closer you can get your cuts to the wooden curve the better. The concept is the same for the most part. There is something I did in the "paper cuts" illustration that you'll want to keep. My cuts went all the way out to the bottom corner where the vertices meet.

In upholstery - You want long pieces to tuck into the back and staple.

Paper doesn't stretch or flex but fabric does. We need way fewer snips on the fabric and we don't want to be any where near the curved edge. Let's see:









Let's get after some real fabric. Un-tuck it so you can work with it









Here are my first two snips.









I tucked the fabric back in and I got a lot fewer pucker issues:









I un-tucked the whole thing then tucked just an edge under the curve. It revealed the area I want to cut. Here it is:









Three cut's should be plenty. I tucked the fabric all the way in again and got:









Very Nice! It lays perfect! ................. But - How does it look when I gently pull the fabric tight from the back side?
Uh oh! The puckers have returned.










I un-tucked then increased the depth of my snips by perhaps 1/2 inch. I'm still a good inch and a half from the actual edge of the curve. I re-tucked and pulled from the back gently:










Not too bad. I went ahead and snipped an extra quarter inch, tested then stapled:









Something important: You don't have to keep working until you get it to be as smooth a finish as mine. For starters, The first time someone sits down - A pucker will develop. But if you can come close to it - then you are MILES better than the original upholsterers.









Alright - the rest is cake because you worked with the fabric and let it do it's thing instead of forcing it to a shape. That's the benefit of that tucking and un-tucking. You were "Dry Fitting" 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you got it. But here are a few more places to staple.

Staple the side of the back in place. Just use gentle pull tension. I checked my cover-up to make sure my staples were not too close to the edges or if I was going to show any puckers.










Staple the fabric through the back slots on the sides. Still use about gentle to medium tension. 









Now staple the rest of the bottom of the back in place. Medium tension should do it.










Next time we'll upholster the OUTSIDE arms. You're going to feel like an artist.


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

*Outside Arms*

Howdy,

We are now into the trimming stage of your upholstery. 
I'm going to show you how to cover the outside arms. In My case - these are the easiest arms to do. I'll pay the price for this easy part several times over with additional trim work. In Your Case - there may be more work to do. When I do the outside back, I'll have some information that will apply to your outside arms.

Let's take a look:









I added a long horizontal line to show you that I didn't worry much about keeping a straight line when I added the inside arm. I just made sure my staples were not too high. Now - I need to straighten that out. No worries - you'll do the same.

I also added some arrows to point to all my extra fabric from upholstering the inside arms. Just fold all that stuff back into the chair and add a few staples to secure it.










Now I get to do something I discussed when I was barely at the fabric cutting stage. I get to decide HOW to line up my stripes. The stripes are going to run all wrong because there is definite TOP and BOTTOM to this fabric. It occurs to me that I really COULD have done this when the fabric was on the cutting table. But no - I waited till I had to hang onto the fabric while upside down and waste time with experimental staples.

I shifted the fabric around for a few minutes then decided my thin gold stripes were perfect markers. I held it up so you could see. (By the way - I got a bit sideways - You'll see)










The part I have to staple and match is at the top there. If you can imagine that there are staple holding it onto the arm, flip it up so the bottom now drapes over the top of the arm.









Match up your stripe and add a staple or 2. - Don't place them too high up. Your final straight edge is NOT being decided right now so aim for UNDER where you think it will be.


















Nice. Now let the fabric drape down and take a look.










Ummm….. I'm not liking that at all. I lined up my center of the chair point as you can see from the arrows. I really didn't like that big miss on that purple stripe. I took out the staples, lined up the mauve, discovered the gold stripes were far better indicators. I tried again by lining up the gold stripes with reference to the purple stripe.










Much better! I added a few more staples.









Now we have come to the straight edge portion of our show. Our star is called tack strip. If you are upholstering a straight edge - and you probably will be upholstering a straight edge - you WILL buy a "Roll of Tack Strip". I like that. It's a Jedi mind trick. Let me do it again. You WILL buy a "Roll of Tack Strip".

In event that my Mind tricks are not working on you and you elect to ignore me, all I can say is "I have a Baaadd Feeling about this."










Cut off a hunk of the strip that is a little too long. Staple it to the front of the outside arm a little bit higher than your previous staples. Let's say a quarter inch. Make sure you make excellent contact with the wood underneath.









Now stretch it to the very back of the arm and raise it a bit above those back staples. Staple away. Know start stapling from one end of the chair to the other. Just push that strip straight into the fabric as you staple. DON'T force it in an upward direction. Just keep it from dipping. I got a little crooked here, but not as much as you think you see 










If this was easy, you may thank me for showing you a thing or two about managing the bulk on the inside arms. If it was hard. Um - you're probably looking for where I spoke about it. It may help to use 1/2 inch staples if it's really difficult.

Speaking of bulk management, this chair has a skirt. I'm going to add a chalk line to the wood so I can see where it's going.









Now I'll add burlap. MOST manufacturers have left this out. Give yourself a leg up on the final tailoring. You WILL see a difference. (sorry - more mind tricks). Don't staple it all the way up on the tack strip. Any where below the top edge of the tack strip and can catch a little wood is fine. Staple it just below that skirt line unless your burlap is really thin. Then you can staple it where you want it on the bottom side.










Alrighty then - I'm going to do something that I should not do. I'm adding a double thickness of laminate padding to the outside. You will hate me if you try carpet padding. You will love me if you use Dacron. The carpet padding will not take the shape of the out side arm when I pull that fabric over it. It will FORCE it's own shape onto the outside arm.










Give yourself a break and choose the easier and much better tailored appearance of the Dacron. I was running low on Dacron and I have no use for the carpet padding. That's my excuse.

Now let the fabric drape down once again.










You should see a nice even surface with a bit of substance under it. 









I lifted up the fabric then trimmed off the excess just above my skirt line.










Let the fabric fall.










Staple the center and keep those line straight up and down.









Work your way to the front, stapling every few inches. You are going to pull the fabric down firmly and toward the front gently. Make sure the stripes don't get distorted. They will usually start stretching toward the front if you pull too hard. Staple the fabric a few inches at a time as you work forward. Stop about three inches from the front.

You can work from the center to the back in the same way.









Ok - I'll be back to finish this leg of the adventure.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Outside Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Got it Mark.
tack strip is the key… But wait what does it do?

Is it to have more "beef" under the staple so the fabric does not tear with stress?


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Outside Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


WOW!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Outside Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


Too much information for me to get it right the first time. I'm glad you asked for clarification. You can say its a holder if you like. It holds a crisp straight line at the top of that arm. Does that make sense? If not, I'll think about a better way to present it.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Outside Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


I got thrown off because I don't see any nail on yours. 
The pictures and video I saw had "nails" just like the carpet tack strip.

I got the idea. thanks!


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## MarkTheFiddler (May 29, 2012)

MarkTheFiddler said:


> *Outside Arms*
> 
> Howdy,
> 
> ...


The rest of the outside arm is a breeze - That is - for this style of chair.

Add a few staples to the back of the outside arm near the top. Be careful not to pull too hard or you'll misalign your fabric. Take a moment and let me know if you can see my goof.










If you can see a pucker where the inside arm wraps over and meets the outside arm, you got it in one. I had to VERY carefully remove that staple.

Work your way down the backside of the outside arm.









You can actually finish off that section if you like.
Now to the front side of the outside arm. Place a few staples on the top side. Remember to give yourself a little space for the cover-up.









You can continue to staple down to the bottom of that front section but leave about an inch unstapled because you need room to make a cut. Remember to think first and cut second.  You don't have to cut all the way into the corner. It's always a good idea to sneak up on the cuts if you're not sure.










Fold the fabric and test your cut. 
















If it's looking good - you can staple it down - if not you may need to cut a little deeper.









Your chair may have used tack strip instead of making this long fold. I'll show how to use it when I discuss the outside back.

You're done with the outside arm. Now go do the other one.


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