I started with a simple piece, this oval ottoman. I was working on a project where we needed to find a deep burgundy ottoman, but one couldn't be found so we had to create our own!:
TOOLS:
- Pliers
- Flat-head screw-driver
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Hammer
- Permanent marker
- Upholstery needle
- Tweezers
MATERIALS:
- Upholstery fabric
- Fabric covered-buttons
- Button cord (about 2' for each button)
PROCEDURE:
STEP 1: Remove the existing covering
All re-upholstery begins with pulling a lot of staples! Flip your furniture over, and using your flat-head screwdriver and pliers, start pulling out all the staples that are securing the fabric to the frame.
STEP 2: Release the Buttons
STEP 3: Cut New Fabric
Take your fabric and cut a piece of new fabric that's a little bigger:
STEP 4: Stretch and Mark Fabric
Next you will need to stretch the fabric. A professional upholsterer will have proper tools and equipment to do this that most DIYers will not. Do the best you can by ironing out the old fabric on top of the new fabric, securing the edges with pins to keep it in place.
Using a permanent marker, mark the position of the holes onto the back-side of your new fabric:
STEP 5: Attach Strings to New Fabric
Using an upholstery needle, double the string and and pull it through your marks just enough to form a loop. Pass the ends of the string through the loop and pull to secure the strings:
Repeat until you have strings attached to each of your marks.
STEP 6: Create the New Tufts
You'll want to make sure that there are decent sized holes (about the size of a quarter) in the foam. Professional upholsterers have special tools to do this with (especially handy if you have to cut new holes in new foam). If you are just re-upholstering something, the holes should already be there, but you might want to take a small serrated knife and just clear them out a little:
Thread the strings on the back of your fabric through the corresponding holes in the foam/frame. This seems like it should be easy, but it can be a little tricky. I highly suggest enlisting a partner to help you out! We found it easiest to work from right to left, bottom to top. One person on the foam side would loop the strings around a pair of tweezers and then pass it through the foam/wood to the person on the other side who would pull it through and hold onto it, so that it wouldn't slip through as the fabric was adjusted on the other side. You can also loosely tie the strings together on the other side to help with this.
Once all the right strings are pulled through all the right holes, flip the furniture over (top side down), pull the strings as hard as you can (starting from the middle working your way out), and secure them to the wood on the backside:
Pull the cord straight back and staple (use a hammer to make sure the staple is all the way in). |
Pull the string back across the first staple, and secure with another staple. |
STEP 7: Fold the Tufts
Pinch and tuck the fabric from tuft to tuft to make the folds. Make sure that you are making all your folds point in the same direction.
STEP 8: Add the Buttons
I would highly suggest having your buttons covered by a professional upholsterer. Snap together fabric covered buttons (that you can buy in a kit at any fabric store) are really hard to put together
with heavier upholstery fabric, and if you can get them together, they often come apart once you start to pull on them. A professional upholsterer will have a proper button press that they use to make really strong buttons that can endure a lot of pull (80lbs). My upholsterer did mine for 90 cents a piece - money well spent!
Double your button cord (just like you did with the strings on the back of your fabric) and loop it through the base of your button. Pass the ends through the loop and pull to secure:
Thread the ends of the button cord through a long upholstery needle, and pass the needle through each of the tufts, pulling the cords through to the back-side of the furniture:
Once all of the buttons are threaded through, flip your furniture over (tuft-side down), and once again working from the middle out, pull the cords as hard as you can (try to get the bottom of the button down far enough that it is inside the wood) and secure to the wood with staples:
STEP 9: Fold the Edges
Pinch, and tuck the folds from the tufts on the outside edges. Once you get the folds as smooth as you can, firmly pull the fabric straight down and secure the folded fabric to the frame of the furniture with staples:
STEP 10: Trim the Excess Fabric and Finish
With the new fabric now totally secured to the frame, go ahead and trim off the excess:
Finish replacing any other additional pieces and enjoy your new piece of beautifully tufted furniture!
You might also be interested in:
How To Re-Upholster Furntiure With Wood Parts |
How To Re-Upholster A Sofa |