Furniture over time loses its original appearance, so it sometimes needs to be repaired. Thanks to the quality restoration, you can make a worn object beautiful. Chairs are often used, therefore, upholstery, peeling paint and irrelevant design are problems that force craftsmen to restore this furniture. In addition, it is an easy option for updating the interior. The rest of the article will explain how to sheathe an old chair and what materials are needed for this.
general information
Before you start repairing furniture, you need to determine its type and purpose. To select the necessary materials, you first need to evaluate the nature of the damage to the chairs. By appointment, they are classified into the following groups:
- For the house - universal chairs that can be put in the kitchen, in the living room and other rooms.
- Street - these are models made of polymeric materials or plastic. Sometimes they are made from wood, but previously they are treated with moisture-resistant impregnations.
- For the office - mobile chairs, the design of which is equipped with a back, armrests and height adjustment.
- Bar heights up to 80 cm. The presence of upholstery on these varieties depends on the model.
By the type of seat there are such chairs:
- Soft.
- Hard without flooring.
- Semi-soft - chairs with a laying 2–4 cm thick, made, as a rule, of foam rubber.
The described models can be restored independently.
Repair Methods
It is not necessary to immediately throw away old furniture, as it can be restored. There are such good options as this:
- Connect the parts in a new way. This method is suitable if the chair is loose or some of its elements are broken.
- Make a carriage screed, the canvas for which should be cut with a margin. When the pieces are prepared, they need to be applied to the foam and pierce the fabric with a needle from the back. In this way, you can quickly restore the seat.
- Craftsmen sheathe a chair with a back with new fabric or leather.
- The change of armrests is another measure that can be used to restore furniture. In this case, you will have to disassemble the entire structure and examine the parts for cracks and chips. Damaged places can be repaired with putty and wood glue.
Next will be described in detail the process of how to sheathe a chair. This is a laborious exercise that everyone can do independently.
Necessary materials and tools
To sheathe a chair with your own hands, you must first prepare everything that may be needed to complete this task. The following tools are required for dismantling:
- hammer;
- stationery knife;
- nail clipper;
- pliers;
- scissors;
- screwdriver.
For the pattern should be prepared:
- pencil and chalk;
- a ruler;
- building tape;
- cardboard or heavy paper.
And before you sew the chairs with cloth with your own hands, you need to get the following additional tools and materials:
- furniture stapler;
- sewing machine;
- bit;
- plywood;
- nails
- sewing threads;
- PVA glue.
For upholstery you will need such elements: lace, ribbons, buttons and a filler. If you need to restore the wooden parts of the chair, you need to buy a primer, paint and varnish.
The initial step is to remove the old upholstery
Initially, you need to disassemble the chair. When performing dismantling, it is necessary to remember the location of each individual part, since during assembly this information may be necessary. Before sheathe the chair, it is necessary to remove the seat, i.e., remove all its fasteners: nails, bolts, staples and steel plates. If there is a back, it must be disassembled in the same way.
The next step is to inspect the frame for hidden defects, chips, poor-quality joints, as well as checking the condition of the springs. If the last elements have fallen into disrepair, they should be replaced with a jute tape. When this step is completed, you can begin to disassemble the removed seat: remove the staples, remove the finishing fabric and filler.
Upholstery selection
This stage is an important part of the recovery process, since the quality of the chair depends on the type and style of the fabric. The main condition is that the material must be strong. In addition, the surface will have to be periodically cleaned with a brush with soap or a rag; therefore, for kitchen models, upholstery should be selected that is easy to clean.
To restore the stool, you can use the following materials:
- Tapestry is a strong and durable two-layer fabric. Due to the large selection of textures has gained fame in the furniture industry. Sheathing chairs with this type of fabric is a good solution, since the tapestry can be washed and dust does not accumulate on it due to its antistatic properties.
- Chenill is a beautiful and affordable textile fabric. But the disadvantage of this fabric is that it is hygroscopic, that is, spots will remain on the surface of the water, so it is not recommended to use the specified upholstery fabric for kitchen chairs.
- Flock is a durable textile that is easy to clean.
- Velor is an expensive and impractical upholstery. But it’s very beautiful.
- Self-adhesive Alcantara - wear-resistant faux suede. The service life of this soft finishing material is at least 7 years. In addition, working with him is simple. And even a novice will be able to quickly restore furniture with elastic Alcantara.
- Faux leather and dermantine are inexpensive upholstery materials, the life of which is 2 to 5 years. Scratches, cracks and other defects quickly appear on them.
- Genuine leather is a quality upholstery material. However, you need to work with it carefully, since there is a risk of damage to this prestigious coating. If you sheathe chairs with leather, the result is furniture whose appearance does not deteriorate for many years.
The quality of the upholstery coating depends on the technical properties of the fabric from which it is made.
Filler Selection
For these purposes, you can use sintepon, foam rubber, latex or batting. If the first material was chosen, first you need to pay attention to its shade and smell. A sharp aroma and a dull white color are signs that indicate that toxic or low-quality raw materials were used to make synthetic winterizer.
Before sheathe the chair, you must carefully check the strength and structure of the purchased material, since the canvas, which is easily torn, will not work.
If sheet foam was chosen as the filler, its quality must also be checked. To do this, you need to know: the smaller the bubbles, the more reliable the material.
How to sheathe a chair: step by step instructions
The first step is the repair of the frame, the cracks and chips of which need to be glued and puttied. Weak joints must be sealed with a wedge and glue. If there are damaged springs, then they must be replaced with strips of jute tape. It’s better to change the plywood bottom to a new one, but you can just clean it from the filler and glue residue. Further, the frame must be painted or varnished, but the surface must first be primed.
The next step is hauling the seat. To complete this step, you must follow this instruction:
- Cut parts from fabric and filler. If the old upholstery has been saved, new elements can be made using its template - otherwise, cardboard or heavy paper will have to be used.
- Draw on the plywood sheet the outlines of the parts and add a few centimeters to the allowances.
- Cut filler with a sharp blade or clerical knife.
- Make a fabric pattern according to the same pattern. The main thing is that the picture does not shift. In addition, 10 cm allowances must be left for the hem.
Next, the seat is tightened according to this plan:
- Glue filler to the upper side of the base.
- Wait for the part to dry.
- Cover the foam with upholstery fabric so that the base is correctly positioned relative to the pattern.
- Carefully nail the edges of the fabric to the seat with a furniture stapler. However, it will not be easy to independently carry out this step, since the fabric must be tensioned uniformly from all sides. If you violate the performance technique, the filler is quickly deformed.
- Trim excess pieces of fabric.
If the seat cannot be detached from the frame, all operations must be carried out on a chair. In addition, it is recommended to close the springs with burlap or another dense cloth.
Upon completion of these works, it is necessary to sheathe the back of the chair. How to do it? The answer is: the execution technology is similar to the previous step. It is advisable to drag the fixed back with jute ribbons and cover it with burlap, and then attach the filler. If you plan to decorate furniture with a carriage screed, for this you should cut small holes for furniture buttons in foam rubber or synthetic winterizer and fabric.
Final Stage - Assembly and Finishing
When all the details of the chair are ready, you can proceed to the final step. If during the dismantling of the chair it was noted and indicated what and how to fix it, then no problems should arise. Parts of the chair just need to be glued and assembled in reverse order.
To decorate the finished product, it is recommended to sheathe the back of the back with a cloth and gently secure it along the edge. It is customary to decorate seams with braid, lace, beads or decorative nails.
Conclusion
The article described how to sheathe a chair. Do it yourself is an easy task. The main thing is to observe some conditions:
- When dismantling, note the order and features of the connection parts.
- As upholstery material, it is desirable to use universal fabrics. If finances allow, the best choice is genuine leather.
- The quality of the filler must be checked at the time of purchase.
- Haste will not lead to anything good, so it is recommended that you carry out each task carefully.
If you follow these tips, the result is a quality chair.