Sometimes it’s just a shame to throw away old furniture. The seat is comfortable and it looks good. An old sofa or chair may have a good-quality wooden frame or reliable metal springs hidden under the upholstery. Nowadays it is difficult to find good upholstered furniture at an adequate price.
Fortunately, old furniture being restored. In most cases, a simple constriction is sufficient for this. Padding upholstered furniture consists of cleaning or replacing the upholstery. Sometimes the filling is replaced along with the upholstery.
We will describe reupholstery using the example of a sofa, but this information can be used for reupholstering any upholstered furniture: armchairs, beds, couches, etc.
Tool selection
We will need a tool to remove the upholstery and then attach it back:
- furniture stapler
- anti-stapler
- Screwdriver Set
- set of wrenches for nuts and bolts
- pliers
- roulette
- furniture glue
- camera
If you want to make a new case, you will also need:
- sewing machine
- tailor's scissors
- threads
- needles
- fabric chalk
Disassembly
Before you start, take several photos of your old sofa from different angles. Also take photos of all fasteners. Ideally, you should take photos at each stage of disassembly. These pictures will be useful step-by-step instruction for furniture assembly.
Choose a place where you will disassemble the sofa. Inside old furniture there is a lot of dust, dirt, crumbled filler, etc. It is best to disassemble the sofa outside. If this is not possible, then take things to another room or cover the entire room with film.
Examine the sofa. You need to understand in what sequence it was assembled. Disassembly is carried out in reverse order. Some sofas have elements that can be removed without tools. For example, removable pillows. These parts are removed first. Then the backs, seats and armrests are removed. The sofa should be understood like a construction kit. The main thing for us is the ability to reach all the upholstery fastening points.
Place removable fasteners in a separate container. This way you won’t lose them, and dust won’t stick to the lubricant.
It is recommended to shake out and vacuum the cover before washing. It is better to wash the cover in the laundry. Upholstery fabric should be washed in a gentle cycle at a temperature not exceeding 60 °C. With more high temperatures the fabric may shrink and greatly decrease in size. It will no longer be possible to pull it onto the frame.
It is useless to wash a torn, frayed and thoroughly soaked cover. The cover will still look bad, and the fabric may simply unravel during washing. This upholstery will have to be replaced. Yes, it is more difficult, but the result is more durable.
In the old movie they trained on cats. Before replacing the cover on a sofa or chair, practice on chairs with soft seats.
Don't tear the upholstery, even if you want to replace it. We will still need it as a stencil for the new case. The upholstery is attached to wood or plywood using U-shaped fastening brackets. It is advisable to use an anti-stapler when removing old staples, but you can get by flat screwdriver and pliers.
There is filler under the fabric. If your sofa is more than 5 years old, then the filling has most likely already lost its elasticity, wrinkled or even crumbled. We don’t need such a filler - we replace it.
Be sure to measure the length, width, and height of each piece of filler.
After removing the filler, you will see a bare frame. Only at this stage can you fully assess the real condition of the sofa. If the damage is serious, then reupholstering will not be enough. Will need major renovation. If visible problems no, then carefully inspect the fasteners, ceilings, springs, etc. There may be minor defects that can be fixed in a couple of minutes.
Choosing new upholstery
To determine the required material size, measure the length and width old upholstery. When you buy new fabric, just in case, take it with a 10-15% margin in size.
It is very important to choose the right good material for upholstery. Do not use rough or artificial fabrics. If the material has a strong synthetic smell, then it cannot be used for upholstery. The fabric should not fade or leave traces of paint. It is also not recommended to use chinillas or leatherette when reupholstering. These are cheaper materials, but they quickly become unusable, so soon you will have to reupholster again.
Tapestry
Tapestry is quite durable and not too expensive material. There are practically no puffs on it. It is best to use a tapestry with an abstract pattern or even a plain one. If you use complex drawing, then it will have to be customized. This complicates the work and increases material consumption.
Leather
Working with leather is not as difficult as it is thought. For furniture upholstery, leather with a thickness of 1.5-2 mm is used. This leather retains its elasticity and is easy to fasten and even stitch if necessary. Work with dry skin. Wet skin becomes very stretched when dried.
Choosing a new filler
Foam rubber or padding polyester is usually used as filler in upholstered furniture. The filler not only makes the furniture soft, but also protects the internal parts from damage.
Foam rubber
When choosing foam rubber, its porosity and density are assessed. Inspect the material. If the foam rubber consists of small bubbles, then this quality material. Large bubbles are a sign of low-quality foam rubber. Such material easily loses its elasticity and ability to take its original shape. The foam rubber will quickly begin to crumble.
To check the quality, squeeze the foam in your hands. The material should instantly return to its original shape. If the foam straightens slowly, then it is a low-quality material.
Do not use foam that has just been unpacked. When packaging, the material is greatly compressed. Only after a few days will it take on its real shape and size.
For upholstered furniture, foam rubber with a density of 25-45 kg/m3 is used. You should not take very hard material. Although it will last a long time, it will be uncomfortable to sit on. For the seat, two layers of foam rubber of different hardness are often used: the bottom is denser and the top is softer.
Sintepon
Sintepon for furniture should not have a strong, toxic odor. The material must be white. If at least in some places there are other shades, then this is a sign of low-quality padding polyester. This means that recycled or toxic materials were used in production. The padding polyester should be equally smooth and dense in all areas. Also good padding polyester It’s hard to tear apart with your hands, it doesn’t crumble or delaminate.
Pieces of filler of the required size are cut from the selected material. If necessary, they are glued and fixed to the frame. This must be done before the new upholstery is made, as we will need to do fittings.
Making new upholstery
We take old upholstery. Carefully unravel the threads and separate the stitched upholstery parts from each other. A reamer is made from large pieces.
Don't forget to take photos.
Lay the old fabric or leather on top of the new one and trace the outline with crayons. When working with fabric, consider the direction of the pile and pattern. Make small allowances of 10-20 mm for the seams, but don’t get carried away. Remember, the upholstery should stretch like a frame, without forming folds or sagging.
Cut out the parts along the contour. The edges of the fabric are usually folded inward and sewn together. So don't worry if the edge of the fabric isn't cut perfectly straight. Partly for this we made a reserve.
We sew the covers based on the photographs. For sofas and armchairs, the covers for each part are separate parts: back, seat, armrests, etc. This greatly simplifies the work. We sew the covers manually with threads and try them on the frame. If everything is good, then you can sew with a sewing machine.
Let's try on the finished case again. Check that the cover fits well on the frame. The seams should be straight, the corners of the covers coincide with the corners of the frame. The cover should not be put on loosely; it is better that it be stretched.
At this stage, the cover can still be sewn in or trimmed. If necessary, make holes in the case for bolts or other fasteners. Also, the fabric should not interfere with the movement of mechanisms inside the sofa, if any.
Assembly
To fasten covers to furniture, wide staples with a length of 6 to 16 mm are usually used. The distance between staples is no more than 40 mm. A furniture stapler is used to work with staples.
The upholstery is stretched onto the frame with the filler already laid. The upholstery is attached where the fasteners will be invisible. This is usually the bottom of a sofa or chair. Connect the fabric to the frame from the center to the edges. This reduces the likelihood of wrinkles and allows excess fabric to be sewn in or trimmed. With one hand you shoot the staples, and with the other hand you move along the fabric, straightening and stretching it. Once the fabric is secured, you can assemble the sofa. Use the photos as step-by-step instructions.
That's all, the sofa is reassembled, but with an updated or cleaned cover. The work is done in a couple of days and does not require large financial investments. At the same time, the reupholstered sofa looks like new.
It would seem, why reupholster old furniture with your own hands, when today in stores there is such wide choose sets and individual furniture items? There are several reasons.
Not all furniture sold can boast high quality and durability - many new models are produced and assembled in very dubious production facilities: in private workshops equipped with technically imperfect equipment. Branded sets that are brought from abroad from famous furniture factories, and products from reputable domestic producers Not every consumer can afford it.
Meanwhile, in city apartments and in country houses citizens still have soft kits produced back in the days when the word GOST had weight and inspired trust. There are also imported sets that could stand and stand in dining rooms and living rooms, delighting the owners and their guests. It’s just that the upholstery of such sets has lost its brightness, color over time, and maybe even torn, burst, or cracked. So why buy something new (and there may not be free funds for this), when all you need is to refresh appearance headset? Moreover, you can do this yourself, spending only on new upholstery material.
Let's try to figure it out: how to repair upholstered furniture with your own hands? What will it take? Where to start and what is the complete algorithm for such repair work?
Table of contents:Upholstery
Of course, reupholstering old furniture begins with choosing the material for the new upholstery. And here everyone is guided by their own taste, and, of course, financial capabilities.
Genuine Leather
Leather upholstered furniture is always beautiful. And it looks expensive. With such furniture, any interior acquires noble features. And if you guess the shade of the material and do the reupholstery well, you can literally transform the appearance of your living room.
Are you choosing leather to replace your old, worn-out upholstery? Pay attention to samples that are not too thick (no more than 3 mm thick), maintaining good elasticity. It will be especially convenient to work with such people.
Find “furniture” leather (in pieces optimal sizes) can be found in shops selling consumables for shoemakers. If there is no such outlet in your city, then you will have to search on the Internet. You will most likely find it on the World Wide Web Genuine Leather required quality and the right size.
Important: You should not buy leatherette for upholstering furniture - it is absolutely short-lived! And it’s problematic for an amateur to work with him.
Textile
There are only two options: either look for special upholstery fabrics, or buy the most ordinary tapestry. With colors, patterns, ornaments - whatever you like and suits the overall design of the existing interior.
Tapestry, by the way, is cheaper than upholstery materials, but just as beautiful and durable, and its structure eliminates the formation of puffs (this can be fundamentally important for pet owners). Any snags on this fabric do not break the fabric pattern and are easily masked.
Textile upholstery has a definite advantage over leather if you need to reupholster old furniture . You can always buy material of the required length and width, therefore, the repairman will not have to select pieces according to shade, pattern, structure. Moreover, an amateur is unlikely to be able to do this, unless he turns to experienced craftsmen.
In general, it’s better to reupholster the upholstery yourself with fabric, then you’ll probably get it neat and beautiful, even the first time. If, of course, you follow the instructions.
Necessary tool for reupholstering furniture
When changing the upholstery of upholstered furniture with your own hands, you will need to solve a number of problems:
- Disassemble individual furniture elements and remove parts.
- Remove staples, nails and other fasteners holding the old upholstery.
- Pull new material and securely fasten it.
To achieve the goals described above, the following tools will be needed:
Where to start reupholstering upholstered furniture?
First of all, it is necessary to carefully examine the furniture item, the upholstery of which is to be replaced, to identify points of attachment to the body and the connection of the retaining parts to each other. For example, when planning to replace the material with which the head of the bed is upholstered, the first thing you will need to do is examine the connection between the back and the bed, so that you can then carefully remove this element.
As soon as the part for the reupholstery is dismantled, it will also need to be carefully examined from all sides. The purpose of the inspection is to study upholstery fasteners. Take off old material you need to be careful, trying not to damage the base and remembering the sequence, since you will have to attach the new upholstery according to the old “traces”, but in the reverse order of dismantling.
Important! If removing an element from the furniture does not give a complete picture of how the upholstery is fixed, you will have to remove all the linings and decorative inserts from this part, getting to the fixation points (carefully, using a chisel or knife). By the way, the upholstery may not be attached to furniture staples, but, for example, on glue or pins. Such cases are the most difficult to dismantle during the reupholstering process.
Cardboard tape can be nailed to the ends of the part, creating a relief around the perimeter and hiding possible gaps. It can easily be damaged during dismantling, but it is necessary to restore it or install a new one. Such a ribbon for the headboard, for example, can be cut from a piece of leather.
To impart rigidity, the finished leather strip will need to be soaked in concentrated aqueous solution PVA glue and dry.
The soft “filling” of the part, if it is not damp and dusty, can be left intact- its service life is much longer than that of the top furniture covering. However, if the filler has become unusable, it will also need to be changed. And here you cannot do without consulting a specialist, since taste and financial capabilities alone will no longer be enough to select material for this type of work on specific furniture.
Independently replacing old upholstery with new one: the subtleties of the process
Once the old upholstery is removed, you can proceed directly to the reupholstery.- that is, the design of the part with new material. But first, the edge of the prepared and pre-cut upholstery fabric (or tapestry) will need to be hemmed so that it does not start to fray during use.
The principle of hemming textiles for upholstery is almost the same as that used for finishing edges. sewing products- the fabric section is folded and secured. Only instead of sewing machine furniture stapler works.
The first edge of the upholstery is applied to the part with the inside out and fastened with a staple, then the fabric is turned over and covers the driven staple, etc. So you need to move to the edge of the surface being treated. Then tuck the textile in a corner, move to the next edge of the object, etc.
Important: In the process of fastening the fabric with staples, the tension of the textile should be controlled, preventing it from sagging or, conversely, being overtightened. A narrow strip of fiberboard can help with this - the upholstery is screwed onto it in one turn, and then this strip stretches the fabric along its entire length. Once the textile is stretched, the strip is nailed (with a stapler) to the part along with the fabric.
In general, reupholstering upholstered furniture is not such a difficult process - it is quite possible to do it yourself, even without any special knowledge and professional tools.
Restoration of an old sofa
An old, good-quality sofa that you wouldn’t dare throw in the trash can continue to serve its owners faithfully. The main thing is that its frame is intact, the mechanisms work and the springs do not sag, and the upholstery can always be retightened.
What will it take?
Self-stretching technology
To reupholster the sofa, you will have to completely disassemble it - remove all parts, linings and decorative elements, which are only subject to dismantling.
Note! When disassembling the sofa frame, it will be necessary to number all the constituent elements.
If there are any minor defects in the frame, they will have to be eliminated - for example, replacing broken/bent boards or failed springs. Afterwards you will need to assemble the frame, covering all joints with glue. And then tighten it with a clamp and secure it with cross-shaped dowels.
Next, you should prepare the fabric for the outer upholstery. And cut out parts from plywood to attach to the frame. The finished elements will need to be secured to the sofa frame with staples. And the blanket is secured to the plywood parts (again, to the staples with a stapler). The springs are also fixed strictly vertically so that they do not move. To do this, simple brackets are made from galvanized wire (each 2 cm long).
The next stage is taking measurements of the upper part of the spring sheet. And according to the received figures, the old carpet is already being cut out. In this case, 4-5 cm are left for allowances on each side of the piece.
The resulting piece covers the spring surface of the sofa. And then the rug is carefully fixed along the entire perimeter with nails (the edge is turned up due to the allowance). For reliability, you also need to stitch the edge with nylon thread (with a seam, the step of which is 5 cm).
Now for the next blanket. It must be secured with an overlap (5 cm). And sew a cover from thick fabric according to the frame template and attach it to the frame (on the reverse side).
New upholstery fabric will need to be stapled to the front side, ensuring its uniform tension over the surface and bending the edges of the material.
Not every old and sagging sofa belongs in a landfill. Restoring upholstered furniture can bring just as much joy as buying new one. Or maybe even more if you like to make things with your own hands. In this article, Dekorin will tell and show how to reupholster sofas and armchairs with new upholstery, how to replace the filling of pillows, how to repair springs and disguise minor damage. Let your old furniture become a source of pride!
Restoration of upholstered furniture inside and outside. Step by step examples
Repair and restoration of upholstered furniture may consist of the following stages:
- Disassembling an object into its component parts. Typically this is required for furniture with wooden legs, armrests or other parts that need repair or replacement.
- Sanding wooden elements using sandpaper, followed by cleaning with a damp cloth. The wet cloth should absorb all the small particles, so the paint (or varnish) will lie smoother and last longer.
- Painting wood. Before applying paint with a brush, it is recommended to coat the surface with a primer. We still recommend using spray paint, which is applied easily and evenly, which will significantly simplify your work and save time. Usually 3 layers is more than enough. After the paint has dried, you can apply it protective covering which will prevent chipping.
- Replacement internal filling and upholstery. We will tell you in detail how to repair the springs inside an old sofa or chair below in this article. As for reupholstering upholstered furniture, everything depends on the characteristics of the product being restored. For example, the seat of the chair in this example was simply wrapped in new fabric, which was secured with a stapler. More examples with step by step photos you will see below!
- Assembling a piece of furniture into a single whole.
How do you like this transformation?
Restoration of cushions for sofas and armchairs
Perhaps this point is the simplest and most inexpensive in the process of restoring upholstered furniture. You will need to measure the height, length and width of your pillows and, based on the data obtained, purchase the required amount of foam. Subtract about 5-10mm from each edge to get required sizes for filling the pillow. For softness and increased service life, be sure to wrap the foam rubber with batting or padding polyester. Here's what the finished filling looks like in the photo:
Repairing spring upholstered furniture: the best way
This repair method spring sofa or the chair is considered the most reliable of all existing ones, although it requires high costs by time. Let's look at its implementation step by step:
- Make sure you remove all trim, staples, and nails from the frame. IN in this case the furniture body was already completely ready for installing the seat (cleaned, sanded, washed, painted). The springs were removed and set aside for later use. Before this, the master took several photos so as not to forget how they were located.
- Install straps (slings) to secure the springs on the lower part of the seat. The more strips you install, the stronger the seat will be. Secure them with a stapler, leaving a couple of centimeters of material on each edge. The tension should be moderate so that the sling bends slightly when pressing on it.
- The extra centimeters on each edge should be folded and also attached to the frame with a stapler. Repeat these steps until you have installed all the vertical lines, then move on to the horizontal ones. Don't forget that they should intertwine with the vertical ones, and not just go under them.
- Reinforce the strength of each strap with three small upholstery nails. This is what this whole process of upholstered furniture repair looks like in the photo:
5. Now you can proceed directly to installing the springs. You can use an old photo or just distribute them evenly on the sling support. The end of each spring should "face" in the same direction as all the others.
6. Springs are attached to the straps either using special tool, or with a thick thread of twine and a special button. Each spring must be secured at three points.
7. Drive 2 nails into the end of each vertical and horizontal row of springs.
8. Measure the length of the twine, which will be 2 times the length of the seat plus 40-50 cm. Fold the piece in half and create a loop around the nails, as shown in the photo below. After this, pulling the twine taut, hammer in the nails with the loop to the very end.
9. Now our goal is to intertwine the springs together to form the seat and connect all the springs into a single unit. Start and finish tying knots at each end on the second “ring” from the top, then immediately move on to the top rings. This will allow you to get a dome-shaped seat.
10. Once you have tied all the springs together, wrap the twine around the nail and hammer it in until it stops. Secure the free end of the thread with a stapler.
11. For the second thread from each secured loop, repeat steps 9 and 10, but it should be tied exclusively on the upper rings, without “falling” to the second level from above.
12. Knit all the vertical rows like this, then the horizontal ones, and to be sure, you can also go diagonally. As a result, none of your springs will be able to move separately from the rest. Be guided step by step photos to secure springs in the seat of upholstered furniture:
Finally, all that remains is to reupholster the finished seat. In this case, the craftsman simply sewed on the fabric (which could also be done using a stapler), and masked the seams with ribbon.
Reupholstering or replacing upholstery of upholstered furniture
Reupholstering can also be quite a task, but it's definitely worth it, especially if you don't have any special plans for the weekend. Next, you will learn how to properly reupholster an old sofa or chair with your own hands.
Stage 1. Removing old upholstery
- You may feel like you know this piece of furniture by heart. But still, before removing the upholstery, take pictures of it inside, outside, front and back, taking close-ups of especially difficult areas near the armrests, etc.
- Carefully remove the old upholstery, being careful not to damage it or the furniture itself. You may need an anti-staple gun, a screwdriver and other tools for this. It is recommended to remove the fabric in the following order:
- From the lower base (turning the sofa onto its back or upside down);
- From the outside of the backrest and armrests;
- From the inside of the back and armrests;
- From the seat.
You will use the old upholstery as a template. Before applying it to new fabric, we recommend ironing it.
Stage 2. Sewing new upholstery and reupholstering upholstered furniture
- Use your photos and old upholstery as a guide. Start reupholstering the furniture from the bottom base, then work on the armrests, backrest and seat in that order.
2. Cut the fabric according ready-made template taking into account the following:
- On the edges that will be sewn with thread, leave an additional 10-15 mm of fabric;
- At the edges that will be stapled, add about 50mm, which will be used to pull the upholstery over the sofa.
3. Sew sections of fabric where necessary and stretch it over the bottom, securing it with a stapler along the edges.
5. Next to it is the outer part of the armrests.
Notice how the craftsman avoided seams and secured the outer armrest padding with a hammer.
The photo below shows Alternative option restoration of armrests. The master secured them with a stapler, and then covered the staples with a beautiful braid.
- Let's return to our example. After the armrests came the turn of the backrest. A rope sewn around the perimeter gives it an interesting and expressive shape.
This technique can also be used to add expressiveness to the armrests, which is what was done during the restoration of this chair.
- The outer part of the backrest is secured in the same way as the outer upholstery of the armrests. Additionally, the sofa was decorated with buttons and new legs. On next photo you can compare the sofa before and after repair and reupholstery.
Restoration of upholstered furniture: before and after photos
At the end of this article, we offer you a few more photos of upholstered furniture before and after restoration. We hope that these examples will clearly demonstrate to you that any furniture can be restored beyond recognition and bring you pleasure with its new style, color and upholstery!
Also read: Transformable furniture for a small apartment 
Also read: 
And if you have no desire to engage in restoration and reupholstery of furniture, then here are a few simple solutions for masking problem areas and repairing upholstered furniture with your own hands:
Restoring upholstered furniture with your own hands: tips with before and after photos updated: April 20, 2018 by: Margarita Glushko
You can reupholster kitchen upholstered furniture yourself. A video with a repair master class will help you understand how to do it correctly and efficiently.
Regardless of the quality of the covering of sofas and armchairs, sooner or later their upholstery loses its former brightness and beauty, and the springs sag. To return these irreplaceable interior items to their former appearance, the furniture is reupholstered with your own hands. What are the advantages self-finishing? Of course, in significant budget savings, acquisition of skills in handling furniture fabric, development of accuracy and determination.
List of acceptable upholstery materials
When getting started, it is important to remember that expensive samples require professional finishing, therefore, in order not to spoil the sofa with inept actions, it is advisable to contact a restorer. It is also not easy to replace the upholstery of quilted surfaces decorated with all kinds of drapery elements, piping and folds. For a beginner in this matter, it is better to put off the idea of reconstruction, and you can gain experience on simpler models.
The following materials allow you to reupholster furniture:
- dense and strong leather substitute;
- artificial or natural fabric impregnated with a water-repellent composition;
- foam rubber of special rigidity with the corresponding marking “EL”.
Upholstery should be chosen so that it matches general finishing premises and the furniture itself.
In some cases, a combination of all kinds of fabrics is allowed. Most often, tapestry, flock, nubuck, jacquard, and leather are used for upholstery.
Necessary equipment for work
A set of the following tools will allow you to carry out the work very quickly and smoothly:
- Phillips screwdriver, devices with a flat tip;
- hex keys;
- nippers, side cutters;
- furniture stapler;
- glue;
- hammer;
- pliers;
- classic and capped nails;
- everything you need for hemming fabric.
How to avoid mistakes when choosing fabric?
Worn upholstered furniture requires careful selection of material. It will not only transform her appearance, but will also become a practical acquisition. It is advisable to buy special upholstery fabric, devoid of roughness and relief with high percentage synthetic fillers. It’s unlikely that anyone will like the location of such a sofa, so when choosing a fabric, it is important to consider the following nuances:
- It is better to avoid substances with a pungent odor. You should also avoid dyeing fabrics.
- Among fleecy coverings, it is better to choose those that are the strongest and do not crumble.
- Dense fabrics skillfully hide all the drawbacks of the constriction; here it is important to correctly join the pattern, carefully ensuring that it matches.
The soft foam base must be porous and elastic, with small bubbles; such material must quickly take its original shape. When purchasing padding polyester to soften the surface, it is important to pay attention to its quality: the surface must be uniform in thickness, density and structure.
The main points of installation
Independent restoration of sofas and armchairs does not require complex and shaped patterns. Purchasing extra fabric will allow you to avoid patchwork sewing.
- Before starting work, it is advisable to practice on chairs, which will strengthen your skills in handling fabric and allow you to choose the most suitable handy tool and master all stages of complex repairs.
- Before removal old fabric It is advisable to photograph the main fastening elements, the pivot points connecting the parts. Final assembly passes in the order in which it was disassembled.
Restoration of upholstered furniture is carried out in the following order:
- dismantling the side parts, back, legs and pillows;
- dismantling worn parts;
- taking measurements, preparing and cutting new elements;
- fastening individual parts upholstery;
- installation of the finished mechanism.
Rules for the reconstruction of sofas and armchairs
All work on reupholstering obsolete structures begins with dismantling: removing the side parts, seats, handles and legs.
- It is important to be careful to avoid damaging the frame.
- Rusted elements are first treated with a special liquid, after which they are carefully removed.
- You can get rid of old staples by hooking the plywood with a screwdriver and carefully lifting it up. After loosening the fasteners, they can be easily removed.
- The screws are unscrewed, but cannot be pulled out of the wood.
- Well-preserved fasteners are stored in a safe place for future use.
- The staples for fastening the old fabric are removed with a knife or screwdriver and the upholstery fabric is carefully removed. (Later it will be useful for cutting out patterns).
Attention! You should not leave staples on upholstered furniture while cutting fabric. Subsequent fastening of the new material will be completely inconvenient, as a result the appearance of the sofa will be completely ruined.
In addition, rust that appears on the fabric will not decorate the new upholstery at all.
Frame restoration
The old softening layer of furniture must be replaced, because it is impossible to correct sagging areas. And laying an additional layer is unlikely to improve the situation, since problem areas it becomes deformed again. Wooden frame requires more careful handling. And all spring and mesh elements are replaced with new ones. If there are belts at the base of the sofa, you should check their integrity and flexibility. Their good condition allows these parts to be reused.
The connecting parts of the frame are disassembled, cleaned and glued again, and in order to achieve maximum results, the joints are fixed with clamps. Once the glue dries, they can be removed. Unsuitable for further use The nest is puttied or a plug is placed in it, and a new hole is drilled for the screw at a distance of 2 cm.
It is important that irregularities, burrs and nicks are carefully ground. If this is not done, the new upholstery may be damaged. Independent actions to restore the previous appearance of a shabby sofa or armchair require special care and patience.
How to cut new fabric?
The fabric chosen for upholstery is washed and ironed, which will prevent creases and folds from appearing on the upholstered furniture during subsequent use. When cutting fabric, it is important to be especially careful, leaving additional allowance for fastening. It’s good if the supply is large and you don’t have to save every millimeter during the work, but a shortage of fabric will cause serious difficulties. Similar actions are carried out with old upholstery: it is also ironed, after which the edges are drawn with the remains of soap and cut out.
First of all, fix the softening layer on the plywood using special glue. The substance is applied in small drops at corner and central points. The necessary parts are cut out using ready-made patterns without allowances. As the glue dries upholstery fabric attached using staples or small nails.
Next, the workpiece is turned over and the material is stretched; wrinkles and folds are not allowed. The upholstery is again fixed with fasteners, departing 5 cm from the corners. The fabric is also fixed and the corners are processed.
Installation of the structure
To assemble upholstered furniture correctly, it is important to study the photographs taken during the dismantling process. Must be removed before final assembly wooden elements sofas that are sanded, varnished or painted. All work on upholstery of a sofa and armchairs is carried out in this sequence.
It is very expensive, and not everyone can constantly update it. What to do if an old sofa, for example, functions well, but has just lost its external beauty and the upholstery has completely worn out. Don't throw it away because of such a trifle. The solution is quite simple! You can reupholster the sofa.
For these purposes, you can invite specialists who, for a fee, will tighten your old sofa new upholstery. Or, do it yourself. Many people think that doing this kind of work themselves is very difficult, but in fact this is not at all the case. The main thing is to understand the stages of work and find all the necessary tools. Let's take a closer look at all the stages of work, and after a while you can easily boast of a “new” sofa, so to speak.
Required Tools
To reupholster a sofa yourself at home you will need:
1. Flathead screwdriver for removing old staples.
2. Spanners from 7 to 18 mm.
3. Scissors, wire cutters, glue, side cutters.
4. Furniture stapler.
5. Sewing machine.
6. Threads with high strength, for example, Titan.
7. Decorative buttons may be needed for decoration (if desired).
The main stages of upholstery home furniture with your own hands:
Stage 1
We disassemble and remove individual components in the form of pillows, sides, poufs. We disassemble the sofa using some necessary tools. First, carefully detach the side parts, remove all the trim pieces, the seat and the backrest. Often, this is done quite easily, since manufacturers present furniture with high maintainability. Place all fasteners in a previously prepared container so as not to lose them during further work.
Stage 2
We remove old upholstery that has become unusable. You can remove unsuitable upholstery using an anti-stapler, or replace it with a regular flat-head screwdriver. Do not forget that the work requires a certain accuracy from you. Don't tear it old cladding, because we will use it as a pattern to cut out necessary details from new fabric. Clean all interior cavities of the sofa from debris and dust. Pay attention to the foam rubber, if it is in good condition, you don’t have to throw it away, but if it is very worn out, it is better to buy a new one. Inspect carefully metal mesh, springs, various kinds stretch marks. If necessary, repair any detected defects or breakdowns. Fabric stretch marks must be replaced with new ones. Carefully tighten all the screws, strengthen the joints of the parts, and glue the wooden joints.
Stage 3
Let's start cutting out new upholstery parts. The final result of the entire reupholstery largely depends on the quality of the new patterns. of this product. The pattern for our pattern will be the old upholstery, the main thing is to leave an allowance of a few centimeters at the edges of the new fabric. We take the details of the old upholstery, put them on new fabric, trace them with chalk, do not forget to add a few centimeters along the edges, and cut out all the details with sharp scissors.
Stage 4
We attach new upholstery to furniture parts. The fabric on the sofa parts must be stretched evenly so as not to distort the pattern (if any) on the fabric. We fasten all the parts using a stapler. The distance between each staple should not be more than 4 cm in order to firmly secure all the details of our pattern. If you are afraid of making a mistake with the amount of new fabric, we recommend buying it with a small margin. Even if you then have excess material left, you can easily upholster stools in the kitchen or sew decorative pillows. If necessary, we cut out the foam rubber and attach it in the same way as new fabric. For convenience, you can cut it with a sharp kitchen knife.
Stage 5
Complete assembly of the updated furniture design. We assemble the sofa in the same way as we disassembled it. The main thing is not to stay " unnecessary details"after assembly, as often happens!