Upholstering the Inside Back of an Arm Chair

Well, everyone.....

I'm bushed.

I've been working on my friend Kris's guest room chair for the past couple of weeks,

 and I'm now at what I hope is the most difficult part...

because if anything else is harder than the inside back of a curved arm chair, 

I don't want to know about it.

For those of you just tuning in.....

here is a picture of the guestroom I'm doing for Kris.

Here is a shot of the chair when I first started the transformation.

Next is a shot of the chair up to the point of my last blog post.

For those of you thinking of starting a new upholstery project.....

just be warned.....

arm chairs that have a curved back, like the one above, are a bear to reupholster.

You'll see why in coming posts.

You're dealing with two curves.

One is the chair curving around the seat.

The other curve is the way the back rolls over and out.

So the fabric has to be fitted to those two curves. 

Oy, Oy, Oy.....

The first chair I ever did, had one....

I thought it would be easier, so it was what I bought at a consignment shop for 20 smackers.

My upholstery teacher laughed at me!!!!!

Here is the shot of the before...

I thought it would be a brilliant idea to remove the channels, and just have a nice smooth buttoned back.

Ha!

Here's the after.....

I did this for my aunt.

It went in her bedroom.

I made the buttons from one of the kits at Joanne's Fabric store.

This is not a good idea for upholstery projects, as they don't hold together well enough for furniture, and the tops will eventually pop off.

So for my current project, 

I used a button machine that my buddy's at Drape It have.

 (my drapery and upholstery workroom)

I have one in Florida that I keep in my garage upholstery workshop,

but I get to use Drape It's when I am up north in Massachusetts.

Next time I go over there, I'll take pictures of how to make them, for a tutorial.

I forgot to do that this time.

Oops...

The buttons help lay the fabric into the concave curve of the chair back.

One of my readers asked me if that was an old burlap sack used on the back of the chair.

I hadn't even noticed, 

sooooo....

good sharp eyes!!!!! 'Cuz it is!!!!!

Soooo....

back to the tutorial.....

for this new chair of Kris's.....

The first step for the back, is to cut out 2" thick soft foam that is shaped like the back.

Sooooo.....

  I made a template using tracing paper that I taped together to be big enough.....

See....

it wasn't wide enough.

Then I used a pencil to trace the outline of the frame.

You can feel the frame through the paper and use it as a guide.

I then cut out the shape to create my template.

Laid it on the foam and drew the outline in a marker.

Then I got out my electric knife professional foam cutter, and cut out the shape.

The piece of foam wasn't big enough to make the whole back, so I had to piece it together and glue it with upholstery spray adhesive.

Then I had to get the glue off my fingers.

OY.

When I cut the foam, I made it a little smaller that the back, around a 1/2" smaller, so that when I was all done upholstering, there would be room for the double welt to lay flat.

Then it was time to attach it to the chair.

I made the bottom of the foam long enough to tuck into the bottom where the seat hits the back.

Now it was time to staple the foam to the frame.

Now it was time to freak out.

Now it was time to call my buddy Gilles at Drape It.

He's their super duper upholsterer, and my go to guy when it comes to not knowing what the hell I'm doing.

See...

I kept on stapling into the foam....

and it wasn't holding....

and I was not happy.

not at all.

One 10 second conversation with Gilles, and I was good to go.

Wouldn't it be great if every problem in life was that easy to fix?????!!!!!

Sometimes I get so close to a problem, I can't see the obvious answer staring me right in the kisser!!!!!

I thought I was supposed to just staple the edge of the foam, kind of curve it over so it would have a rounded edge.

THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO IT!!!!!

He told me to staple through the whole thickness.....

and.....

USE BIGGER STAPLES!!!!!

I had been using 1/4", and I needed to be using 3/8".

So, I started at the top, and worked my way out.

Stapling through the full thickness of the foam, right at its edge, is enough to create a nice rounded finish.

I was just stapling the very edge of the foam and pulling it down to created a nice curve.

I tucked the foam into the bottom and pulled it out from the back, 

creating a nice smooth tight form.

Then it was time to apply the Dacron.

I cut a piece that would be wide enough and long enough to cover the inside,

 and still have enough extra material to grip with my dainty little paws.

I started tacking it at the top with 1/4" staples.

I like to use the smallest staple possible, because I make a lot of mistakes, and the smaller staples are easier to remove.

I continued stapling all along the inside back, pulling the Dacron taught as I went.

Start by stapling in the middle of the back and middle of each side, 

and then work out to the corners, pulling the Dacron tight as you go.

I was sure to leave the 1/2" space needed between the frame and the stuffing for the double welt.

Then I trimmed the Dacron with my shears.

I cleaned up any excess with a razor blade.

I pulled it out in the back and stapled to the seat rail.

And then I trimmed the excess Dacron.

THEN I REALIZED THAT I MADE A MISTAKE.....

and had to pull all the staples along the bottom out.

This is why I was glad I used 1/4" staples.

I made this same mistake 

on the last chair I did!!!!!

I'm so glad I don't learn from my mistakes.

I would have so much extra time on my hands I might get into trouble.

The Dacron is supposed to be stapled to the bottom rail of the back and sides.

like this here, what I show, down below, in this very picture, that I have for you!!!!!

(If you're confused, the chair is on its side.....)

You need to have that space between the top and the seat, 

in order to pull the covering fabric down tight.

Sooooo.....

I've gotten it this far.

Here are the stages....

I am now struggling with applying the fabric to the inside back.

I will show and tell all on my next post.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

How to Recover the Deck of a Chair

Today I am going to show the class the torture I've been experiencing,

tackling the frou frou chair for Kris.

It's going in her guest room.....

Remember the chair?????

Last I told you guys, 

I had gotten this far.....

 Sooooo.....

I finished painting the details in green, then I distressed and waxed the chair.

I'm really starting to get a handle on the painted finish I like.

I've only been trying to figure this out for the past two years.

I'm a slow learner.....

anyway......

after I finished painting the chair....

Kris and I dragged it up, out of my basement workshop.....

up to my second floor sewing/upholstery room.

The next thing I needed to tackle was redoing the decking for the support under the seat cushion.

Now, 

both my upholstery teachers told me that if the existing decking is in good condition,

the springs in good shape,

DON'T TAKE OFF THE FABRIC!!!!!

LEAVE IT IN PLACE AND JUST GO OVER IT!!!!

So that was what I was intending to do.

First I measured the seat area, to figure out how to cut the new fabric going on the chair.

When making a deck, you need to have a seam going across the front, around 5 inches from the front edge.

Look under the cushion of the nearest chair, you'll see what I mean.

Sooooo.....

I cut the fabric and seamed it together, and then sewed a zig-zag stitch along the cut edge of the seam, because I am using linen, and it's a bear.

It unravels by just looking at the damn stuff.

I then ironed the fabric to smooth the seam.

Don't iron the seam open, though.

You want both edges to lie flat together against the chair.

I then looked at the existing deck again.....

It was really bulky, because the old fabric was thick.

So.....

I thought.....

maybe I'll just pull the front off and see what's under there!!!!!

It was like an archaeological dig....

This chair is from the 1920's, so it makes sense that it had been recovered some time in its past.

Sooooo.....

I took off the top deck cover, and kept the original fabric in place.

I thought it was really funny that the original fabric hadn't been centered properly.

I should learn to be less snarky, because I was off by 1/2 an inch by the time I was done with my debacle.

First, I sewed the new fabric along the old seam, using a curved upholstery needle and upholstery thread.

Lay the fabric with the wrong side up along the existing seam of the old deck.

Line up your new seam with the old seam.

Pin in place.

Then get your curvy upholstery needle and sew along the seam.

I was a little brain dead, and started by trying to bring the needle up at the seam.....

NOT REALIZING IT'S MUCH, MUCH EASIER.....

if you sew down through the seam and up through the old fabric.

The first time I sewed the fabric in place, I flipped it over, proud of having  gotten this far.....

only to see that the seam had started to come apart, because I did a crappy job of sewing it.

damn

damn

damn

damn

damn!!!!!!

So I had to take it all apart and re-seam it and re-sew it.

Well....

I finally got it right, so it was time to staple it to the chair.

I cut slits in the back corners for the legs and pulled the fabric under the arms and back.

I used my trusty tucker to do this.

I used to use a spatula, but my tucker is much stronger, and much better.

I find one of the hardest parts of reupholstering anything is when I go to cut the fabric around the legs and arms.

This is when the whole thing can go south.

When you do this,

just remember....

you can always cut it a little more.....

BUT YOU CAN'T UNCUT IT!!!!!

This is what makes me so scared.

Weak in the knees.

Sweat buckets.

Anyway, after you fit the fabric around the legs, staple it to the seat frame on the sides and back, pulling the fabric taught and smoothing it across the seat.

Then it's time to do the front.

Flip the front part up, to where the seam is sewn onto the deck.

Then add Dacron padding along the front edge.

Then flip the fabric back down and staple along the bottom edge of the front of the seat.

You can see that when I redid the seam, I wasn't as careful matching up the stripe.

I reassure myself that Kris won't mind, 'cuz it's under the cushion.....

After stapling the fabric, trim it off at the staple line.

 Now there is one thing that you should be careful about when stapling your staples.

If you're going to have a double welt trim along the frame of the chair,

leave around a half inch space between the staples and the frame for the welt to fit against the wood.

Otherwise the welt will not be able to lie nice and flat.

The staples should be around 1/2 inch away from the frame.

I probably stapled them too close, but it should be OK.

I hope.

OY.

I trimmed the fabric with a razor blade.

I have a whole pack of them.

They're really good for trimming the fabric, dacron and foam.....

You may feel like using them on your person when in the middle of the project.....

but just keep on going.

I work until I reach the limit of my tolerance for frustration....

and then I walk away and go do something else for a while or a day or a week, until I am able to face the dragons again.

I though the deck would be the hardest part of the chair, but that was before I started on the back.....

I will share the harrowing adventures of that in a future post.

I am in the middle of it.
I hope it goes welllllllll.......

OY.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah