Note: Following are the complete step-by-step instructions for upholstery repair, including furniture repair, reuphostering a seat pad and common upholstery repairs, without images. For further details, resource information and images, search for Weekend Handyman episode WKH-105. Print out this document and you'll be ready to do it yourself.
Materials for Complete Project: Dowel pins in a variety of sizes
Carpenter's glue
Stain stick to match the finish of the chair
Rubber mallet
Bar clamps
Strap clamps
Medium sandpaper
Wood scraper
Good set of chisels
Workbench
Medium grit sandpaper
Drill
Coping saw
Rags
High quality upholstery fabric
Plywood for the new seat
Upholstery grade foam rubber for cushion
Cotton or bonded dacron wadding to cover foam
Dust cover cloth for bottom chair pad
Polyproplylene webbing
Staple puller (upholsterer's staple remover)
Webbing stretcher
Tack hammer
Slip joint pliers
Staple gun
Spray adhesive
Curved upholstery needle
Heavy-duty nylon thread
Scissors
Button replacement tool
Heavy nylon twine Furniture Repair - Gather tools.
- Remove chair pad screws with cordless screw gun.
- Remove corner blocks -- tap out with rubber mallet if glued.
- Take apart loose joints with rubber mallet.
- Mark pieces to know where to replace.
- Scrape old glue off joints, dowel pins and glue blocks with scraper, chisel or sandpaper.
- Clean and smooth surfaces.
- Replace loose or broken dowel pins by doing the following:
- Start with small pilot hole and use larger bit.
- Cut dowel pin off flush to surface.
- Mark center of pin.
- Drill pilot hold down through pin but not into chair frame.
- Match drill bit to diameter of dowel hole.
- Drill old dowel out.
- Check that new dowel pin is nice and snug.
- Apply small amout of wood glue to nail and run around inside of hole.
- Apply glue to half dowel pin and tap in gently with mallet.
- If new pin is too long, set old dowel pin next to it, mark length and cut off excess with coping saw.
- Spread glue around joints with finger -- spread inside hold and around dowel pins, tape piece into place.
- Glue both male and female pieces.
- Repeat gluing process for all joints.
- Use strap clamp to hold frame together by putting a strap over the chair and around the rails or the body of the chair and adjust and rachet until it's good and snug.
- Glue and screw corner blocks back on by applying glue to the face of the rail and block with counter sunk side face-down, screw securely in place and wipe the excess glue with a damp rag.
- Leave chair in clamps for at least four hours.
- Use touch up stick to repair small nicks and scratches
Reuphoster Seat Pad - Gather upholstery tools and materials.
- Take fabric off chair by pulling out staples with a staple puller (upholsterer's staple remover).
- Take old webbing off.
- Put on new polypropylene webbing by doing the following:
- Start in middle, fold over end and staple in place.
- Use bar clamp to hold work down.
- Gently rock webbing stretcher until webbing is tight.
- Staple end in place.
- Cut webbing leaving an extra inch to fold over and staple down.
- Repeat process for other strips from front to back.
- To add horizontal webbing, repeat above steps and weave strapping under and over, alternate weave in remaining strips.
- Lay pad onto oversized 1" high foam.
- Trace outline of pad on foam and leave 1/4" all way around.
- Put foam on top of webbing with spray adhesive.
- Lay 1/2" thick bonded dacron on top of foam.
- Trim dactron 1/4" bigger than pad.
- Cut upholstery fabric.
- To attach fabric do the following:
- Find center front width of pad and back, and mark.
- Find center of fabric.
- Fold fabric along center line and cut small notch for both front and back.
- Starting from back, fold fabric over and line up notch with center mark.
- When fabric is straight, start attaching staples, leaving corners alone.
- Repeat above step to attach front and then sides.
- Trim extra fabric away.
- At corners, fold fabric over and pull down and away, staple in place.
- Repeat for each corner.
- Staple on dust cover material to hide staples and ends of fabric.
Common Upholstery Repairs - To fix a broken seam, do the following:
- Gather tools.
- Cut about 1' of heavy duty nylon thread.
- Tie four to five overhand knots in one end.
- Thread upholstery needle, insert needle just beyond tear, go back through top of fabric, pull tight, go back behind thread, loop through bottom fabric and pull tight.
- Repeat process and pull tight at end making several slip knots to bind -- loop needle behind last stitch and into middle of fabric and snip off flush.
- To replace a button do the following:
- Gather tools.
- Cut off 2' of heavy duty twine.
- Thread twine through button clasp.
- Clasp slides into channel and slips inside button replacement tool, make sure string is sitting in little bump on clasp.
- Keep tension on string, push tip of replacement tool through hole where button fell off.
- Hold strings with one hand, push plunger of tool to release clasp, twist and pull out replacement tool.
- String button on and make an overhand knot with two ends.
- Tighten until button is same depth as other buttons.
- Make another overhand knot to hold in place.
- A third knot goes below button to lock it.
- Snip off strings and tuck ends behind button.
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