Have you ever had some kitchen chairs and didn’t know what to do with them because the cushion needed to be repaired? When this happened to me, I wasn’t even sure if I could save these chairs. I wanted to replace the cushions because this was one of my favorite kitchen dining rooms sets that matched my decor. I started doing some research on the internet and looked up some stores that sold all of the items that I needed. The one item that took the longest for me to find was some upholstery fabric that I liked. Take a piece of the old fabric with you when you go shopping. When I looked for fabric, I took the seat cushion with me. Tell the salesperson that you need some upholstery fabric for your chairs to ensure you get the correct type of fabric.
TIP: You may or may not be able to apply the thin layer of plastic over the fabric. Ask the fabric store salesperson which plastic thickness you should purchase to upholster chairs.
Supplies
Flat Head Screwdriver
Pliers
Foam with a 1.5-inch thickness
Foam with a 1/2-inch thickness
Staple gun and staples
Fabric to cover chairs
Black cover fabric
Scissors
Gloves
Long Sleeve Top
Protective cover for working area
1.Turn the chair upside down and remove the cushion from the chair using a screwdriver. Unscrew the four screws from the back of the chair.
2. Turn the cushion onto its back and remove the staples with the flat-head screwdriver. Use the pliers if you need to remove any staples sticking straight up. Consider taking pictures of how the fabric was attached to the chair. Pay close attention to the corners and how some of the fabric is overlapped in the corners.
3. You may be able to reuse the black cover fabric material if you are careful on how you remove the screws and the staples.
4. Remove all fabric from the back of the chair by removing the remaining screws with the flat head screwdriver. Use the pliers if you need to remove any of the staples that are sticking up out of the chair.
For the last two steps above, use the old pieces as a template to trace the new foam and the new fabric. You can use the same foam that was removed from the chair if it is still in good condition.
5.Cut two pieces of foam that are the same shape as what was removed from the chair. ( 1/2 inch foam and the 1.5-inch foam) Cutting the foam that was 1.5 inches thick was much harder. I had to use some professional scissors.
6. Cut two pieces of fabric to cover the chair. You may not need two pieces of fabric to cover the chair. I only used one piece of fabric. Some people use more than one layer of fabric. The thinner upholstery fabric with more flexibility is good to purchase if you want to apply two layers of fabric.
7. Apply the 1.5-inch-thick foam to the back of the piece of wood. You may use fabric glue spray to attach the 1.5-inch-thick piece of foam to the wood.
8. Place the 1/2-inch-thick foam on top of the 1.5-inch piece of foam. Add the piece of fabric on top of the foam. You can use two pieces of cloth if you want a fuller look.
9. Turn the wood with the foam pieces and the fabric over and start pulling the fabric towards the back of the wood.
10. Start stapling the fabric down around the chair. I started with the center of each opposite side and worked my way around the chair until it was all stapled down. Be careful not to pull the fabric too much. This will result in stretch fabric that is not even around the chair cushion. For the curves I had to gather the fabric on the back side of the wood. However, I made sure it was not gathered on the front of the chair.
13. Cut any access fabric off the back of the chair. Refer to the picture you took earlier to see how much fabric was left on the chair. Sometimes people use upholstery glue to secure the fabric to the wood.
14. Cover the back of the chair with the original black piece of fabric with staples from the staple gun. You want the black piece of fabric to lay flat on the back of the chair. If you use a new piece of black fabric on the back, use the old piece as a pattern and cut out a new piece that is the same size and shape.
15. Use the screws you removed in step 1 to attach the cushion back to the chair.
