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The Spruce
thespruce.com › how-to-reupholster-a-chair-seat-1313553
How to Reupholster a Chair: Step-By-Step Guide
August 26, 2025 - Grasp one corner of the cover and pull the point toward the center of the seat cushion, then staple it. Finish reupholstering the chair seat's corners by arranging the remaining unstapled corner fabric into small, even pleats, pulling it tightly, ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/diy › seeking advice for reupholstering / replacing my desk chair cushion
r/DIY on Reddit: Seeking Advice for Reupholstering / Replacing My Desk Chair Cushion
November 19, 2022 -

I have a cheap but comfortable office chair, and its starting to show its age as the cushion is getting compressed or thinner. I live in an apartment and don't have a lot of tools, but I am thinking of replacing the cushion part and had some questions.

  1. Would I need an electric staple gun, or would a manual one be better since it would only see seldom use? Is this even needed?

  2. Is there some grade or rating or type of cushion/foam I should look out for to have a high quality, king-like sitting experience? Is there a good place to source such a thing?

  3. The material of the cushion cover is faux/vegan leather and seems to not have any wear on top. Is the seat cover usually reusable or do I need to look for something else?

  4. Is there another consumable part I need to look for besides these items (cushion/foam, staples/stapler, seat cover fabric) ?

Any advice is appreciated, and I hope to reduce the waste of throwing away a perfectly good frame of a chair due to a cushion that could be replaced with some know how and minor labor. Admittedly I am not that handy but would rather build skills and reduce waste over my lifetime than thrown perfectly good stuff away.

Top answer
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I recovered my dining chairs a couple years ago, so this is based off of that! I used a manual stapler. I got 3” high density foam, which seems like overkill, but I wanted a little extra height and to have support. You’ll want to get batting as well (the stuff used in quilts) to put between the foam and fabric - it rounds off your edges and gives a nicer look and feel. I’d plan on getting new fabric and getting more than you think you need. If you want to seal the bottom, you’ll need fabric for that, too, but that’s optional. I just went online for the foam, but I remember I bought a ton of it - I made a cushion for my hall bench, too. Good luck! 💜
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Just finished an wingback chair, a manual stapler is fine as that is what I used but an electric one is worth it if it fits your budget. A good pair of scissor, the stapler, a meter measuring tape and a hammer oh chalk and spray glue, is all you need to re upholster everything. Thread comes in upholster strength Material choice can be whatever- just ask yourself how many times you want to re do the work. Generally closed cell high density foam for a durable long lasting loaf. Top that foam with low density foam or thick coarse batting (quality, quilt batting is ok for loft) Edit: use the old material as a pattern for the new if you choose new fabric. Leave 2 -3 inch on the edge to give you something to hold while tugging the cushion firm. Trim as you go/need while installing. . Edit: arrow jt21 staples and compatible stapler or comparable.
Discussions

How do I revive/refresh/replace these dining chair cushions?
Go watch the drunken upholsterer on YouTube More on reddit.com
🌐 r/upholstery
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April 6, 2022
reupholster seat cushion NO SEWING Please! - DoItYourself.com Community Forums
Upholstery and Fabrics - reupholster seat cushion NO SEWING Please! - I am reupholstering a seat cushion on a wood and fabric framed living room chair. I purchased and formed the foam cushion but now need assistance adhering the batting to it and then how to put the new fabric on without sewing ... More on doityourself.com
🌐 doityourself.com
November 20, 2005
Seeking Advice for Reupholstering / Replacing My Desk Chair Cushion
I recovered my dining chairs a couple years ago, so this is based off of that! I used a manual stapler. I got 3” high density foam, which seems like overkill, but I wanted a little extra height and to have support. You’ll want to get batting as well (the stuff used in quilts) to put between the foam and fabric - it rounds off your edges and gives a nicer look and feel. I’d plan on getting new fabric and getting more than you think you need. If you want to seal the bottom, you’ll need fabric for that, too, but that’s optional. I just went online for the foam, but I remember I bought a ton of it - I made a cushion for my hall bench, too. Good luck! 💜 More on reddit.com
🌐 r/DIY
21
73
November 19, 2022
How to upholster cushion attached to chair

Pull off the lace stuff around the edge of the fabric. It is called gimp. It hides the staples.

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December 11, 2023
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Instructables
instructables.com › workshop › furniture
Reupholster a Chair Cushion : 5 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables
September 8, 2019 - I make the 1/2 inch foam the same size as the existing chair cushion. See photo, where I cut out the two back corners of the foam (as that is where the back comes up). I add the foam by first applying a layer of adhesive on both the foam and the existing seat, then letting it sit for a minute or two to get a little tacky (read the instructions, as each adhesive could be a little different).
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Diybeautify
diybeautify.com › 2019 › 09 › how-to-easily-reupholster-dining-seat-cushions.html
How to Easily Reupholster Dining Seat Cushions - DIY Beautify - Creating Beauty at Home
May 2, 2022 - This step is super important unless you want to be reupholstering your chairs again in a month! Take a couple hours and spray a couple light coats of ScotchGard on each seat cushion. This will help to block stains and make clean up easier!
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The Upholstery Forum
theupholsteryforum.com › board index › categories › furniture
How to reupholster a flat, glued-back chair cushion? - The Upholstery Forum
November 17, 2025 - Hi everyone, I m planning to renew the upholstery on a chair with a flat backrest cushion. The cushion is attached to a very thin board or panel, and this entire panel is glued onto the wooden...
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Quora
quora.com › How-do-I-reupholster-a-chair-seat-cushion
How to reupholster a chair seat cushion - Quora
Answer: It can easily be done if you know the ropes. If the cushion can be removed, take it out and apple a new covering over the cushion and staple it down, then replace.
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Online Fabric Store
onlinefabricstore.com › makersmill › how-to-reupholster-dining-chairs
How to Reupholster Dining Chairs | OFS Maker's Mill
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Erin Zubot Design
erinzubotdesign.com › home › diy chair seat cushion upholstery (step-by-step)
DIY Chair Seat Cushion Upholstery (Step-by-Step) - Erin Zubot Design
July 4, 2024 - Pull the fabric snug and add a staple to the opposite side · Now that you have two staples in place, turn the seat 90 degrees and do the same thing, so that you have a staple now in all 4 sides of the chair. This is the same if you have a square cushion, a round cushion, or any shape at all, you want to work from the middle out.
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YouTube
youtube.com › onlinefabricstore.net
How to Reupholster Dining Chairs - DIY Tutorial - YouTube
Get the fabric & supplies you need at OnlineFabricStore: https://www.onlinefabricstore.net/ Want more info on this project, including written instructions? F...
Published   April 13, 2015
Views   1M
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to Recover Chair Cushions DIY | Reupholster Dining Chair Cushions - YouTube
Recovering chair cushions simple and easy method! The Southern Girl shows you how to recover your chair seats with having bulking corners, how to select, cal...
Published   July 28, 2022
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Apartment Therapy
apartmenttherapy.com › how-to-reupholster-chair-37388958
How to Reupholster a Chair for Total Beginners (with Photos!) | Apartment Therapy
Learn how to reupholster a dining chair with this beginner-friendly tutorial featuring step-by-step photos.
Published   March 28, 2024
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Room For Tuesday
roomfortuesday.com › home › home diy projects › furniture & upholstery › how to upholster the seat of a chair
How to Upholster the Seat of a Chair - Room for Tuesday
August 6, 2024 - Step 4 // Prep your fabric. You’re almost ready to reupholster! Place the pattern side of the fabric face down on your work surface (my work surface is the floor) and rest the foam seat cushion down on top if it.
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DoItYourself.com
doityourself.com › doityourself.com community forums › interior decorating, design, painting, upholstery and fabrics center › upholstery and fabrics › reupholster seat cushion no sewing please!
reupholster seat cushion NO SEWING Please! - DoItYourself.com Community Forums
November 20, 2005 - ... Perhaps you can pin fabric ... professionally done. Or take two pieces of fabric large enough to sandwich the cushion between and knot the corners like you would a bandana or tie corners with ribbon....
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Quora
quora.com › How-do-you-cut-foam-to-reupholster-a-chair
How to cut foam to reupholster a chair - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): It’s ages since I did this so my memory may be off: Carefully mark where you intend to cut. Find a straight edge of suitable size which need to be stiff. Find a sharp knife longer than the depth of foam to be cut. Do a few practice cuts, keep the knife blade wet with a little ...
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Kim\'s Upholstery
kimsupholstery.com › category › upholstery-classes › cushions
How to Reupholster a Chair Cushion - Couch Cushion - Kim's Upholstery
Chair and couch cushions with old foam and fabric can be updated with fresh materials. Learn how to reupholster chair cushions or couch cushions.
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More to Mrs. E
moretomrse.com › home › reupholstering chairs with two padded back panels
Reupholstering Chairs with Two Padded Back Panels | More to Mrs. E
July 6, 2021 - Mine didn’t need it so I just batted them a few times to knock out any dust and then recovered the old cushions with the new fabric. (Now that I think about it, I would recommend vacuuming the old foam too!) Now that you have all of your new fabric cut into pieces, it’s time to put the new fabric on the chairs! The most difficult part of refinishing these chairs was the fact that there was a padded back panel on both sides of the chair. Most tutorials I found online didn’t show how to reupholster chairs with two padded back panels.
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Pretty Real
prettyrealblog.com › 2015 › 10 › how-to-recover-seat-cushion-hint-its-so.html
How to Recover a Seat Cushion. Hint: It's SO easy - Pretty Real
Materials needed to recover a seat cushion: -Staple Gun -Fabric (make sure to iron it first) -Screwdriver That's it! This chair was unique in that the seat doesn't screw in. It just sits across a couple of bars. But if your seat is screwed in, obviously you'll have to remove the seat and make ...