It’s only hard if you don’t have any crafting/sewing skill or the tools necessary. It also depends on how good you want it to look when you’re finished. There are lots of videos online that will show you what to do. Community colleges often offer adult education classes in reupholstering and you can work on your chair with them. Answer from piperdude on reddit.com
Better Homes & Gardens
bhg.com › decorating › do-it-yourself › fabric-paper-projects › diy-chair-upholstery-guide
Your Step-by-Step Guide to How to Reupholster a Chair
September 22, 2025 - Repeat this process to cut out each fabric section. Transfer the markings for direction, welting, and seams onto the new pieces with chalk. If preferred, combine the chair reupholstery pieces into covers for the seat and back that can be applied all at once.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/furniturerestoration › how to reupholster a chair
r/furniturerestoration on Reddit: How to reupholster a chair
October 28, 2024 -
Found this beauty on the side of the road (for free!!!) took her home and tried to clean her but the fabric started ripping. Has great bones and I love the style, how hard would it be to reupholster? Any tips?
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It’s only hard if you don’t have any crafting/sewing skill or the tools necessary. It also depends on how good you want it to look when you’re finished. There are lots of videos online that will show you what to do. Community colleges often offer adult education classes in reupholstering and you can work on your chair with them.
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Save the pieces to use as a pattern, hopefully the inside is in decent condition. I dont think it will be real hard for you, get a good upholstery fabric. It's a beautiful chair.
r/DIY, have any of you ever reupholstered a chair on your own without any prior experience?
look up curve-ease and get it. their website has an awesome video-tutorial. It works wonders on the awkward sides and back of the wingback chairs. secondly, make sure you have lots of time, and lots of extra fabric. I would suggest doing a mock up of the harder parts with cheap muslin, so you don't screw up on your expensive fabric. with that said, don't skimp on fabric. you want it to hold up long enough...no one likes redoing a reupholstery job because the fabric wore out. take off each piece one at a time at the seams, you're going to use them as the pattern for your new fabric, so resist the urge to tear it all to pieces. for one, take pictures of the chair (or do one at a time) so you can remember how things are pleated/folded around the edges. start with the dust cloth at the bottom, get strong needle nosed pliers and pull up all of the visible staples. remove and set aside. you'll be able to see the staples along the bottom holding the leather down.. remove those. you'll be able to tell which side went on last, based on how the fabric is wrapped. it always helps to take pictures after removing every piece. I always have a sharpie with me and I label each piece I take off, so I know the order it needs to be put back on in. if you have pieces that are sewn together (commonly on the arms of chairs) carefully cut the seams until everything is separated. repeat until you're down to the foam and batting. if its in good shape, go ahead and re-use it. note: I always add or re-wrap in new batting. over time the original has been compressed, and if your going from leather to fabric, you're definitely going to want to add more. if you do need to buy new foam, get the Joann fabrics app and use a good coupon... that shits expensive. once again, don't skimp. get the good stuff. my rule, don't mess with springs or the frame. if they need repair, unless its an antique its not worth the cost. so. re foam, make sure you have supplies and equipment (a good staple gun, plenty of staples, curve ease, needlenose pliers, hammer, scissors, fabric, sewing machine if necessary) Take your time and start with the last thing to took off. work carefully, make sure you pull the fabric tight enough over the frame. DON'T move on to the next step until you are happy with the current one. if something looks crooked, take the time and pull those staples... it is not worth backtracking 5 steps to fix the 2nd thing you did. if you have any questions, PM me. I'm not a professional, but I've been sewing for 15+ years, and reupholstering as a hobby for 3. You can even send me a picture of the chairs and I can give some more detailed instructions. More on reddit.com
Honest opinion - Could I reupholster a chair?
Yes, you could do it. That doesn't mean you necessarily should because it's a hugely different skillset to what you have now. It's absolutely not worth it unless you're the kind of people who love learning new skill and buying new tools and don't care that it'll be an economic disaster. If you'd love the chair more just because you're the one that rehabbed it, then that's another reason to do it yourself even though you'll take a big loss doing it. I don't think you'd make it more expensive to get rescued by a professional if you got in over your heads but one should never underestimate the public's ability to turn something into a dumpster fire. Basically upholstery isn't hard to understand or overly complicated but there's a TON of specialized techniques and tools required to do it passing well. If you think that sounds fun, go for it. If you thought it'd just be a way to save some money, you're absolutely going to spend more doing it yourself the first time than a shop would charge to do it. More on reddit.com
Reupholstery of Dining Chairs
Easiest thing to upholster. Turn the chair over. The seat usually just unscrews. Take the cover off, trace, and cut. A cheap electric staple gun or even heavy duty manual will do this job. The back in not sure. More photos might help More on reddit.com
Help with DIY dining room chair reupholstery
As a diy project I would have some 1/2 plywood cut to fit over the existing frame. I would secure that with a couple of screws. Put some 3/4 bonded foam (carpet pad) on the plywood. Would then put 1 1/2 inch firm foam on top of that. Then a layer of Dacron from the bottom edge over the foam to the bottom edge. Then cover with fabric. More on reddit.com
Videos
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
Pinterest
pinterest.com › explore › diy and crafts › diy interior › diy furniture
How to Reupholster Chairs: A Simple Step-by-step Guide
May 20, 2021 - When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. ... Learn how to reupholster chairs with this step-by-step guide including simple explanations of upholstery techniques and lots of helpful tips.
WikiHow
wikihow.life › home and garden › furniture › upholstery › how to reupholster a chair (with pictures) - wikihow life
How to Reupholster a Chair (with Pictures) - wikiHow Life
February 5, 2021 - Rivets are mostly decoration these days, but they will still hold the fabric in place if you don't remove them. Use needle-nose pliers to pull them out. This can take a while if your chair has a lot of rivets.[5] X Research source · You can save these to put back on, buy new ones, or just leave them off when you reupholster the chair.