Grandmother’s Antique Chair Gets New Upholstery

 

Antique Chair Before

Antique Chair After

This was an antique chair had a lovely harp design on the back also had a heart-warming history. This chair was my customer’s husband’s grandmother’s chair and was given to the couple as a wedding present. Although grandma passed away twenty-seven years ago, the chair had been kept by family members and had been well cared for. The chair had come to us refinished, but needed new fabric, as well as spring tightening. 

The previous upholsterer used inadequate material on the springs as you could see them right through the seat fabric. When I sat on the the chair, I felt as though I would fall right through, that’s how bad it was. Everything was so thin, the springs popped right through, so I got to work and stripped it all off. Once I removed the old fabric, was what revealed was; the springs had been covered with a thin layer of shabby white fabric a rusty ring outlining each spring beneath. Next was a thin layer of raw cotton and a super thin layer of foam. That was it! The common denominator was “thin.” 

After I removed all the fabric, thin foam and the rest, I removed the springs. There were only four strips of webbing beneath the springs, which was inadequate. I replaced them with six strips of webbing, which I criss-crossed, making the webbing tight which lends proper support for the springs and a much better feel for the chair’s seat. 

The springs were pretty rusty and greasy, so I used my grinder’s brass wheel and cleaned and polished each spring, removing the grime and rust, revealing the nice metal beneath. It made them easier to work with and of course, much nicer looking. Evening though nobody will see these newly cleaned springs, I knew they were clean and that made me happy. Having the right tools for this type of work is essential! This spring cleaning step was not necessary, but a good idea to clean the interior parts of the chair. Plus, it gives me a feeling of doing it right.

Once the springs were cleaned, I hand sewed each one into place with strong waxed upholstery thread. Each spring was marked with a black sharpie, 2 inches away from the chair’s inner frame. This is a very important step, keeping the springs in line with each other for equal support. Once this is complete, the springs receive an eight-way tie. You start with the horizontal rows and tie each spring together, secured to the chair’s frame with staples (or nails) depending on the condition of the wood. If the wood is damaged from too many nails from previous reupholstering, staples are preferable. They are my personal favorite as I feel they are much faster and easier to use. Repeat the process with vertical ties, again securing each row, looping the string around each spring to keep them tight and the same height. Once the horizontal and verticals are secured, you repeat the process, now from corner to corner, in the shape of an “X” until you have eight strings overlapping one another. I added a couple more rows on the edges of the outer springs for extra strength. 

The next step is securing all the freshly tied springs with a layer of burlap, secured with staples to the edge of the chair’s frame. After the burlap, I added a 1” layer of high density foam, a thick layer of raw cotton batting, a thick layer of dacron and a layer of batting. I finished this with a layer of muslin to keep it all in place before I finished it with the fabric. After sitting on the newly finished seat, I no longer felt the springs, a good indication of a properly layered seat.

This chair was finished with decorative trim, or gimp, which was used to cover the staples that secured the fabric to the top of the chair. The back of the chair also needed to be reupholstered. The previous upholsterer used no webbing for the back, so I added a couple of strips for extra support and strength. Then I added a thin layer of closed cell foam and batting, which was appropriate for the back of the chair (unlike the seat, the needs a lot more layers of multiple materials so you don’t feel the springs.) Again, I used gimp trim to cover the staples which finished it off nicely. The gimp complemented the fabric, adding a decorative, finished look to the chair.

Check out the photos below to see the before and after springs and you can see the way an 8-way tie is properly done with chairs that have springs.

Chair Before Proper
Spring Tying and Less Webbing

Chair After Proper Spring
Tying and Six Strips of Webbing

Corner Chair Painted Black, New Seat Fabric

 

Chair Before

Chair After

This little chair is called a “corner chair,” because it can go perfectly into a  corner and you can sit on it facing either way. It’s a perfect place to sit and put your shoes on (or off) or just for additional seating. This little chair was an antique, likely made in the 1920’s or 1930’s. 

It was in great shape, but my customer wanted an updated look so she opted for satin black paint. After sanding, priming and painting, it was ready for a new upholstered seat.

The seat was covered with suede, which had seen better times, so she chose a gray tweed fabric which worked well with the black paint. The seat had been reinforced with very old, likely original metal strips on the underside and had been nailed with 2” nails! They were way to long for the 1/2 “ wood, so I had to turn the entire seat upside down and pry up the nails before removing them. 

Once that was done, I replaced them with seat webbing, weaving three rows in each direction for extra strength and support. Foam and batting added, then the new fabric was stapled in place. A black cambric finished off the underside of the chair. The black was satin, and looked fabulous with the fabric, a perfect blend of color and texture. 

Very Old Rocking Chair Gets a “Boost"

Rocking Chair Before
Saggy seat!

This rocking chair was estimated to be about 150 years old. My customer’s grandmother had installed the pink fabric (seen on the photo on the left) in the 1930’s, so it definitely had seen a lot of wear since then, which was over 80 years ago. Unbelievably, the fabric had maintained its overall condition, with no rips or other damage, but the seating itself had sunken in the center. Sagging happens over time, no matter how the chair had been originally constructed. And this one was reupholstered over 80 years ago, so sagging was not unusual. The upholstery work was done very well with unseen nails and tiny stitches. Quality lasts.

Rocking Chair after
Higher padding in the seat

Since my customer had wanted the chair refinished in addition to replacing the worn, outdated fabric, the first step was to remove the old fabric and all the padding, webbing and dust cover that’s beneath the seat. Once the fabric and padding, etc. was removed, the tedious task of stripping was the next step.

Chairs have a lot of surface area, therefore they take a long time to strip and refinish, because you must remove all the original stain prior to sanding and re-staining it. (See video at bottom). The detail in this chair with its dowels on the front arms and across the front crosspiece took the most amount of time, but the rockers themselves were also a challenge because they were harder to reach because of their location beneath the chair. I spent five long afternoons to remove all the finish, sand and re-stain the chair. Two coats of polyurethane applied over 24 hours was the final step prior to moving ahead with installing the new fabric. 

Unfinished 
Rocker

Prepping the chair for fabric is essential and involves replacing the original webbing with new webbing, making sure it’s nice and taut so the seat is built with a strong foundation. This chair had seat and back webbing, as well as front and back fabric on the backing. The seat area of the chair had some damage. It was broken on one side and the webbing had come apart, causing the sagging seat. I repaired the damage before installing the new webbing.

New Webbing
After Refinishing

After the webbing has been secured with staples on the folded edges, the next step is covering it with burlap. This strengthens the seat even further. (See photo on right). I then put a fitted piece of high density foam on the burlap, covered it with nice, thick cotton batting and finished it with Dacron, stapling everything in place. Last is the fabric. In this case, I was installing directional fabric. This means the fabric is installed in the “up” direction. Most fabric manufacturers have a line on the border side, with an arrow that points to the top of the fabric. This is vital, because the last thing you want is to get the fabric fitted perfectly only to find out it is upside-down!! Ugh!

The most difficult part of putting fabric on any chair with arms, is making sure you cut the fabric towards the arms with a “Y” cut. This gives you enough fabric to wrap it around each arm before folding and tucking the fabric securely next to either side of the arms prior to securing it with staples. It’s a long, labor-intensive process and should not be rushed. Installing the fabric properly requires concentration with no distractions so that you can focus on what you’re doing. If not, you may make costly mistakes. 

I got lucky with this chair, because the back of the arms had a screw and were removable, so that I could slide the fabric beneath it, which made the installation nice and clean with no cut lines required. Not all chairs have that option, in which case you have to make those tricky cuts, but sometimes you get lucky. After I finished the front, making sure the fabric was tightly wrapped and secured to the back, I adding the final piece of fabric, folding the edges and finished it with piping.