Worn, Sturdy Chair Gets Facelift

Chair After

Chair Before

This worn chair was in rough shape when it came to me. Although it was quite sturdy, the exterior was in need of a major facelift. The chair had taken a beating by an overzealous dog which had chewed up the left seat section, showing exposed springs. 

The chair had once been a light tan material but had darkened with use and age as the fabric was quite worn out. This was an extremely heavy chair with a strong frame and lots of springs which gave it plenty of bounce. Springs feel good in a chair only when they are not poking through it!

The first step involved in this massive project was removing the old material and documenting (literally) each step as I carefully pulled staples and nails out of each section of the chair. This type of chair has several areas and each one has a specific methodology to put together as well as take apart. Taking it apart is exactly the opposite of building it, which means that I had to remove the center, left and right outer sections first, before tackling the interior seating area. This process is vital to assembling all these components when reupholstering the chair, since I used the original fabric to make templates for the new fabric, which was a blue seat with plaid top and backing, making this a unique, two-tone chair. 

After removing all the individual fabric sections, I marked each one and put them aside. The chair had plenty of other materials including foam padding and raw cotton filling as well as chambray and burlap, which is used to cover the springs. In addition to plenty of staples, I had removed a lot of tiny upholstery nails which held the side inner materials together. After the chair was completely stripped of all materials, it was time for Jim to work on the legs, which needed to be refinished. He also reinforced the side rails with glue and screws since they were a bit loose and removed the "cage" which was broken. This was the metal frame that housed the springs. That spring cage was broken, so we decided to remove it. It was also that section that was poking through the original chair. 

With the legs refinished and the chair strengthened up, I could then begin the tedious process of building up the chair. My first step was to reinforce the springs with twine and securely cover the spring base with burlap, which is standard procedure for chair construction. After the burlap, came many layers of raw cotton, which comes in a large yardage roll in a larger box that can be used in sections that you determine the size and "feather" the edges to fit your project. There were approximately four layers of this cotton material as well as foam before I felt it was ready for the outer fabric. This was a long process and I started with the seat, which had plush blue material which was selected by my customer. The bottom edge of this chair rail was wide, so it took bit of tugging to get the material between those rails and be able to attach it. 

After the seat was complete, I carefully constructed the inner back seating area. This was comprised of five separate sections which I had sewn together based on the original patterns. Marking these sections carefully is crucial. I carefully placed the center of the five sewn sections that aligned with the chair's center. Measuring carefully is vital to a proper fit. The chair had plenty of raw cotton filling and foam to make it comfortable. It was a step by step process that was time consuming, but it came together nicely. 

With the interior secured, I added the contrasting buttons and that part was done. Then I stapled the welt cord in place, which is the final step prior to attaching the back chair fabric. The welt cord gives the chair a nicely finished look and adds a stylish detail. Finally I was ready to tackle the back. I attached the left and right side sections first, then the back section, which was then hand-stitched to connect the side sections. These segments met at the wooden structure of the chair's leg continuation, a nicely balanced area to secure the three sections together. I used waxed twine for the the stitching which is strong and perfect for this application. 

The final two steps in completing this chair project was covering the bottom with black chambray, a dust cover that finishes off the bottom and covers the springs and a bit of welt cord around the front legs, which tied into the welt cord on the front of the blue seat, adding a finishing touch. The chair was complete and very comfortable indeed. We found out the chair was actually 73 years old, so hopefully it will last a long time with the newly reupholstered material.