How to Reupholster a Chair Seat

How to Reupholster a Chair

The easiest way to reupholster a chair cushion is to remove the cushion from the chair, take the old fabric off, and attach new fabric around the cushion. Choose a strong fabric intended for upholstery for a durable, long-lasting piece of furniture. One yard of fabric can typically reupholster two standard dining chairs.

1. Remove the Seat

   Turn the chair upside down, and unscrew the seat from the frame, using a drill or screwdriver. Make any necessary repairs to the wood part of the chair—painting, refinishing, or tightening joints. Make sure everything is dry, not sticky to the touch, then reattach the seat.

   You may encounter a non-removable chair seat when reupholstering that includes a tack strip: a long strip of cardboard with tacks holding the seat to the frame instead of screws. Remove the strip by prying the seat off with a flat head screwdriver.

2. Remove the Old Fabric

   Turn the seat over. Use a staple remover to remove the old staples and fabric. If the staples are stubborn, pull them out with needle-nose pliers. Save the old seat fabric to use it as a pattern.

   If the padding is in bad shape, or you just want a softer seat, you can add a new layer of foam batting. It's sold in most fabric and hobby stores.

3. Center Your Pattern

   If your new seat fabric has a pattern, turn the seat right-side up and place the new fabric on top. Pressing around the perimeter of the seat, center your pattern, then mark the corners with straight pins.

   Note: You can skip this step if your fabric doesn't have a pattern.

4. Cut the New Seat Cover

   Turn the new fabric right-side down and put the old seat cover on top as a pattern. Note the locations of your pins. Adjust them if needed, feeling underneath to find them. Line up the corner creases of the old seat cover with your straight pins.

   Weigh down the old cover at the chair seat corners, then trace around the old seat cover with a pencil or chalk. Smooth out the edges with your hands as you trace it so your new cover doesn't end up too small. You can pin the old seat cover to your new fabric before tracing if you don't feel confident about smoothing it as you go.

   Remove the old seat cover, then cut out the new one using the pencil or chalk lines as your guide. To prevent fraying, use your sewing machine to zigzag or serge around the edges of your fabric. If you don't want to sew, fold tape along the edges. Press ​down your fabric if it's wrinkled or creased.

5. Attach the Fabric to the Seat

   Turn the new seat cover right-side down. Place the seat cushion, also right-side down, on top of it. If you have pins to mark the corners of a patterned fabric, make sure they are aligned with the corners of the seat cushion.

   Starting with the top edge, staple once in the center. Repeat with the bottom edge, pulling the fabric tight before you staple. Repeat with each side and keep pulling the fabric tight before you staple.

   Working one side at a time, staple from the center outward until the side is completely stapled. As you work, keep pulling the fabric tight and smooth the fabric underneath from the center. Leave the corners unstapled. Repeat on all sides until everything is stapled but the corners.

6. Complete the Corners

   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, then stapling it down.

   When reupholstering a chair with rounded corners, you may need to make multiple pleats on each corner for a flat, smooth finish. Make sure you don't staple over the screw holes. Repeat for the three remaining corners.

   Tip

   For a professional, finished look, add welt cord. You can buy decorative cording in fabric or upholstery shops or make your own.

   To apply the welt, arrange it along the edge of the seat and staple the lip (the flat edge) of the welt. When you turn the seat over, only the rounded edge with the cord inside should show.

7. Reattach the Seat

   Place the seat on the chair frame and align the screw holes. Get the screws started so the seat doesn't fall off once you turn the chair upside down. Turn the chair over and tighten the screws until the seat is firmly attached. Be careful not to tighten too much, which can strip the holes.