Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

My daughter came back from college for the summer and wanted an upholstered arm chair for her bedroom.  Since, as I mentioned, I have a kid in college, buying a new arm chair wasn't in the budget.  Nor was I crazy about buying used fabric covered furniture because of bedbugs, smoke, pet odors, etc.  So I looked around the house to see what I could come up with.  

Step 1: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

I had this old chair that my dad had purchased at a thrift store back in the 60's.  My daughter and I made a trip to the fabric store and purchased some foam and material.  I used  upholstery tacks, a staple gun, quilt batting, cardboard, scissors, and a hammer.  

Step 2: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

It had some structural problems.  So the first step  is adding several screws to make sure everything holds together.  I am going to be flipping this chair around a lot.  

Step 3: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Next step is making a pattern of the seat shape.  I had an old piece of pink material that I laid across the seat and traced the outline on.  

Step 4: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

It doesn't have to be perfect. I just need a rough guide for cutting the foam.  

Step 5: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Then I put the pattern on a piece of foam that I purchased from my local Hancock Fabrics store.  It is made from soy and supposed to be green (ecologically friendly.)  It was also on sale.  (my major motivation) The foam is 2 inches thick, so I plowed through it with scissors.  An electric knife would work much better.  If the foam was thicker or I was doing more than one of these, I might have tried to find one.  

Step 6: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

The foam was green.  I mean really, physically green.  So I decided to put a layer of muslin on first, so the green wouldn't show throw my print fabric.  Plus, I figured it would make the upholstry stronger to have 2 layers.  Next, I draped the  muslin over the foam and cut out a rough seat shape with plenty of overhang.  Later, it occured to me I could have used my pattern I just made and added all around.  Ah, hindsight.  

Step 7: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Then I pulled the fabric down around the seat and stapled it in place.  Where it met the legs and arm supports, I cut a small slit in the fabric.  Small.  It is much easier to cut more than to fix a slit that is too big.  

Step 8: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

The stapled muslin right side up.  

Step 9: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

I put the second piece of foam on the chair and just traced around it.  Then I cut it out.  See the extra on the top?  I am going to be using that shortly.  

Step 10: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Foam back in place.  I draped it with muslin and stapled again.  

Step 11: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Using the piece of foam left over at the top of the back piece, I cut out two arm pieces.  

Step 12: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Drape and staple again.

Step 13: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

The back looks pretty bad at this point.  So I cut a piece of cardboard to fit over the back.  

Step 14: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Then I cut a piece of quilt batting, a piece of muslin, and a piece of the final fabric.  Love this print.  Love the fact that it was half price on the clearance table.  

Step 15: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

I sewed the three layers of fabric around the cardboard.  This long thread tangles easily.  

Step 16: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Finished back. 

Step 17: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

It's time for more draping and stapling, this time with the print fabric.   

Step 18: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Almost there.  

Step 19: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Now I turned the chair over and used upholstry tacks to fasten the cardboard cover down.  I always buy twice as many tacks (.97 at Walmart) as I think I need, because I invariably hit about every third one wrong.  Then it bends over instead of going into the chair back.  This 50+ year old oak was especially hard, so I ruined a lot of tacks.  

Step 20: Vintage Chair to Vintage Flair (Upholstering a Wooden Chair)

Finally, I covered the bottom with a piece of cardboard.  I could have covered it with fabric, too, but I was tired at this point.  Nobody will be looking under the chair, anyway.  

Step 21:

The finished chair.  If I was doing this for chair that would get more use, I would have used upholstery material.  Since this one is mostly decorative, the apparel fabric will work.