How To Reupholster A Dining Chair Seat

A low-impact way to improve or change the look of any chair with a removable seat. In this example, we'll recover the fabric of a dining chair seat. Whether you have pets and children, or just love to recycle old furniture, you'll appreciate this quick refurbishing technique.

Steps

1. Unscrew the seat from the bottom of the chair.
2. Measure the width, length, and depth of the seat. Add 7-10 inches and multiply by the number of seats. This is the amount of fabric you need.
3. Place the fabric wrong-side up in the pattern direction you want, and place the seat on it upside down.
4. Cut the fabric to size, including the depth needed to cover, leaving about 3-5 inches to attach to the seat.
5. Fold one flap of fabric along the side with the straightest edge. Use a staple gun to staple a row with about 1" spacing, leaving 3" of fabric unattached at each corner.
6. Tighten the fabric across the top of the seat.
7. Move to one corner, fold down the fabric edge, then fold up and hold taut (like wrapping a present). Staple at a diagonal on the corner, the once each on either edge.
8. Repeat for the opposite corner.
9. Repeat step X for both sides, then repeat step X for each corner and secure the opposite side.
10. Trim any excess cloth.
11. Return seat to the chair and screw the base back in.

Tips

• Fabric is important: for heavily-used chairs, choose thick fabric designed for upholstering. If you use the chairs only occasionally, or if you like to recover to meet different needs year to year, a lighter, stretchy fabric can make your job easier.
• A power stapler or staple gun is best for this task. A desk stapler won't be strong enough to penetrate the wood.
• Buy extra fabric so you'll have some left over to make matching place mats, runners, or cushions to coordinate.
• You may wish to line tape the edges to prevent fraying of the cloth.

Warnings

• Unless there is an odor or padding has escaped the cushion, it is not recommended that you remove the base layer of fabric on your seat. Recovering a bare seat pad is trickier and may require additional steps.