A Run Down of my First Upholstering Experience

Alright I have some spare time, lets see how well I can describe my chair covering process.

The first thing I have to admit is that I didn't take a Before photo :(

This is the best I could get...

It is there!

As for the process, here goes.

The first thing to do is remove ALL the staples. This is where my flattie hit a metaphorical brick wall. I'm not sure why you need to put 1000 staples to hold one piece of fabric but oh well.
I used my trusty multi-tool and some needle-nosed pliers.
 

Tools of the trade

The back piece came off first, it covered the back of the chair and the arms. Once that was off I un-screwed the arms of the chair (remembering to keep the screws!).

I then methodically removed the staples from the top half of the chair, the seat part of the chair, the base and the arms.

The 'Jacket'

I kept the fabric pieces and un-picked them to use as a pattern template for the new fabric. I also labeled them and marked which way they went as well as which piece they were joined to.

Sweet un-picking skills

Once everything was un-stapled and un-picked I laid the pieces onto the new fabric, making sure the pattern was running the right way. I then pinned, then cut them. I labeled these too with fabric chalk.

All laid out

The next step was sewing each bit back together, with piping on each seam.

Check out my old sewing machine!

 I came to a bit of a stumbling block when I discovered that the rubber foam on the seat had partially disintegrated. Gross! But considering the chair is from the 60's...

So I crumbled (I can't think of a better word) the rotten foam off as much as I could.

All crumbled off. The holes were there originally by the way, for extra squishyness

I then hunted round the house and found some foam that could sit on top of the old stuff. It was a mattress topper flipped upside down. I cut it into four squares, tucked and stapled it on, then glued the pieces together.

 

The next thing I did was check that the fabric pieces fitted snugly and made a few alterations.

I stapled on the top piece as you can see in the above photo and also stapled on the arm covers.

Then came the seat piece, firmly stapled into place, then the bottom piece that I like to call the 'skirt'.

Next was screwing the legs back on, making sure the holes matched up

The new style?

The last piece to staple on was the back cover, these staples show so I tried to be discreet.
Then FINALLY - the last staple!

My poor hands have blisters!

 Then ahhhhh admiring the finished product.

Killer approves

The coolest thing about this project, apart from seeing my flatmates face when she saw the chair, was finding this....

It says -'Recovered 26-2-69 CPR (or EPR)

That is a LONG time ago!
So I added my own touch...

I added 'Re-recovered 14-1-2012'

And that's it. Finished!

Sorry that was a bit of a mish mash how-to, next time I WILL take better photos!
And there will be a next time, I have got the upholstering bug!
I shall leave you with one last picture...

WOOHOO!