A Complete Guide to Modern Upholstery

I really enjoy sourcing the fabrics for an upholstery project – it’s one of the most fun parts, and an opportunity to get really creative. I’ll be running through the practical considerations too.

With so much choice out there, it can be difficult to know what sort of furniture to choose for an upholstery project. Join Micaela on a visit to one of her favourite places to see how she chooses furniture for her own projects.

Join Micaela as she looks for amazing bargains, and discover how to find cheap furniture ready to transform through upholstery.

For your first upholstery project, I’ll be teaching you how to make a headboard. It’s the perfect way to familiarise yourself with the key skills you’ll need to take on the more advanced projects later in this course.

Before beginning your project, it’s well worth taking some time to think about the design of your headboard. Consider the shape and size, as well as the materials, colours and any details you want to introduce.

Before beginning your project, it’s well worth taking some time to really think about the design of your headboard. Consider the shape and size, as well as the materials, colours and any details you want to introduce yourself with the key skills you’ll need to take on the more advanced projects later on in this course.

As well as tools, there are certain materials to source before you embark on your project. You may have already chosen your main fabric, but there are additional layers underneath to consider too.

This is the really creative part of the project, where you can experiment with the shape and dimensions of your headboard to get it exactly right.

Now you can use your fabric template to translate the shape of your headboard over to the plywood.

With both pieces cut out and the split batten made, you can begin to assemble the headboard and attach your internal layers.

It’s time for the exciting part – beginning to position and cut your chosen fabric for the face of the headboard.

Once you have cut out any required additional sections, you can pin them to the main body of fabric, pattern matching if necessary.

Before doing any sewing, it’s a good idea to get all the elements cut and ready. If you are adding piping to your design, you can join me as I cut out the fabric I’ll be using.

The final element to prepare and cut is your border pieces. These will cover the sides of your headboard where the piping and staples are visible. You can use the same fabric as the front of the headboard, or a third fabric to give a stylish contrast.

With everything cut and prepared, you can now sew all the elements together.

Now that all the components have been sewn together and your headboard is constructed, you can begin the process of upholstering.

When your bottom edge is all secured, you can begin to replace the temporary staples at the top of your headboard with permanent ones.

If your design has any concave curves, you will need to approach these in a slightly different way.

After the top of the headboard is fully secured, you can move to work on the side sections.

The next step, if you are including it in your design, is to attach the piping to the edge of your headboard.

To hold the piping firmly in place and to finish off the side section of your headboard neatly, you can now add the border pieces of fabric.

To add fullness to your borders, it’s a good idea to add a layer of polyester on top of the back tack card.

All that’s left is to finish covering the back, and then you’re ready to enjoy your completed headboard!

Learning how to make box cushions is a really fundamental and useful skill. Once you master it, you’ll be able to take on a broad range of different upholstery projects.

You will have likely sourced most of these already to make your headboard, but here’s a rundown of what you’ll need for this particular project.

Box cushions are great, because they don’t require too many raw materials, and they can all be picked up easily from your local craft shop.

Don’t worry if the chair you’re using is slightly different to mine – I’ll be showing you how to make a template from the old cushions, so you’ll be able to replicate the exact unique measurements and shape.

To make the template, you’ll need to remove the existing cushion cover and unpick each seam.

You can now use the template you’ve made to cut out the pieces you need from the new fabric.

Piping can be bought pre-made; however, to create something really bespoke, I like to make my own. It’s easy to make, and well worth taking the time to do.

Once you have your cut lengths of piping cut and prepared, you’re ready to start sewing them together and inserting the piping cord.

Now it’s time to attach the piping to both the top and bottom of your cushion cover.

The next part of the process is to install the zip into your back border piece.

Each border piece can now be attached to the top side of your cushion cover – this step may take a little while if you need to pattern match.

Once you have sewn all four borders to the top side of the cushion, you’re now ready to attach the bottom side of the cushion.

The final bit of sewing to complete your box cushion cover is to close up the corners.

Your cushion cover is now fully constructed, so it’s time to begin work on the inner padding.

To complete the inner padding, you’ll need to wrap the foam in a polyester layer – and possibly a fire retardant layer too, depending on your cushion cover fabric.

Your hard work has paid off, and you’re now ready to fill your cushion cover and enjoy your box cushion.

You’ve now got the skills and experience to move onto our final project: upholstering an armchair, specifically a mid-century style box chair.

For this project, you’ll need a few extra tools to be able to strip down your chair.

Every chair is different, and I would always recommend stripping your chair first before buying materials, so that you can see how it was originally made and assess whether you’re going to replicate the same materials.

Cutting your fabric to manipulate it into tricky corners can be the most nerve-racking part of upholstery – to help reduce the chances of mistakes, I’ll often use ‘V cuts’.

Being organised in the first instance will give you the best chance of upholstering your chair successfully.

Once you’ve made all the necessary notes and labelled your chair, you can begin to strip it down.

An outside back can be secured in lots of different ways, so take your time to work out how you can release it.

With the fabric stripped away, you can really begin to see and understand how your chair has been constructed. You’ll also be able to see more clearly what work needs to be done.

Now you can use your template to cut out all the different pieces of fabric you need.

This stage will vary a little depending on the construction of your chair, but the techniques will be the same.

You can now refocus your attention on the chair frame and begin to prepare it for upholstery.

I would recommend replacing the hessian to increase the durability and longevity of your chair.

This is the layer that will begin to soften the frame of your chair for a comfier shape.

For extra comfort and cosiness, a layer of polyester or Dacron will help to smooth over any edges for a softer seat.

With the seat and back prepped, you can now begin to upholster the seat platform.

Once the seat platform is done, it’s time to move onto the inside back.

The back is now ready to cover with your fabric – and you’ll be able to really see how your chair is coming together.

How you approach this will depend on the shape and design of your chair, so take some time to figure out the best method.

This stage will provide structure and support within the arms, which is important for both comfort and durability.

With the structure of the arms complete, you can move onto covering them with fabric.

The bulk of our structure is now upholstered. The last thing to do is to work on the outside back.

To neatly finish your outside back, you will need to hand stitch.

There is also some hand sewing to be done to complete the front of your chair.

With your chair fully upholstered, the very last thing to do is to neatly finish the underneath of your chair. I’ll be using a plain cotton fabric as a bottom cloth.

Congratulations! You have now fully upholstered your chair.

Micaela will take you back through the skills you've learned on the course, and offer ideas and inspiration for what to do next.