How do I reupholster my leather recliner?
Question:I love my recliner. I can sit on it and melt away. I tried to take care of the leather but I guess i didnt do enough. The leather is tearing appart. Using Nu-Vinyl repair isnt an option. I'd ilke to reupholster it with some kind of fabric but most books on the subject are vague or expect you to have some knowledge on these things. Does anyone have any info on an illustrated step by step instructional of reupholstering a recliner?
Thanks so much!
Al
Answers:
Al, I can reupholster it and I can try to help you do it yourseld.
You will need several special tools -- most dont cost too much and you can rent the other(s) !
You'll need : staple puller, tack hammer, an electric airpressure tank with staple gun and 1 or 2 different sizes of staples. You'll need cording to make welting, a sewing machine or pre-made welting in the same color fabric or leather that you're covering your chair in.
You'll need enough fabric, leather or vinyl to cover the chair. recliners can take about 7 to 10 yards depending on the fabric width.
You'll also likely need some new commercial density foam and some batting. You'll also need some heavy duty sharp pins for holding fabric as you cut it, etc. You'll need a tape measure (cloth, and metal and a straight-edge type measure).
you can call me and I can try to walk you through it: 2394151861
it's just like making a pattern in sewing. you figure out for each part of the sofa how much material you will need and then you buy more than needed. You get a curved needle and sturdy furniture thread and set it on piece by piece. Used to be you would nail most of it on with gold color tacks but with the invent of children and them or pets putting everything into their mouths, that was changed to sewing the pieces on. You can buy material with a little "give" to it so the stitches won't come out. Or, you can buy one of those coverups instead, just throw it on the recliner (for now). Or, you can send it out and have it re-upholstered by a professional.
You will want to have a sturdy yet slightly stretchable material that holds it's shape and returns to its shape. Things like corduroy sounds tempting but it will eventually look sloppy in the seat area. (If you decide to go with corduroy anyway then choose more material so that you can recover the seat a couple of times in the future.) Make sure the material is washable and is scotchguarded when purchased.
Yes, to reupholster, you take all of the fabric apart and use for a pattern when cutting new fabric. You can judge how much fabric to buy based on what you have. Be careful when you buy fabric to notice the width. This may alter the amount you buy.
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