An Online Upholstery Class

Detailed instruction on furniture upholstery, auto and marine upholstery, how to make slipcovers, and canvas work.

Read Safety Information At The End Of This Page Before Starting Any Of These Projects.

START LEARNING BY MAKING OR RECOVERING PILLOWS AND CUSHIONS

 make a pillow.

---Practice By Making A Throw Pillow. Measure existing pillow with a tape measure, between the welts. The first measurement is up and down. Second is side to side. We'll be using 1/2" seams on most articles in our series, so, add 1" to your measurements to get the cut size. Figure the length of the welt cord. It can be 1 1/2-2" wide, it doesn't have to be exact. Cut the welt material on the bias, ... click link above for more.


Learn to cover a zipper so it doesn't show. It's a similiar technique to installing a zipper in a boxed cushion as we show later.

Learn to handsew with a curved needle. Use can use this skill to close cushions and pillows, to make repairs anywhere a seam has pulled or rotted out. You can also handsew the sides of outside backs or the front of outside arms insteads of using nail strips. Done right even contrasting thread won't be visible.

 chair seat.

Practice By Covering A Dining Chair Slip Seat: Remove seat. Most are screwed on, a cordless driver makes the job much faster. If you are working on a set of antique chairs it's a good idea to number the seats and the chairs so the holes line up when you reinstall them. Mark the front of the seat. click link for more.

make a cushion.

When you can make a boxed cushion with piping you've learned at least 25% what you need to know to become an upholsterer. Really! You'll be able to sew boxed inside backs and envelope arms and bar stool tops and boat seats and much more. We even show you how to sew the cording and boxing to the plate (main piece of fabric) at the same time along with the zipper boxing. You can save 20 minutes on every cushion you ever sew.
Tips For Sewing Large Cushions (Such As Bay Windows And Boat Cushions)



WATCH THE VIDEOS TO LEARN ABOUT THE TOOLS YOU NEED


See the hand tools pro upholsterers use. Or buy at our upholstery TOOL KITS page.


This video can help you decide whether to buy air or electric, 3/8 or 1/2" crown. Buy staple guns here: UPHOLSTERY STAPLER

RUNNING YOUR OWN UPHOLSTERY BUSINESS

What other trade can you learn at home besides upholstery work? Plumber? Electrician? No, you'll have to apprentice for those. No certification or degree required-just do good work! Managing your finances and cash flow. Get a website for your business-they're cheap advertising. Pricing upholstery jobs (more opinions on our Discussion Board).

Nauga

by Jack Carr "If a sofa or chair is in good shape on the inside and all it needs is a fresh new fabric on the outside, that's recovering. When a piece needs work on the inside, either partially or totally (new webbing, re-tied springs, new fillings, re-cushioning) that's reupholstering. Both are the province of the upholsterer, marine fabricator or auto trimmer."

by Jack Carr. Webbing, coil springs, zig zag springs, filling, fabrics etc.

Furniture yardage estimates-sofas, chairs sectionals and ottomans. See our cutting info diagram under How to Upholster a Chair. Chart courtesy of C.S. Osborne Co.



FURNITURE UPHOLSTERY AND REUPHOLSTERY

Furniture worth upholstering

from Sunset Book's SIMPLY UPHOLSTERY
"No matter what the fine points of their design are, most chairs and sofas have an inner frame built of similar structural elements."

upholster a chair.

(REUPHOLSTER A SOFA THE SAME WAY)
Learn to strip off the old fabric, take measurements and cut the new fabric.

Use these techniques for most styles of upholstered furniture.


FURNITURE SLIPCOVERS

How to make slipcovers

---You gotta be kidding! - and other recliner info

from Simply Slipcovers by Sunset Books

UPHOLSTER OR SLIPCOVER AN OTTOMAN

Here's a great add on when selling an upholstery job-make several frames at one time and adjust their height to fit your customer's chair with different thicknesses of foam.

Apply This Information To Recovering Boat Seats, Benches, Bar Stools, Boxed Dining Chairs, Etc. Learning one technique will help you cover many things.

Learn to make a self-lined skirt. Takes a little more fabric but saves a lot of time.

from Quick Fabric Decorating.

VARIOUS UPHOLSTER TECHNIQUES EXPLAINED

from W. Lloyd Gheen's book UPHOLSTERY TECHNIQUES ILLUSTRATED.

including info on sewing other round cushions.

From Simply Pillows by the editors of Sunset Books

(makes a great guest bed instead of a sofa bed or futon)

from Don Casey's book CANVASWORK & SAIL REPAIR. Waterfall cushions have boxing on the sides but not the front.

- And plaids, patterns and other more difficult fabrics to work with.


AUTO UPHOLSTERY AND REUPHOLSTERY

upholster a truck seat

How to upholster with Vinyl And Sew Channels. Recover all kinds of bench seats.

from Don Taylor's book AUTOMOTIVE UPHOLSTERY HANDBOOK

  from Don Taylor and Ron "The Stitcher" Mangus' book CUSTOM AUTO INTERIORS. These guys really know their stuff.

by Ron Fryer

by Ron Fryer

by Ron Fryer

By Ron Fryer


BOAT AND CANVAS PROJECTS

by Jim Grant

from Karen Lipe's book THE BIG BOOK OF BOAT CANVAS

from Don Casey's book CANVASWORK & SAIL REPAIR


MAKE BUTTONS EASILY

Including button trouble shooting.


MORE GOOD STUFF

from Seams To Be.

by Rick Teeters. Here's a skill most upholstery shops don't offer.

from FURNITURE FINISHING by Sunset Books. You'll need to fix some wobbly frames now and then.

By Clay Richmond. Here' another skill to add to your furniture refurbishing knowledge.

by Mike. There's a lot of potential work to be had from restaurants, cafes, bars, coffee shops, theaters-leave a business card for the future.


OUR READERS' PROJECTS




SAFETY:

Upholstery needles, tacks, staples, scissors, etc. are sharp. Staples guns are powerful enough to penetrate hard woods. The needle on an industrial sewing machine is as large as a finishing nail. Use eye protection where appropriate and needle guards if recommended with your sewing machine. Secure your work. You're more likely to injure yourself on a small job like putting a button in a pillow than in a chair. A dining room chair seat can slip easily while you're stapling it if you're not careful. Use both hands when using staple knockers to strip furniture and so on. Use your common sense. We're not responsible for any injuries received while following these instructions.