How to update old upholstery on upholstered furniture with your own hands. Proper do-it-yourself sofa upholstery Do-it-yourself upholstery technology

One way to update upholstered furniture is the replacement of its skin.

You can use the services professional craftsmen, or you can sheathe the sofa with your own hands in ordinary home conditions. The event is quite troublesome, but does not require serious physical effort.

Sofa upholstery: a - soft and upholstery materials; b - cutting; c - the order of upholstery and constriction.

Preparatory stage

The action plan is determined according to the type of upcoming repairs - cosmetic or major.

Kinds repair work sofa.

Cosmetic repairs usually involve only replacing the old skin or even attaching new material to the old one.

For example, change the wallpaper on the walls. Capital - full or partial replacement not only the top of upholstered furniture, but also the filler.

For preparatory phase would need:

  • pliers;
  • Screwdriver Set;
  • keys set;
  • a hammer;
  • centimeter or tape measure;
  • piece of paper and pencil.

It is also better to stock up in advance with boxes or bags for storing fasteners.

When disassembled, very old furniture you may need vinegar. To dismantle rusted fasteners, it is enough to moisten them with acetic acid.

Scheme soft sofa in a cut.

It will not hurt the presence of a vacuum cleaner or brush and a damp cloth. With their help, you can immediately remove deposits of debris and dust found in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies of the furniture structure.

  1. The sofa is disassembled - the sidewalls and other elements of its design are dismantled.

    The cover is carefully removed. The goal is to determine the true state of the filler of the seat and back, to ensure the convenience of carrying out necessary measurements. It is advisable not only to memorize the sequence of furniture disassembly, but also to write it down as detailed as possible. All fasteners should be immediately put in boxes, bags with appropriate marks.

  2. Measurements are being taken. Usually under the upholstery of the sofa there are layers of foam rubber, batting. With the help of a centimeter, it is determined what size pieces are needed for the restoration of the seat, backrest.

    The results of all measurements are also recorded on paper.

When determining the size of pieces of new upholstery fabric, the features of fastening the old one must be taken into account. In order to save money, some manufacturers do not tuck its edges, which are then “washed”. Seams "back to back" also do not extend the life of the upholstery.

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The process of upholstering a sofa with your own hands

Furniture before and after reupholstering.

Before sheathing a sofa, you need to inspect its design for possible defects, damage.

Carry out repairs if necessary.

Replacement of foam rubber is carried out entirely. You should not try to save money by putting pieces of new material on sagging places. An additional layer of batting and burlap will not only extend the life of the upholstery, but also provide comfortable conditions during rest and sleep.

When calculating the amount of materials, the following must be taken into account:

  • seam allowances - 1-1.5 cm;
  • allowances for hem along the edge - 1-2 cm.

To sheathe a sofa, you need to purchase not only foam rubber, batting, upholstery fabric, but also:

  • threads - better than nylon;
  • ruler, triangle, tailor's chalk or regular colored pencil, contrasting with the color of the selected upholstery;
  • glue for fixing foam sheets on the sidewalls;
  • glue BF-6;
  • good scissors for fabric;
  • wallpaper cloves or a construction stapler.

In compliance with the main tailor's rule "measure 7 times, cut 1", foam rubber, batting and upholstery fabrics are carefully cut out.

It is better to pass the crumbling edges with an overlock or a zigzag.

Sidewall covers are sewn, other necessary seams are made.

The time and effort spent on pre-ironing the upholstery fabric and seams will more than pay off in the process of attaching it.

One way to prolong the life of upholstery is to reinforce areas located at the corners of furniture. To do this, patches from burlap or a piece of upholstery fabric left after cutting are attached to them from the inside or glued with BF-6 glue.

  1. Foam rubber sheets are laid - usually only on the mattress, sometimes on the sidewalls.
  2. Batting is laid on the sofa mattress, and its edges are fastened with upholstery studs or staplers.

    You can batting the sidewalls if they were not upholstered with foam rubber.

  3. All elements of the sofa are sheathed with burlap. It is not necessary to sew covers for the sidewalls, you can sheathe them by applying overlapping burlap.

    The overlap is about 2 cm. The burlap should completely cover the batting.

  4. Clean upholstery is upholstery fabric upholstery, the edges of which are tucked in if necessary.

All canvases are stretched evenly and neatly.

How to reupholster a sofa

Then the sofa structure is assembled.

If you plan to sheathe the sofa with your own hands with a new fabric over the old sheathing, then a thorough cleaning of the second from dirt is first carried out.

Heavily worn areas are reinforced with patches that are sewn or glued. The advantage of this option is the minimization of material and time costs. Minus - old accumulations of dirt and dust remain inside.

How to replace furniture upholstery with your own hands

Looking at the rounded shapes of an expensive furniture set in the showroom furniture store, and I want to add volume to my old sofa or chair. Do-it-yourself furniture upholstery, like countertop repair, is not so difficult process and within the power of any real man.

To work, in addition to desire and direct hands, you will need the following tools:

  • Set of wrenches.
  • Furniture stapler and staples.
  • A hammer.
  • Scissors.
  • Screwdrivers.
  • Pliers or pliers.

First of all, you need to determine the degree of wear of the fabric (leather) that your upholstered furniture is upholstered in, and decide on the need to replace it.

If you decide to completely update the appearance of the furniture and, in addition, make it softer, you will have to go to fabric stores and buy tapestry, velor, jacquard, chinille, flock or courtesan - these are upholstery fabrics.

To add volume, you will need foam rubber or latex, possibly batting or interlining. In addition to upholstery, you need to purchase linen or coarse cotton fabric, canvas. They are needed for the initial tightening of the packing and protecting it from dust and wrinkling.

Before buying all of the above, first disassemble, for example, a chair.

As a rule, all its parts (armrests, backrest, seat) are connected with long screws or studs. Unscrew all the nuts and disassemble the chair into its component parts.

Then, with a flat screwdriver, pry off the staples that secure the old fabric, and remove them with pliers. Do not throw away the old upholstery right away - it will still come in handy as a template for cutting new upholstery material. Then remove the lining and padding in the same way.

Before, in Soviet times, furniture makers used latex mats.

Modern foam rubber cannot be compared with them - it wrinkles much faster, loses its original shape and begins to crumble. If you are a happy owner of a latex sofa, ottoman, armchairs and the latex is still in more or less good shape, then it is better to leave it. You will always have time to put foam rubber.

Before you start upholstering furniture with your own hands, you need to calculate according to the old fabric required amount new upholstery material.

How to reupholster a sofa - a master class on reupholstering furniture

For reliability, add another ten percent, just in case. It is better to replace the upholstery immediately on all upholstered furniture - it will come out faster, and you will only dilute the dirt in the apartment once, and there will be no disappointment from the lack of the same fabric in the store that you bought last time.

The assembly of the "insides" of furniture is carried out in the reverse order.

First fasten the latex or foam rubber, then fit it with lining material, nailing it with staples from below. Sew the top cover according to the old pattern and fasten it with staples from the bottom too.

The stapler has an adjustment of the impact force of the striker. Adjust it so that the staples are fully inserted into the wooden frame bars, firmly fixing the fabric. Staples do not spare - hammer them for reliability more often.

To give additional volume to the parts of upholstered furniture (armrests, backrests), simply add another thin sheet of foam rubber.

Just do not put it in the joints of the back, seat, armrests. Otherwise, it will either not be possible to assemble all the details into a single whole, or with very great difficulty. A sliding sofa, perhaps, will cease to fold.

After the process of upholstery of furniture with your own hands is completed, you can not only admire it with your own eyes, but even sit on it with your booty. Good luck!

Due to its long-term use, the beautiful filling of furniture pieces loses its appeal, so you need to pull the sofa or chair. Of course, you can buy a new upholstered set, but this is simply unreasonable, since the purchase will cost much more than repairing an old sofa.

Benefits of restoring upholstered furniture

Furniture sets made on a high-quality frame are often much stronger than modern analogues on the market.

If only the upholstery is damaged, then it will not take much time, money and energy to replace it. Refurbished furniture has a number of advantages:

  • You can choose any fabrics for upholstery and pull up the daybed with interesting decorative elements.
  • Along with the replacement outer material the frame is checked and, if necessary, the spring block is restored.
  • An old sofa often proves to be a strong and healthy product that goes beyond the quality of many contemporary designs.
  • Dragging yourself or bringing professionals in financially more profitable than a new acquisition.
  • They don't always want to share their favorite interior, while the cone allows you to update the product and insert it with an interesting fabric or leather.

Repair of upholstered furniture

He still chooses the choice - you work on your own, but with great time, or invite leading experts who can quickly and possibly at home.

Work at home

To do this job, you will need a number of professional tools, textile fabrics or other upholstered furniture selected for the production of furniture.

Required tool:

  1. Flat screwdriver.
  2. Anti-stagler to remove old terminals.
  3. Set of keys from 8 to 19 mm.
  4. High lift sewing machine.
  5. Strong thread for the quality of pulling the couch.
  6. Fabric adapter for binding (leather, skin).
  7. Scissors, pliers and side cutters.
  8. Decorative buttons.
  9. Glue or adhesive.
  10. Drill, screwdriver.

stretch sofa

A set of tools is enough to work at home.

In specialized stores, you can use an air gun for stapling, which speeds up the process, but such a device is powered by a compressed air compressor.

instructions

The entire scope of work is divided into several stages. Consider how to gradually implement narrowing:

  • Receiving phase. It is necessary to disassemble the sofa, write down the decor elements - puffs, pillows and pillows. After that, using a screwdriver and keys, remove the sides and back rubber.

    Then the furniture is separated from the frame and the seat is dismantled.

  • Using a screwdriver and clips, remove the old gasket by pulling on the clips. You should save the fabric so you can cut out patterns later.

    Fasteners must be separated to facilitate removal, for example, for the right or left side wall, behind the backrest.

  • Check the condition of the frame and spring assembly for good couch lift.

    If the springs are damaged, remove them by checking the wire with pliers. You need to place new ones.

    How to sew a couch yourself?

    If the device is completely useless, it is replaced with a new one and built into the frame.

  • Sewing new upholstery. Old fabric is used as crochet. From the selected fabric, new elements are cut and sewn on the machine before moving the products. If there are no sewing skills, it is better to trust the subject of an experienced bouquet.
  • If you want to tighten the sofa more, use a stapler.

    Decorate first decorative elements, then sidewalls, back, seat. The fabric is secured with clips. The distance between them is no more than 4 cm, but not too fragmented.

  • The fabric is evenly spaced and make sure the pattern is correct.

    When purchasing a material, it must be purchased with a margin in case possible errors. After restrictions individual elements the whole structure is created.

  • Using a tool and removing fasteners, the parts are attached to the frame.

Furniture restoration

When the fabric is under the material, a new foam should be placed, cut in a similar way.

To enhance the strength of the frame, all wooden elements can be glued.

Specialty stores

If you donate furniture to professionals, it can finally be made quickly enough.

As a rule, while the client is determined by the choice of fabric, the product is already unbuckled and removed from the frame. In addition, the master changes the spring or the entire block professionally and quickly.

How much does the cost of the work depend on the price of the chosen gasket material? It's harder to drag a corner bed because it takes more work to do it. At the request of the customer, you can add some decorative elements, but this specialist needs to cut out from the wooden base for them, which also affects the costs.

Painting furniture at home or in a specialty store is a matter of personal desire.

The narrowing process is not particularly complicated. But if you don't have basic tooling skills or don't have time to do it yourself, it's best to turn to the experts.

Do-it-yourself furniture upholstery

This process consists of five stages. Here they are:

  1. Dismantle furniture, removing individual parts and mechanisms.
  2. Remove old upholstery.
  3. Cut out and sew a new one.
  4. Drag the individual parts of the product with it.
  5. Collect furniture.

Please read the first paragraph and say: is this about you?

The sofa has ceased to please with its appearance. You have made repairs, and the armchairs and chairs no longer match the design of the apartment. If this is about you, then you need do-it-yourself furniture upholstery.

Why on your own?

Yes, because it's cheaper.

And if you don’t know how, then the tips that you will find here will help you and do-it-yourself upholstery of upholstered furniture will go with a bang and without errors.

We note right away that do-it-yourself furniture hauling is carried out using a slightly different technology than masters use in workshops, but the result will be the same.

However, there are times when you cannot do this work yourself.

Then you need to invite specialists for any. And here are the cases.

When hauling upholstered furniture with your own hands is impossible

Do-it-yourself furniture finishing - stages of work

You probably want us to describe each stage in more detail?

Please, below we do it.

Furniture disassembly

We will not describe how to disassemble furniture, because this process is always different and depends on the type of product and its configuration. But how to disassemble so that during assembly there are no extra parts left, we will tell you.

When you disassemble the furniture, be sure to take a picture to clearly see how the components and mechanisms should be assembled correctly. It will not be superfluous to mark which part goes where, in what order you disassembled the product.

And most importantly, so that do-it-yourself furniture decoration does not turn into do-it-yourself damage, disassemble the product very carefully so as not to damage the fasteners and mechanisms.

Removing old upholstery

It's best to do this carefully, keeping the old upholstery intact so that it serves as a template for the new upholstery when you cut it out.

Once you remove the old upholstery, make sure the filler is in good condition. If this is not the case, then buy foam rubber and overlay all the soft parts.

Pattern of new upholstery

If you make a pattern according to the pattern of the old material, then make the new one larger around the edges.

So it will be easier for you to drag the furniture again.

After the pattern is ready, proceed to tight

Start with the simplest details, so to speak, to practice. And best of all, take an unnecessary chair and try to fit it in order to understand how the material behaves when the furniture is covered, whether the stapler bracket firmly fastens it, etc.

You should also know that the fabric should be stretched to the maximum and equally in all places. Thanks to this, the pattern will not warp over time, and the fabric will last longer.

Fasten the material with nails or staples using a furniture stapler.

Assembling refurbished furniture

Everything is simple here, because you have photos, in front of you is an instruction written by you, in what order you disassembled the product, and all the details are marked.

Put them in place in the reverse order of the instructions and focus on the photo.

In parallel, you can make minor repairs to furniture, if you replace broken springs, put new parts in the frame instead of worn ones.

In a word, replace everything that is possible and within the power.

And then we will protect you from ...

Mistakes that most people make when they take up furniture upholstery for the first time

1.

The material is calculated incorrectly.

As a result, it is missing. No problem, many people think. But they will understand that they were mistaken when they come to the store, and there they will be told that there is no such material left, and it is not known when they will bring it. Or there is the same material, only it is from a new batch, and it turned out with a different shade.

Better take the fabric much with a margin.

If a lot remains, it doesn’t matter, because you can fit a chair or some kind of pillow with it.

2. Do not put a synthetic winterizer on top of the foam rubber.

But if you put it on top of the foam rubber, then the fabric will be easier and better stretched, it will protect it from rubbing from the inside.

New upholstered furniture at no extra cost: how to drag it yourself?

In short, it will prolong its life. At the same time, it costs a penny.

If you want the furniture to be softer and more voluminous, buy a thicker padding polyester. And if it so happened that you did not find it, then put the fabric used for sewing pockets instead.

3. Use ordinary threads that are used to darn socks.

This is wrong, because they are fragile. It is best to buy thread brand Titan. You can’t tear them with your hands, but injuring them at the same time is easy.

This is where our story ends.

Carefully study what was written, or rather bookmark this page so that you can always quickly find it and use the tips when it comes time to reupholster furniture with your own hands.


"Help!

Changing sofa upholstery

- write visitors to various handicraft and furniture forums, - the upholstery has sold out! How to sew up a sofa along the seam so that it is invisible? Let's answer honestly: if your family does not have a professional furniture maker, then in general, no way. Of course you can try. After all, sometimes accuracy, diligence and love for your furniture can contribute to a miracle. So, first we try to fix the problem on our own.

We sew the sofa ourselves

There is a strict sequence of actions, following which a sufficiently dexterous person can dock parts of the sofa upholstery that have come apart at the seams.

Here's what it looks like.

  • Pick up threads, but not in the color of the upholstery, but exactly in the color of the threads of the seams. It is desirable that the thickness and texture match. This is quite simple to do by cutting off a small fragment at the place of the parted seam.

    With a thread, you should go to a sewing and needlework store. There, experienced consultants will help with the selection.

  • In the same store you can buy a set of sewing needles.

    The main condition is that the diameter of the working needle does not exceed the diameter of the holes from the factory machine. So the home seam will be almost invisible.

  • Google the blind stitch technique.

    There are master classes on the Internet in both video and photo formats. This greatly simplifies the process.

  • Ask someone at home to be your assistant.

    It is necessary that a person carefully pull the edges of the parted seam together and keep them connected while the restoration work is in progress.

  • When sewing, use only the holes of the factory needle.
  • Having reached the preserved original seam, make a couple more stitches along it, then the junction will not be a risk point for a new hole.
  • Gently pull the threads, check that there are no wrinkles anywhere.

And a secret trick: find a hand moisturizer around the house.

To test, smear some inconspicuous place on the couch with it. Wait for absorption. If a greasy spot will not be in this place, feel free to smear the place of restoration. So the skin will lie more softly and naturally.

Not all resources are good

If in the case of a parted seam it is still possible to somehow repair the damage on your own, then more radical damage requires professional restoration. How to sew leather sofa if the skin is torn, burned, cut, stretched and torn?

There are several options.

  • If there is a small piece of leather from the same sofa, slightly larger than the cut, then it must be carefully pushed under the upholstery.
  • A rounded hole is already a job for liquid skin. You should purchase a set, mix the colors until you get the desired color scheme and carefully fill the hole with the composition.

These methods have a lot of nuances and give more satisfactory than good results.

Indeed, in the first case, the junction of the gap will be quite noticeable, and in the second it is necessary to ideally choose the color of the color scheme, which is practically unrealistic, since the repair material has a different degree of brightness in the liquid and hardened state.

Contact the professionals!

If you have doubts about your own competence or funds, it is better not to risk such an expensive thing as a leather sofa.

And without the risk of coping with holes, scuffs and other skin defects, the specialists of the Fenice-TM company can do it. Unique Italian technology, appropriate equipment and materials allow you to get the perfect result at minimal cost.

The Fenice-TM company offers:

  • putty cracks,
  • leather polishing.

And if the sofa, according to experts, is not subject to cosmetic restoration, you can save it by a radical measure - changing the upholstery.

The professionals of our company will help you create a new leather outfit for a sofa, armchairs and any other interior items. Contact us!

Drag the sofa with your own hands will come in handy if, over time, loved by the whole family, the protagonist living room or bedroom is a sofa, lost oh original view. Over time, or with the help of pets, the upholstery can become frayed, torn, or stained. You can throw out the old model and buy a new one, but not everyone can afford this method. An alternative would be to reupholster the sofa upholstery at home. To do this, you can contact special companies that will do everything quickly, professionally and, again, not cheap.

And for those who know how to hold a screwdriver and a hammer in their hands, there is a great opportunity to pull the sofa on their own and continue to be proud of their furniture masterpiece. You just need to be patient and have a great desire.

Dismantling

To start repair work, for convenience, you need to dismantle the sofa. To do this, stock up necessary set tools. First, using a hex wrench, remove the armrests, then the backrest and seat. fixing material must be folded in one place, it will be needed during assembly. Then, carefully, prying the staples with a flat screwdriver or using an “anti-stapler”, remove the old upholstery fabric, trying not to damage it. Worn material should not be thrown away, in the future it will be needed for a new pattern. One armrest can be left upholstered for a while, fitting the second one you can peep where to make folds and tucks.
In order to assess the condition of the sofa frame, it is necessary to remove the filler, if it has become unusable, replace it without regret. Many who have already pulled the bed on their own recommend filming the entire dismantling process with a camera so as not to forget anything and, well, lose sight of it.

Frame and content

If upon inspection it turns out that in some places wooden frame has become unusable, the damaged places need to be replaced or repaired. For reliability, it is necessary to strengthen the joints and additionally glue the joints. If necessary, replace the filler.

Upholstery selection

For the production of furniture products, such fabrics are in demand: flock, jacquard, tapestry, chenille, velor.

Many upholstery fabrics are now covered with a special protective layer that is sprayed onto the fibers. Impregnation better envelops the threads, creates a protection that prevents liquid from penetrating into the fabric. At the same time, dirt from the surface is easily wiped off with a wet sponge or brush. For a plain fabric, the consumption will always be minimal, because the parts of the pattern can be placed quite close to each other.
When working with fleecy fabrics, you need to take into account the direction of the pile so that all parts of the sofa are of the same shade and do not differ from each other. Approximately twice as much fabric with a geometric ornament or a large pattern will be required. Working with such material will require much more time and effort, the pattern must match on all elements of the sofa.

Padding

The key to the correct waist is the right choice of fabric and its quantity.
For this you need to do correct measurements and purchase material with a margin. It is better if some amount of fabric remains after work, it will be possible to sew a soft roller or decorative pillow from it.
It is more convenient to make a new pattern using the old one. To do this, attach the old one to the wrong side of the new one and carefully circle it with chalk or a simple pencil, not forgetting to leave sufficient allowances for the seams. Pay attention to all grooves and seams, they must be ripped. For the convenience of working with old upholstery, it is recommended to iron it.

To attach the fabric to the sofa element, it is necessary to put it on the upholstery with the front part down in the middle and, bending or tucking the edges, evenly stretching, fix them with a furniture stapler. The gap between the brackets should be at least 4 cm. When cutting the fabric for the armrests, it is important not to confuse the right with the left. To facilitate the process, you can try to fix the upholstery in several places from one edge, then from the other. Thus, the fabric will be fixed and will not slip. Upholstering should start from the middle, gradually moving towards the edges, observing uniform tension.
In places that will be most exposed to stress, double seams should be made for strength and reliability. It is easier to use reinforced, matching in color, or vice versa, if you want to highlight the seams, you need to take contrasting ones, only the seams in this case should be perfectly even.

In the work, you can use additional decorative elements: pillows, decorative buttons, ribbons, bows or cords.

Thus, you can decorate the updated sofa, and if necessary, hide possible defects or errors.

Cases

Another option to hide shabby upholstery that has fallen into disrepair is to sew or buy a sofa cover. This option is suitable only if the filling and frame of the sofa do not need to be repaired. On the Internet you can find a universal pattern that is suitable for most of the sofas. If there is no experience and desire to sew, you can purchase ready-made euro-covers,
which are made of elastic material that perfectly fits the model.

A do-it-yourself sofa is a great reason to be proud. The pleasure from rest or gatherings on it will be twice as much.

As a result of prolonged use, the beautiful upholstery of pieces of furniture loses its attractiveness, and it becomes necessary to drag the sofa or chair. Of course, you can purchase a new soft set, but doing this is simply irrational, since the purchase will cost much more than restoring an old sofa.

Benefits of restoring upholstered furniture

Furniture sets made on quality frame, often much stronger than modern counterparts on the market. If only the upholstery is damaged, then replacing it will not take you much time, money and effort. Refurbished furniture has a number of advantages:

  • You can choose any and drag the sofa with the addition of interesting decorative elements.
  • Simultaneously with the replacement of the outer material, the frame is inspected, and if necessary, the spring block can be restored.
  • An old sofa quite often turns out to be a durable and solid product that surpasses many modern models in terms of workmanship.
  • Padding on your own or with the participation of professionals is financially more profitable than a new acquisition.
  • You don’t always want to part with your favorite piece of furniture, and the waist will allow you to modernize the product and upholster it with an interesting fabric or.

It remains to make a choice - to do the work yourself, but with at great expense time, or invite highly qualified specialists who can complete the entire amount of work quickly and, possibly, at home.

Work on your own

To carry out such work, you will need a set of professional tools, a supply of fabric or other upholstery material chosen for finishing a piece of furniture. Required tool:

  1. Flat screwdriver.
  2. Staple remover for removing old staples.
  3. A set of wrenches from 8 to 19 mm.
  4. Sewing machine with high presser foot.
  5. Strong threads to pull the sofa with high quality.
  6. Stapler for staple fabric (leather, leatherette).
  7. Scissors, nippers and side cutters.
  8. Decorative buttons.
  9. Glue or glue gun.
  10. Drill, screwdriver.

For work at home, this set of tools is enough. In specialized shops for stapling, it is possible to use a pneumatic gun that speeds up the process, but such a device is powered by a compressor with compressed air.

Instruction

The entire scope of work is divided into several stages. Consider how to do the hauling step by step with your own hands:

  • Preparatory stage. It is necessary to disassemble by removing decorative elements from it - pouffes, cushions and pillows. After that, using a screwdriver and keys, remove the sides and back of the sofa. Then the furniture is separated from the frame, dismantling the seat.
  • Using a screwdriver and pliers, remove the old upholstery by prying off the staples. The fabric must be saved in order to subsequently cut out patterns on it. Fasteners must be separated during removal for convenience, for example, for the right or left sidewall, for the backrest.
  • To pull the sofa with high quality, inspect the condition of the frame and spring block. If there are broken springs, they are removed by biting the wire with pliers. New ones need to be put in place. If the block has completely become unusable, it is replaced with a new one and mounted in a frame.
  • Sewing new upholstery. old cloth are used as templates. New elements are cut out from the selected fabric and sewn on a typewriter, having previously outlined the products. If there are no sewing skills, it is better to entrust the matter to an experienced dressmaker.
  • To cover the sofa yourself, use a stapler. First, decorative elements are fitted, then the sides, back, seat. The fabric is secured with staples. The distance between them is no more than 4 cm, but you should not part too much.
  • The fabric is placed evenly, making sure that the pattern lays down correctly. When purchasing material, it must be purchased with a margin in case of possible errors. After the hauling of individual elements, they begin to assemble the entire structure.
  • Using the tool and the removed fasteners, the parts are mounted on the frame.


When upholstered under the fabric, you need to put it, which is cut out in a similar way. To enhance the strength of the frame, all wooden elements can be pre-glued.

Services of a specialized workshop

If you give furniture to specialists, then ready product can be obtained fairly quickly. As a rule, while the client is deciding on the choice of fabric, the product is already scraped and removed from the frame. In addition, the master will change the springs or the entire block professionally and quickly.

How much the work costs depends on the price of the selected upholstery material. Pulling a corner sofa is a little more difficult, because you will have to pay more for such work. At the request of the client, you can add some decorative elements, but for this, the specialist needs to cut for them wooden base which also affects the cost.

Pulling furniture at home or in a specialized workshop is a matter of personal preference. The tightening process is not particularly difficult. But if you do not have basic skills in working with tools, or simply do not have extra time to do everything yourself, it is better to turn to specialists.

When the upholstery of an old sofa falls into disrepair and ceases to please its appearance, but we don’t have money for a new sofa, most effective solution will replace the old upholstery with a new one. In this article, we will step by step look at the process of replacing the upholstery and hauling an old sofa with a new fabric.

Before proceeding with the upholstery of the sofa, you need to determine what kind of fabric we need: color, texture, plain or patterned, natural or synthetic.

The fact is that today the textile industry offers the widest choice of various upholstery fabric. Each has its own technological characteristics, strength indicators and functionality.

For example, natural does not mean that the fabric is practical. New sofa with tapestry or jacquard can quickly require repair. With improper cleaning, they shed and, of course, lose their appearance.

Fabric characteristics

Flock fabric is suitable for those owners who have pets in the house. Texture density protects upper layer from the so-called hooks.

From the foregoing, it is clear that when buying fabric for yourself, you should not immediately take the first one that comes across just because you just liked it. Be sure to consult with the seller on the characteristics of this fabric, the conditions of its operation.

Material for the upholstery of the sofa, which I use the master:

Anti-claw Flock Tapestry
Leatherette Microfiber Rogozhka
Chenille Velor Jacquard

Features of furniture fabrics that everyone needs to know:

  • Glue based chenille– dry cleaning is possible. When using wet processing, it can be deformed and dry for a long time.
  • Fabric based chenille- resistant to moisture.
  • microfiber- Resistant to abrasion. Not very recommended for allergy sufferers, as it can cause seizures.
  • Flock- fully synthetic material. It cleans perfectly, does not cause allergic reactions, due to the density of weaving the thread is recommended for those who have pets.
  • Anti-claw- Very durable fabric. It is used as protection against pets, as well as various mechanical influences (cuts, punctures, tears). Due to the short pile and dense texture, the possibility of hooks and fabric deformation is excluded.
  • Tapestry– by 80% natural material with the addition of synthetic thread, which gives it strength and durability. There is a one-layer and two-layer tapestry, with a pattern and a plain one.
  • Rogozhka- a fabric that is especially popular, as it has a strong base and attractive appearance. In the decoration of the interior in the style of "ethno" it resembles burlap in its appearance.

Required tool

After we have decided on the choice of fabric, we proceed directly to the very process of reupholstering the sofa. For work we need:

  • Sewing machine, needle, thread (polyester),
  • Hammer, flathead screwdriver, stapler,
  • Pliers, side cutters,
  • Stapler, staples 6-8 mm,
  • Sewing meter, metal ruler, square.

Necessary fittings and materials

In addition to the basic tools and fabric, you also need to prepare the necessary accessories and additional materials that will also be involved in the work:

  • Foam rubber of the required thickness
  • Edges for closing the seams (depending on the design)
  • Batting, synthetic winterizer, felt - as fillers.
  • Zippers, fasteners, marker needles.

How to take measurements and markup

With the right cut, you can save a certain amount of fabric, which is enough for additional accessories: pillows, pouffes, cushions.

The first thing to do is to remove the fabric from the sofa, keeping the old cut. It is on it that we will make patterns. Those. our task is to remove the fabric without damaging its overall dimensions.

This can be done with a flathead screwdriver or pliers. With their help, carefully remove the staples and fold them into the place provided for this.

After we have pulled out all the staples and released the fabric, we use the blade to embroider all the existing seams (longitudinal and corner).

We get separate parts that we economically lay out on a new fabric.

Using a flat chalk or felt-tip pen, we outline the old details on the new fabric (for convenience, the fabric can be laid out on a regular home table).

Details must be numbered so as not to get confused in the future.

Tailoring of covers

  • Basting is desirable immediately in place, so you can achieve the most accurate fit of the part. To prevent the fabric from sliding on the surface, we fix it with marker needles or sewing clothespins.
  • After all the details are sewn into a common case, you can try on.
  • The final step will be sewing on a sewing machine. Here you need to take into account all the additional details: zippers, piping, stripes, frills, etc.

If you do not have sewing skills, a professional seamstress at home or a craftsman in any sewing studio can do this. To do this, they just need to provide old parts, according to which they will make precise blanks and sew covers.

Installing the cover on the frame

The cover is put on the sofa and turned upside down. This is the standard position for fixing it.

The rest of the fabric, this is about 4-5 cm, we pull it towards ourselves, but so as not to overtighten it, and with a stapler we hammer the staples over the wrapped fabric.

We punch each subsequent bracket with an interval of 3-4 mm.

The uniform tension of the fabric over the entire area is achieved due to some of the nuances of its "shooting":

  • You need to fix the fabric in four places of the frame frame, not reaching the corners of about 5-6 cm.
  • The corner pieces are fixed last.

The photo shows a simple method for making corners:


If for some reason it is not possible to accurately calculate the old cut, you can use the presented fabric consumption table:

If this is a furniture corner, then we divide the amount of fabric on the sofa in half

Using this table, you will approximately understand what footage of fabric you will need for your type of sofa.

  1. Always buy fabric with a margin if something doesn't work out. It will NOT always be possible to buy the missing quantity!
  2. Since reupholstering a sofa at home is a skill-intensive business, safety precautions must be followed, especially when removing old staples!
  3. For the convenience of the upholstery process, you can use a regular table.
  4. Before disassembling the sofa, take a photo of it, preferably each element separately. Also take a picture of the position of the sofa layout mechanism.
  5. When sewing, do not forget to give allowances of 1 cm.

Good luck to all masters!

Any thing eventually becomes unusable and upholstered furniture is no exception. But in the case of furniture, it is possible to restore its original appearance and properties. This article will discuss self-upholstery of the sofa. How, what and in what order to do, what materials to use.

Damage and types of repairs

Damage to a sofa or other upholstered furniture can be of different "severity". Depending on the existing injuries, a different set of works is required. Here's what might happen to your furniture:

So sofa upholstery may include various works. From simply reupholstering, to complete renovation including part of the frame. The most troublesome part is with spring blocks. This is long and painstaking work. If the “historical accuracy” of your furniture is not important to you, it is easier to replace a failed spring block with foam rubber or (better, but more expensive) furniture silicone. If everything is done correctly, the sofa will become even more comfortable: incorrectly tightened springs cause a lot of inconvenience.

Types of "soft part"

AT in general terms let's talk about what the seat and back of the sofa can be made of. There are options:

  • Without springs:
    • Foam rubber (polyurethane foam, the name PPU is also found) high density(also called furniture).
    • Foam latex. In terms of quality and convenience, it is better than foam rubber, but also much more expensive.
  • With springs:
    • with classic springs connected in one block;
    • serpentine springs that support the foam/latex filling.

These are the most common types of sofa seats. In more expensive models, the spring block can be supplemented with a layer of polyurethane foam or latex, which makes the seat more elastic and comfortable at the same time. When constricting, then they look at the state of both parts, replace or leave - depending on the desire and possibilities.

But these are not all layers. In addition to springs, polyurethane foam / latex, a synthetic winterizer or thermal felt (or ordinary felt) is also laid. This is if the sofa is more or less modern and not too expensive. Older exhibits may contain matting or burlap, batting (or something very similar), horsehair, dried seaweed, and other now almost exotic materials for stuffing a sofa. When repairing a sofa, they will need to be replaced with the same ones (if there is a desire to look) or similar in thickness and properties. So, in order to understand how a sofa upholstery should be done, first figure out what is inside it.

We disassemble the sofa and evaluate the scale of work

The upholstery of the sofa begins with its disassembly. In the process, you will be able to assess the extent of the damage and decide what exactly you will need to do. For this part of the job, you will need:

  • a large screwdriver to unscrew the visible bolts (if any);
  • a small flathead screwdriver, pliers, or a staple remover to remove the staples that hold the upholstery in place.

The main thing is to remove the old upholstery. Then everything will become clear

Actually, everything. First, remove the individual pillows, if any, remove the sidewalls. It's hard to tell here - there are a lot of designs. Look carefully, you will definitely find something. If there are sliding parts, you can try to start with them.

Separating the upholstery

The next step is to separate the fabric from the frame. It is stapled to wooden bars frame. We pry the brackets with a flat screwdriver, pull them out. Some can sit very tightly, it is easier to pull them out by grabbing them by the raised back with pliers or pliers.

We remove the fabric carefully, trying not to damage too much. We then use it as a sample for a new sofa upholstery. There are several layers under the upholstery fabric. Maybe felt, synthetic winterizer, some kind of fabric. If the repair of the sofa was started only for the sake of replacing the upholstery, look at the condition of these materials. If there are signs of wear, it is better to replace. After all, it would be a shame if, in a few months, the sofa would need to be reupholstered again, but already due to the fact that the layers of the lining were worn down.

Once the fabric is off, it's time to evaluate which parts you'll need to change. With upholstery and lining under it, everything is clear. It is desirable to keep the pie in the same composition. If old materials were used that are not currently on sale or they are too expensive, replace them with modern analogues. The main thing for folding sofas- reach the same height of the seat and back as before, since the folding mechanisms are designed for certain parameters of the "cushions". In order not to make a mistake with the thickness of materials, find unworn (or least worn) areas and measure the thickness.

Assessing the damage

This stage is needed if the sofa seat is uneven, there are humps and depressions, protruding springs (and from below too). In seats that consist only of foam rubber, everything is simple: they usually go under replacement. They can be made from high-density foam rubber, having folded several layers, you can order ready-made foam rubber in a store selling furniture parts. It is reasonable to order a latex mattress according to the exact dimensions (measure after the fabric and all layers have been removed).

If there are springs in the sofa, having removed all the covering layers, we get to them. If there are no broken springs, the frame and its connections are strong, without backlash and cracks, the substrate for the springs is normal condition, you can stop there. We change the covering layers, sew a new cover, stretch and fasten. This completes the upholstery of the sofa.

One of the common defects of spring blocks is a broken spring. There are also such sofas - with spring snakes that are attached to the frame and give elasticity to the foam mattress standing on top

If there is at least one damage listed above, the spring block will have to be separated. It is attached to the frame frame with U-shaped brackets or nails. Now you have completely disassembled your sofa into components. Next is the replacement and repair of damaged parts, and then reassembly.

Classic box spring sofa pie and possible problems

To understand how to repair a sofa at home, you need to know what layers of materials and in what sequence are needed. For example, in a sofa seat with a spring block, the sequence would be like this (from bottom to top):

  1. Frame made of plywood or wooden blocks. The plywood frame is more reliable, but it is longer and more difficult to make. Therefore, pine bars are usually used. They are connected according to the tenon-groove principle, gluing the connection with wood glue. If desired, the connections can be reinforced with dowels or corners (aluminum).

  2. Base for spring block. There may be options: lamellas (slats of elastic material), fiberboard, plywood. Most a budget option- Fiberboard, the most expensive - lamellas. The slats are attached to special stops (lat holders). When using plastic stops, there is a possibility of breakage. At the same time, low-quality lamellas can bend (in the normal state they are bent slightly up) or break - to reduce the cost, they are often placed through a large gap. All this leads to the fact that the sofa seat is pressed through. Instead of wooden lamellas, snake springs can still be used. They also have sufficient elasticity, but cost less. The problems with them are the same.
  3. The spring block. The block can be with independent or dependent springs. The first is cheaper, the second supports the body well. Such mattresses are also called orthopedic.
  4. Felt or thick fabric(Tick, another similar dense fabric will do). This layer is needed so that the springs do not push through the foam rubber above.

    If the fabric is thin, it will tear, then the foam rubber will begin to crumble. But this is not the saddest thing - the lamellas arched in the opposite direction. In the normal state, they should be curved up

  5. polyurethane foam(PPU, foam rubber - all names of one material). A special dense foam rubber is used. If you choose, in addition to density, look at such an indicator as the durability coefficient - the higher the number, the better (and more expensive). This indicator displays how long the foam rubber will restore its original shape after the load is removed. Its thickness is taken from the original, factory cake. It is possible to make thicker without restrictions only on upholstered furniture that does not unfold (bench, sofa, armchair).
  6. Sintepon. It is necessary so that the fabric does not “wash” PPU. It is usually glued to a layer of foam rubber - so that during operation it does not gather into folds. Glue is taken in a can.
  7. upholstery fabric. The best are tapestry, chenille. They do not crumble, it is easy to sew from them. Flock and jacquard are good fabrics, but some of them “creep” at the seams. Therefore, when sewing, the seams must be strengthened. By the way, it is better to sew upholstery for a sofa with special threads of the Tytan brand. Ordinary, even thick ones, will quickly tear.

These are all layers and their features. You can add something (for example, a double layer of synthetic winterizer), remove it - it is highly undesirable.

The device of the sofa on the springs "snake" and options for its restoration

"Snake" springs in expensive models are used as additional remedy to improve elasticity. AT budget models a foam block can be placed on this base. They are attached to a wooden or metal frame across the seat - each spring is separate. The installation step depends on the planned load. If your sofa began to sag, or the springs lost their elasticity, or broke, it is treated by replacement.

To increase elasticity and extend the life of the sofa, the number of "snakes" can be increased when reupholstering the sofa. Another option is transverse reinforcement with hard corsage ribbons (which are used for straps on bags, backpacks).

The tape is nailed on one side to the frame. Professional furniture makers then stretch it with a special tool, but you can replace it with an ordinary bar wrapped around in the middle sandpaper with large grains. You wind a couple of turns of tape on this beam, pull with both hands (make sure that the frame does not bend), fix the tape with staples or nails, release and cut off the excess. The same method is also suitable for increasing the life of a mattress with slats.

An example of sofa repair with step by step photos

The old sofa became quite uncomfortable, began to fail in places and creak. There is no way to buy a new one, it was decided to drag and change the upholstery. As usual, the sofa upholstery begins with disassembly. The legs were removed first. The railing was fastened on two large bolts, they were unscrewed and removed without any problems. Further disassembly is also easy - we unscrew the bolts that appear in turn.

When all the components were separated, the old upholstery was removed. Staples were removed easily - a frame made of pine timber. The spring block itself turned out to be without defects, but there was a crack in the frame, one of the bars of the frame led, the fiberboard sank, although there were no cracks.

Frame repair

Since the frame bears the main load, it is better to replace damaged elements. We carefully measure them, draw them schematically, put down the dimensions in millimeters. With the drawing we go to the carpentry shop. Pay Special attention: the wood must be dry, preferably chamber drying. If you know how to work with wood yourself, you can do it yourself.

It was decided to connect the frame, as it was, with a spike / groove, smearing it with carpentry glue. But in order not to loosen up, the connection was reinforced with metal dowels.

First, the joints are glued, clamped in a vise. A hole of small diameter is drilled under the dowel, the dowel is driven in. The frame is in a vice until the glue dries.

We will use plywood 4 mm thick as the basis for the spring block. The sheets are standard, a little more than 1.5 meters, and the length of the sofa is almost two. It turns out two pieces. It is better to make the joint of the pieces on the jumper, it is more reliable. Cut out rectangles right size, we coat the frame with carpentry glue, lay plywood, nail it with small nails. The length of the nails - so that they do not stick out from the outside of the frame. We additionally support the junction with a bar (50 * 20 mm).

The updated sofa will serve in the country, so we try to make the budget minimal, we use an old blanket instead of a backing for springs. We stretch it well, fasten it with staples using a manual one.

The base for the springs is an old fleece blanket

If possible, it is advisable to put thermal felt here. It is more reliable and not so expensive. It is cut to size, straightened and nailed around the perimeter. You can use staples or carnations with large hats.

Repair and fix the spring block

To fasten the spring block, you can use powerful U-shaped brackets, and it is better if their legs are sharpened. But the stapler does not work with such, therefore, from steel wire with a diameter of 1.5 mm, staples were cut, hammered.

In addition to fastening to the frame, the springs are also fixed with nylon constrictions. Twine was taken, folded in two layers, fixed with the same wire staples. We tighten the constriction so that it does not press down on the springs, but the tension should be sufficient so that the block does not “ride”.

Some dense material should be placed on top of the springs, usually felt. In this case, the old flooring. Something like felt. It is quite dense and durable. Fold in two layers, cut to size. This layer must be attached to the spring block. The coating is dense, you can’t pierce it with a needle, even a gypsy one. An awl of a large diameter will do, but it is not. We pierce the coating with a nail, which we push with the handle of a screwdriver. We thread a thick thread into the holes made. The stitch pitch is about 3.5 cm. To speed up the process, we use several nails at once.

Further, “according to the plan”, foam rubber should go, on top of which a synthetic winterizer is placed. In this project, it was replaced with two layers of densely elastic material that had been stored in the attic for a long time. Instead of a synthetic winterizer, another old blanket was used. To prevent the blanket from moving, it was grabbed around the perimeter with threads (in conventional technology synthetic winterizer is glued to polyurethane foam or latex using glue from a spray can).

Case and cover

Sheathing this sofa turned out to be easy: the shape is simple, without decorations. The old cover was torn open, and a pattern was made from a new, not very expensive upholstery fabric. In the place that falls on the corner of the sofa cushion / seat, a thick tape was sewn from the inside so that the fabric would not be rubbed. The fabric is inexpensive, so the edges had to be tucked up so as not to fray. Often they are left untreated.

The finished cover was laid out on the floor, the restored part of the sofa was placed in it. At this stage, it is important that the fabric is stretched evenly and does not wrinkle. We began to nail the cover from the middle, moving towards the edges. Staples with thick backs are used so as not to damage the fabric.

The back of the sofa was restored in a similar way, the armrests were fitted, then all the parts were screwed to the folding mechanism. The thickness of the pillows matched, so there were no problems.

Sofa upholstery completed. Result checked 🙂

According to the test results: the seat turned out to be harsh, but for a tired back it is the very thing. For the house, of course, it is better to put foam rubber, and for lovers of comfort - latex.

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