The Easy Guide to Upholstery
The furniture is something that represents the aesthetic taste of the owner. But with time, it starts showing visible signs of wear and tear. Also, if you live with pets, changing your cushions and sofas after regular intervals become mandatory.
So while thinking about replacing your old furniture with a fresh new one, why not refurbish and transform your old worn-out furniture into new? Have you ever heard the term upholstery? It is a simple technique through which you can change the covers of your chairs, cushions, and sofas with insignificant investment. Although it might look intimidating, everyone can learn the skill with some practice and knowledge.
This text will discuss everything related to upholstery, so keep scrolling to know more.
What Is Upholstery?
With upholstery, you can recover benches, headboards, chairs, sofas, and anything that needs some covering and cushioning. It looks like wrapping a gift, but the results will be astonishing once you hold on to the skill.
From Where to Start?
According to upholstery experts, you should always start with straight lines, including bench seats, headboards, footstools, chairs, and ottomans. Usually, curved surfaces pose some challenges if you don’t know how to make a crease for tucking the fabric in. With the straight line, you have to utilize your gift wrapping skill. Once you learn how to upholster consecutive lines, you will be ready to take on more considerable challenges.
If you are thinking about upholstering your furniture, dining chairs are the best piece to start with.
Things I Need For Upholstering
Once you decide to go on with your DIY upholstering project, you might need some tools and equipment for the job. Although there are multiple latest tools available in the market, you need to start with the basics as a beginner. The tools you might require are:
Staple gun:
The essential tool for upholstering is a staple gun that firmly holds the furniture frame’s fabric. If you have a good-quality staple gun, it will ease your upholstering project and give you satisfying results. Nowadays, air staplers are in huge demand, which uses air pressure to create a force and thus offer a much sturdy grip.
Fabric scissor:
For cutting our fabric, you need excellent quality Fabric Scissors. The sharpness of the fabric scissors is highly sought after to ensure easy and hassle-free cutting of the material.
Rubber mallet:
Rubber mallets come in handy to hammer the furniture parts in place. With a rubber head, it will not damage the frame or fabric. You might need a rubber mallet to separate the frame for a complicated upholstery project.
Staple removers:
Although most of the staple guns come with a staple remover, you can buy it from any store if yours does not have one. The staple remover is also necessary to remove staples and nails from the frame.
Soft tape measure:
Measurement is fundamental in any DIY upholstery project. Thus it is highly recommended to have soft measurement tape in your toolkit to measure hard-to-reach spaces.
Fabric:
The fabric selection for your furniture is highly crucial to ensure bespoke results. If you are looking for durability in your fabric, always opt for a thick material capable of handling wear and tear. If you are looking for a fabric used in couch upholstery, it is prudent to choose a non-stretchable one.
Instead of buying fabric online for your reupholster
The process:
Let us explain the entire upholstering process in simple words to ease your understanding. First, remove the fabric by flipping the furniture over.
Remove and unscrew the part that needs some refurbishing. Cut a batting piece for sizing and shaping the fabric according to the item. Lay a large fabric piece over and flip the furniture back. Pull any loose edges to the back and staple them to trap the batting.
You can take up upholstering courses to learn the skill, or simply watch YouTube tutorials for a better understanding. Watching the tutorials equips you with valuable insights to perform your job efficiently.
Here is the one your way- usually, the side of a couch is left messy, so it cannot be noticed on the underside. Go for the upholstery tack strip with more fabric pieces and a staple gun if you want to make it neat.
Cleaning Vs Upholstering
Upholstering is a time-demanding project that requires your complete indulgence and effort. So if you are thinking about upholstering your furniture item due to some stains, try the tips given below before that.
Cleaning Suede Furniture
No matter how intimidating it might look, cleaning suede furniture is not laborious. You just need a few tips rolled up on your sleeves to save your time, effort, and your precious furniture.
If you are dealing with liquid spillage, promptly take a dry cloth and blot the liquid with gentle hands.
You can simply use a simple eraser for older stains to remove the stain. Although multiple suede erasers are available at the market, the simple one will do the work just fine. After erasing the color, it is better to brush off the excess dirt with a soft brush using round movements.
To refresh shabby suede furniture, you need a simple damp cloth and clean the surface with a gentle motion. Avoid dampening the surface as it will leave a mark on your luxurious furniture.
Also, maintaining the ritzy, plush suede furniture brushing is a must.
If you are dealing with challenging and stubborn stains, it is prudent to ask for professional help. An experienced suede cleaning service provider will remove the stain without compromising the gorgeous looks.
Upholstering is the authentic way to give your old boring furniture an entire fresh look. For a more refined and professionally done look, you can always ask services of a professional upholstering business for optimal results.