Wendy's Chair

I decided to post an upholstery project. Since all I have been showing is how to dissect a chair; thought you might like to see how one goes back together.  Wendy is a favorite client who has a nack for finding me wherever I work in the greater Madison area. 

A month or so ago, she approached me with this project; a lovely wood trimmed armchair in need of a new cover. So here's a photo of Wendy's naked chair:

Photo by the author

I did not rip down the seat because it was in excellent shape.  Here is a shot of its underside.
 

Photo by the author

The manufacturer installed what is commonly known as zig-zag springs. I am not a big fan of these springs because they put outward pressure on the frame every time the user sits. BUT, this is an extremely well manufactured frame. The wood is over the standard thickness of 5/4" stock; it was made withstand the pressure.

First I laid the chair's back on a blanket on top of my work horses.  It's important to always get the piece you are working on in practical position to work on.

Photo by the author

Next I lined up the center stripe to the center ornament on the chair's top inside back where I stapled it to the frame. 

It's also important to place the fabric with the good side to the outside of the back.  You are looking at the WRONG side of the fabric. The outside is what will show when the job is done.

Photo by the author

Then I measured the bottom of the inside back to find the center and stapled the fabric there too. That's on the left of this photo.

After anchoring top and bottom correctly, I stapled the rest of the back fabric in place.

Photo by the author

              After that the excess is trimmed with a sharp one sided razor blade.

Photo by the author

                                      There we go, nice and neat!


                                     Next apply the reinforcement.

Photo by the author

This white fabric is contemporary burlap. It is stronger and more rigid than traditional burlap. It is placed on top of the finish fabric and stapled down. Remember the good side of the fabric is already positioned to be seen on the outside of the back.

Photo by the author

For the future, I placed a piece of the original fabric and the maker's label in the back where no-one will feel it or see it.  It's a record of the chair's history so far. Here's hoping the next upholsterer gets the hint and does the same.




Now the foam is placed on top of the white burlap and stapled in place.

Photo by the author

                                 

                                            And a close up!

Photo by the author

Don't place the staples too close to the edge. And don't use an over abundance either.  When the cover fabric is placed and stapled on top of the foam even more staples will be holding all these layers in place.

In this next photo see the previous upholsterer placed almost all the tacks in a line next to the edge of the work area of the frame and the trim area we see when it is upholstered.  By not placing the new staples in that same place we distribute the wear inflicted on the wood and extend the life of the frame.

Photo by the author

Always make sure the old staples and tacks are completely removed from the frame before working on it!

Photo by the author

Recall the corner of the Rococo Revival chair and how its corner had lost a piece of wood in the same place. See Below.

Photo by SHS

A great deal of tacks and staples were left in this frame by previous technicians.  Now I am paying the price by taking months to painstakingly remove 150 years worth of leftovers!

Now we'll start to upholster the seat which is first because the piece of fabric used is larger than the back. If a mistake is made, it can then be re-cut and used on the back. First measure the area the fabric is to cover at its widest spot.

Photo by the author

Always add 2 inches to your cut so there is something to hold on to when you staple it down.

Photo by the author

Now that I know my seat fabric needs to 44" wide by 36" long, I set out to find the center pattern.

Photo by the author

First find the most distinguishing motif on the fabric.  On this Jacobean print it is the three lighter flowers at the center of this shot. When a pattern is not symmetric a ruler must be used to discern the center.

Photo by the author

The pattern is 10" wide; the ruler is place over the entire motif.  Since it is 10" wide, I find the center at 5" and mark it with chalk.  

Photo by the author

The fabric is placed on the chair seat and centered with a ruler. It's 25" between the two arms so I placed the center of the motif at 12 1/2". 

Next time you will see how it is attached to the seat frame.  Until then, keep you fingers out of the way of the scissors!

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

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Safely Removing Staples and Tacks

Welcome to this weeks blog edition.

Since I have spent a great deal of time talking about the damage an unthinking technician can impose on a piece of furniture, I thought perhaps it would be wise to illustrate how to avoid damaging a chair as you take out staples and tacks.

There are primarily two types of fasteners used in the upholstery process; tacks and staples. Tacks are a form of a nail that has a flat head and shaft of graduated thickness.

Photo: SHS

They are installed with a tack hammer; literally pounded into the wood.

Staples are composed of “U” shaped wire, which is extremely thin. In this photo we see staples that are partially out of the wood just to the right of the center of the image. Remember you can click on the image to get a better view.

Photo: SHS

Staples are forced into the wood with a hammer action.  The hammer is a sliver of metal in the staple gun.  It is forced by a spring, air or electric to hit the staple out of the gun into the wood.

These fasteners attach all the upholstery materials to the furniture frame. Tacks are used primarily on furniture made before the 1950's when pneumatic staples were introduced. The switch from tacks to staples was gradual with virtually all upholsterers employing staples wholly by the 1980's.

Today I will illustrate the correct way to remove staples; tomorrow tacks. Specifically, I will illustrate how to remove them when they are next to carved wood without incurring damage to the decorative bits and pieces. Later, when I reupholster the chair, the correct way of applying these fasteners will be illustrated.

In this photo we a staple that is completely in the wood with a staple puller positioned in the center of the head. 

Photo: SHS

With one hand holding the staple puller in place, gently tap on the end of the handle of the puller until it forces its way under the staple head and pushes the head up a bit. The business end of the puller will be under the head. At his point put pressure down on the puller handle and the staple will come up.

Once the head of the staple is above the wood you can use a pliers to grab it and twist it out of the frame. These staples were partially pulled out by the action of tugging off the fabric cover.

Photo: SHS

Here I grab and pinch them with the pliers.

Photo: SHS

And here I roll the pliers while still keeping the staple firmly pinched. Enlarge the photo to see the staple is completely out of the wood and in the pincers of the pliers.

Photo: SHS

Finally, this photo illustrates what NOT to do when removing a staple.

Notice the back of the business end of the staple puller is against a piece of finished wood trim. If I proceed to remove the staple using the steps just described, the end of the puller will be forced into the wood trim, scarring or breaking it. Never attempt to remove a fastener with any tool touches finished or carved wood.

Tacks will be covered tomorrow.

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

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