Have you ever wondered how to re-upholster a cushion? It’s a lot easier than you might think, check this out… I have been wanting an ottoman for our living room for a while now because our solid wood coffee table is not the most comfortable when you want to put your feet up. Last weekend my hubby and I were out yard sale-ing and found a great little ottoman for $5. When it comes to yard sale finds, you have to look past the unsightly fabrics or minor blemishes in the finish and truly look for the potential in each piece. The cushion on our $5 find had definitely seen better days. It was a dark maroon color with a few burn holes in the cushion and several areas where the finish on the wood needed to be touched up. First things first, here is what you will need: ~ cushion to be recovered, from a chair, ottoman, bench, etc. ~ fabric to cover it with, the amount will depend on the size of your project ~ new cushion padding, if necessary ~ staple gun and staples ~ flat head screw driver ~ Philips head screw driver ~ pair of pliers ~ scissors ~ spray adhesive, optional At this point, you may be wondering where to start. For a project like this, it’s best to start at the bottom. Cushions are usually attached to their piece of furniture by screws in the underside. Use a screw driver to remove these screws, ours were Philips head screws, and set them in a safe place. Then take the cushion off of the piece of furniture. Next, you are going to want to remove the old fabric which is usually stapled on. To do this, flip the cushion over so the bottom is facing upward. Working on a large, flat surface, like the floor, use a flat head screw driver to work the existing staples up. Then use pliers to pull the staples the rest of the way out. Be sure to dispose of the staples, they are not comfortable to find with your bare feet! Once the fabric has been removed, take a good look at the padding in your cushion. It is up to you if you want to replace it too. We did for our ottoman. For this, we used cushion batting from the fabric store. Be sure to get a piece large enough to fit your project. Since our ottoman was a slightly awkward size, we got the closest size we could find and added two smaller pieces, one on each end so the seam wasn’t right down the middle. This next step is up to you, but we used a spray adhesive to stick our batting to the ottoman top just to ensure it doesn’t move around. After the batting is in place, it’s time to recover it! Just like the batting, be sure to get enough fabric to cover your piece. Remember: If you get a patterned fabric, you may want to get a little extra so you can get the pattern just how you want it. Note: you may need to iron the creases out of your fabric. Crafty Tip: When choosing your fabric, look for a heavier sturdy fabric like outdoor fabrics which hold up really well to repeated use and wear and tear. Also, to really tie the piece into your room, get an extra yard or two of fabric to make accent pillows! Once you have the fabric laid out just how you want it, lay it out up-side-down and lay your cushion on top, batting side down. Then, working from the center, fold the fabric over the edge of the cushion. Pull the fabric taught but not too tight and place one staple in the center about one inch from the edge of the cushion board. Once you have the one staple in the center, do the same to the opposite side. Then, place 3 to 4 staples on either side of the center one between it and the end. Note: Place your “end” staple approximately 2 inches from the corner. Then do the same to the other side. Once there are 6 to 8 staples in each side, add staples at approximately 1 inch intervals to fill in each side. After the first two opposing sides are done, repeat this process for the other two opposing sides, leaving the corners for last. Once all of the edges have been stapled down, use scissors to trim the excess fabric away, but leave the fabric in the corners long for now. After each side has been trimmed, it is time to tackle the corners and I promise they are not as difficult as they may seem. First, hold the fabric straight up by the tip of the corner. Then lay it to one side until it lays flat, place a staple here. Then, hold the fabric straight up again and do the same toward the other side. After both staples are in place, hold the fabric straight up again. Using both hands, one on either side, pull the fabric straight across and fold it flat down onto the cushion board. Then place several staples across the fabric and trim the excess off. Do this for each corner. Now that you have the corners finished, you will need to mark where your hardware attaches. We used a black marker then used a sharp knife to cut a small slit for the screws to go through. Guess what, YOU’RE ALMOST DONE! By now you should be feeling pretty proud of yourself so let’s finish on this high note! While the cushion is off, take some time to evaluate your piece of furniture. In the case of our $5 ottoman, it needed a little love in the finishing department. My hubby found a stain in the garage that matched it perfectly and touched up the few little spots that needed it. He also used some fine steel wool to remove some very stubborn tape residue. Once any touch up work is dry, it’s time to put everything back together! Simply set the cushion on your piece of furniture and place the screws you took out to remove the cushion back through their brackets and into the bottom of the cushion. Voila! Now you’re done! It is now time to enjoy and admire your new piece just like I have been while I’ve been writing this. Yep, you guessed it… my feet have been up and comfy this whole time! Now that you know how, what are you going to recover? | Time to recover the cushion!Place staples approximately 1 inch apart.Master the Corners: |
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AuthorTo put it mildly, I LOVE crafting! The only problem is that I don't fancy just one specific type of craft, I love it all. With this in mind, I've decided to keep a running chronicle of projects and, hopefully, inspire someone else along the way. Categories
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May 2016
Note:The information provided in this blog are my opinion and is not guaranteed. Results may vary. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me via my "Contact" page. I am not affiliated with any of the companies or products I may write about.
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