This week, I’m back with another two-phase tutorial on how to reupholster an armchair. Specifically, I’m going to show you how to tackle stripping fabric from your own chair. Also, depending on the chair, you’ll see how to break down a chair into pieces for reupholstery.
Once you are done stripping fabric, and breaking down your chair you’ll be well on your way to a complete chair makeover!
Not to mention, your motivation will kick into 5th gear once you see you’re halfway to the finish line.
However, before we get there, some of the grunt work must be done. And by grunt work, I mean removing staples. One of the most boring, repetitive, and physically demanding tasks of this entire project. I don’t wish to scare you away from your own reupholstery ambitions, I just want to prepare you so that you can get through this phase swiftly.
After two years of doing upholstery and reupholstery projects, I’ve learned that a little focus and determination can make this task fly by. Therefore, I know it can be beneficial for you too.
Okay, I’m done with the warnings and disclaimers. Let’s get to the good stuff.
What you’ll need:
- Staple remover
- Philips head or square recess screwdriver
- Container for staples
Take Pictures of Chair
First and foremost, take pictures of each area of your chair. Each picture you take will be your point of reference, for how to reupholster each section later. Also, take pictures along the way as you remove each layer of fabric so you will know how the chair is upholstered underneath each layer.
Remove Chair Legs
Now, in order to begin stripping fabric from your armchair, you must work backwards. Beginning with the bottom of your chair. Therefore, begin with your legs.
First, turn your armchair over with the bottom facing up. Depending on your chair, you may have removable legs. Using your screwdriver, remove the legs. This should be fairly easy. To my surprise, the screws securing our legs were square drive screws. Luckily, my drill had a bit to match the head perfectly.
Remove the Dust Cover
Next, you should see a thin layer of black fabric stapled to the bottom, this is the dust cover. This is also called Cambric fabric, and is used to keep dust and other items from falling out of the chair. Using your staple remover, take out the staples securing the dust cover, and set the fabric aside once removed.
You can also use a flathead screwdriver to remove your staples, which I have done before. This is a longer process however, and most likely will require you to hammer the screwdriver under the staple’s edge and pry up. If you do this for each staple, or every stubborn staple, you will get become frustrated quickly. So I highly recommend you get a staple remover like this one and eliminate any reason to stop.
Remove Back Fabric Panel
The next section that can be removed from your chair is the panel of fabric, considered the back of the chair. This is held on by a strip of tacks at the top (and possibly sides) of the chair, and staples on the bottom of the chair.
First, remove the staples securing the bottom of your back panel fabric from the chair. Then slide the edge of your staple remover or flathead screwdriver in between the back panel and the frame of the chair. Pry the tack strip up by pushing your tool away from you. The strip should start coming out easily.
Repeat this step all around the back of the chair until you have the entire panel removed. Then, store this fabric with the dust cover somewhere. You will need all of your removed fabric to duplicate sections of fabric for reupholstery.
Disassemble Chair
While removing your fabric, you may notice there are some areas of your chair that you cannot access. In this case, you may need to disassemble your chair to continue stripping fabric. This was very easy in my case, as I could see the screws and began to understand how the chair was built.
The arms were screwed to the other parts of our chair, holding all pieces together. If this is the case for you as well, remove the screws.
Your chair may then be in pieces.
Strip Remaining Chair Fabric
Now, you will continue to work backwards, if your chair is still in one piece, stripping the remaining fabric. Some areas, will be stapled over other areas, so you must remove the staples from the outermost section. At this point, you will be peeling back the layers.
For our chair, I tackled the arms next since they seemed to have the most fabric. Once they were unscrewed, I removed staples on the bottom of the arm, a panel of fabric on the outside of the arm, then the remaining fabric.
I then tackled the back cushion
This is where your focus and determination will need to be put to use! Depending on the original upholsterer, there can be a moderate to excessive amount of staples that need to be removed. Therefore, if you stay focused on the task, without many breaks, you can get this done in good time.
As a tip, for stubborn staples that really seem jammed in there, if you can, let them stay! No need for you to break a sweat over a pesky staple. Just cut the fabric away from that area with a box cutter and move on.
Your goal is to remove as many staples as you can to make room for the new staples with your new upholstery fabric. It’s okay if a few remain.
Once you get down to the last area of fabric, which may be the area that holds the box cushion, you can decide if stripping the fabric is necessary. This area normally has visible upholstery fabric attached to a contrasting fabric that covers the springs of the seat. This area is unseen when the seat cushion is in place.
Neither fabric needs to be removed, but I do recommend a good cleaning! I left this in place for our chair. After cleaning, I will be covering the original upholstery fabric with my new fabric. If your chair is in good condition, I recommend saving some time and leaving your fabric in place here as well.
Save Upholstery Fabric Pieces
Now that you’re done, set aside your removed fabric and save for use in your reupholstery process. You will need each piece to trace, and duplicate matching pieces for use with your new fabric.
Now, you’re done! You can breathe a sigh of relief that you made it through, and get excited for your almost finished chair. Yes, now that the fabric is removed, you’re almost finished. Can’t you see it?
As soon as I was done stripping fabric, I felt a sense of completion and was immediately motivated to move to the next phase. If you can tackle stripping fabric, you can certainly tackle adding new fabric. It’s funny that seeing a chair all broken down to its roots makes it easier to envision the new life it will have.
This is the last DIY project for our Modern Classic Bedroom Makeover, so I’m excited for the next phase. I hope you are too! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions on your own chair upholstery projects below!
Want to save this for later? Pin this tutorial to your favorite Pinterest board!
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