How To Reupholster Dining Room Chairs

If your dining room chairs are looking shabby, you should learn how to reupholster dining room chairs.   It sounds difficult, but if you follow these simple steps, reupholstering your dining room chairs can be easy.

What you'll need:

• dining room chairs with a fabric seat
• fabric shears
• your choice of fabric suitable for upholstery
• a staple gun
• staples
• screwdriver
• pliers

1. Measure the fabric.  You will need enough fabric to overlap the seat of the chair by two or three inches.   Measure across the widest edge of the chair seat and add three or four inches to your measurement.  Measure the other side of the seat and add another three or four inches.  Multiply the two numbers together to determine the square inches of fabric needed, then divide this number by twelve to convert to square feet. Next, multiply this number by the number of chair seats that you have to reupholster to determine the amount of fabric you need.  You may want to add a bit of fabric to your final purchase if you are using fabric with a patterned design or stripes.  When using a striped or patterned fabric, you will want to have enough fabric to be able to make all of the reupholstered dining room chairs look the same.
2. Remove the seats. Turn the chair upside down and unscrew the screws holding the seat in place.  Remove the seat from the chair.   Take the seat to your work table and turn the seat upside down. Use the pliers to remove the tacks or staples holding the upholstery fabric onto the seat of the chair. Discard the fabric or recycle and save for another project. Set aside the foam cushioning.
   
3. Cut your fabric.  Lay your fabric over the seat and determine the direction that you desire for the pattern or stripes.   Measure out the area needed, using the measurements that you took earlier in step one.   Cut the fabric to size.  Repeat until you have the fabric cut for all of the chairs.
4. Attaching the fabric.   Lay a pre-cut fabric piece face down on your work table, then cover it with the foam that you saved from the chair seat and the upside down seat of the chair.  Fold the fabric up over the chair seat that you are reupholstering and check the position of the fabric.  When you have the fabric adjusted to your desired orientation, use the staple gun to staple the fabric in place.
5. Reattach the seat.  Using your screwdriver, reattach the reupholstered seat to the dining room chair.
6. Repeat.  Repeat steps one through five until you have all of your dining room chairs reupholstered.