how do you reupholster a cowhide chair

How to Reupholster a Chair With Cowhide?

• Remove the old fabric from the chair
• This can be done by carefully removing the staples or tacks holding the fabric in place
• If the fabric is glued on, you will need to use a putty knife to loosen it before removal
• Clean the chair frame with a vacuum and a damp cloth

Full Answer

What to do when you cut cowhide?

How to get a smooth finish on a cushion?

What is the Ikea rug called?

Is cowhide hard to work with?

Can you reuse foam from a chair?

Can you use a pneumatic stapler to staple upholstery?

See 1 more

What to do when you cut cowhide?

When you cut cowhide (I just used regular old scissors), be prepared for a big mess. Hair will fall off as you cut. Just have your vacuum ready – all will be fine.

How to get a smooth finish on a cushion?

The key to getting a good unwrinkled finish on your cushion is to HEAT THE HIDE with the iron as in the step above just prior to upholstering. This allows a little give and stretch in the hide and will help you get a nice, smooth finished product.

What is the Ikea rug called?

Specifically, we are going to use an Ikea cowhide rug, known there as the “Koldby”.

Is cowhide hard to work with?

Since the cowhide is very thick, it’s much harder to work with unless it has been heated up. I kept the iron on, and heated it up, little by little as I went.

Can you reuse foam from a chair?

Sometimes, you can re-use the existing foam from your chair. But, in this case, our foam was gnarly and smelly and super icky. So, we opted for new foam, and luckily, I had some from previous projects.

Can you use a pneumatic stapler to staple upholstery?

My personal favorite stapling tool right now is an electric stapler (great because I don’t have to lug the air compressor into the house). If you don’t have a powered stapling option, you can certainly staple upholstery with a simple hand-powered staple gun as well.

What is reupholstering a chair?

Reupholstering involves selecting the material you want to use, re-padding the chair, and attaching the new upholstery, then putting the furniture back together if and as needed so that it's ready for use.

What is the process of reupholstering furniture?

Regardless of the type of furniture you're planning to reupholster or the material you plan to use when doing so, broadly speaking, the reupholstering process falls into three basic categories: Removing the old material, refinishing the visible wooden sections of the furniture, if any, and then the actual reupholstering process itself.

What is the process of refinishing wood?

Refinishing the visible wood of the piece of furniture in question involves sanding and re-staining, then covering with one or more protective coats of polyurethane and allowing all of that to dry completely before moving onto the rest of the job.

Can dining chairs be reupholstered?

Dining chairs come in all shapes and sizes, but the fundamentals of reupholstering them are largely the same. Here are a number of video tutorials on the matter to guide you:

Can you reupholster cane back chairs?

Cane backed chairs are commonly found in dining rooms, so the process of reupholstering them is broadly similar to what you'll find in the section on dining chairs (below). There are also a few videos that walk you through the process of reupholstering this type of chair in particular.

Do bar stools have round seats?

Note that many bar chairs or stools have round seats. This adds several new challenges to the task of reupholstering them without leaving wrinkles or other imperfections. Here's a great tutorial to help with that specific case:

Can you reupholster furniture?

For a solid majority of people, the answer to that question winds up being no, and we totally understand that. Reupholstering furniture isn't going to be for everyone. Our advice is the same no matter what type of chair or another piece of furniture you're talking about: Take it to a professional and pay to have someone else do it.

What is reupholstering chairs?

Reupholstering is a great way to bring tired-looking chairs-even tired-looking rooms-back to life. The materials are relatively inexpensive, the tools are simple and it's a project almost anyone can tackle with success.

How to remove staples from a couch?

Pry and yank the staples with a small, flat tip screwdriver and pliers or side cutters. Remove the upholstery and cushion material.

How to check seat pattern?

Our expert flipped the seat over and checked the pattern a dozen times while stapling each edge. Stop stapling 2 in . from each corner . Secure the back edge in the same way, stretching the material lightly as you work. Then complete the sides, again repeatedly checking the pattern.

How to cut foam seat?

Trace the outline of the seat onto 1-in.-thick foam. Cut the foam with a bread knife. To avoid tearing the foam, pull the knife toward you, using light pressure and short strokes.

How to wrap a chair back?

Flip the seat over, then center your material on top (Photo 5). Cut the material so you'll be able to wrap it up onto the chair bottom at least 4 in. in each direction. With the seat facing up and the front edge overhanging the work surface, drive one staple through the bottom to hold the material in place. Rotate the seat 180 degrees, then tack the back the same way.

How to repair a cracked wood seat?

If it's cracked, use it as a template to make a new one (Photo 2). We used a sander to taper the edges to match the profile of the old one. Plop the seat on top of the foam and outline it with a marker. Use a serrated bread knife (Photo 3) to cut just inside the line.

How long does it take to make a nasty chair nice?

Anyone can make a nasty seat nice in just a couple of hours. Here's how to do a first class DIY chair upholstery job.

Step 1: Choose a Chair to Reupholster

This is the chair in its original state. Awful. Seriously, this was truly offensive. It is also important to pick a fabric. I warn you that this is a very difficult step, so you may want to shop around a bit or look at some design websites for ideas.

Step 2: Start at the Bottom

When you are removing fabric and pieces, start any chair from the bottom first. Most chairs are finished on the bottom, so the best method is to remove fabric in the reverse order it was put on…this way the last pieces you will remove will be the first pieces you put back on.

Step 3: Remove Exterior Frame

For this chair, I needed to remove the bottom frame to get to the fabric. I used a thin flat head screwdriver and a hammer to get between the frame and the chair, then I just pried it apart. Be careful with any nails or staples that are exposed…I recommend wearing work gloves.

Step 4: Remove Your Panels in Order - Bottom First

You can see all of the staples that were used – removing these is the most time consuming part of the project. You want to be careful removing the fabric so that you can reuse it as a template for the new fabric you choose. The best way to remove these is using any method that works for you…I used a pair of pliers and a thin flat head screwdriver.

Step 5: Label Your Steps

You will want to save the piping that you remove, as it is already cut to be the perfect length for each section. Again, just keep on removing the staples and fabric. Make sure to label each section that you remove so that you know where they go when you are recovering.

Step 6: Pli-Grip

Ply-grip: Our worst enemy and our best friend. The sharp metal teeth you find on large sections such as the back and sides are called Ply-grip. You will want to be careful with these pieces because they are very sharp. The best way to open them is using a butter knife to pry it open (seen in the next picture).

Step 7: Completely Remove Fabric

Continue removing fabric panels until the frame of the chair is totally exposed. Be cognizant of where batting and foam pieces are – some of them need to be removed to get to where fabric was stapled in, and some (like in this picture) should be left along because there is nothing further to remove.

How to reupholster cowhide?

First remove the old upholstery using an upholstery staple remover and a tack remover.

How to get cowhide to stick to furniture?

Iron the cowhide before you attach it to the furniture. Sometimes the cowhide can get a little bit wrinkly so make sure you take care of that before the final upholstering. Putting a wet cloth between the hide and the iron will give you the best results.

How to cut up cowhide leather?

To making the cutting up of the upholstery foam as easy as possible, use an upholstery knife. Next wrap the foam in the quilt batting. Just one layer should do it and then secure it using the hot glue gun. Now it is time for the cowhide. Again use your template. This time to cut the cowhide leather to size.

Why is it important to get the right size cowhide?

This is because each cowhide is unique and so it will be really difficult to try to match up different hides together to make up the upholstery. Unless a mixed pattern is what you are going for, of course.

How to stretch cowhide?

Use a staple gun to add the new cowhide upholstery. To get the most stretch in your cowhide, try using the iron to heat it up right before you attach it. This step takes the most patience so just take your time to make sure you get a smooth finished piece of furniture.

What color is cowhide?

There is so much more than just simple black and white or brown and white. You can choose cowhide that is all white, speckled or even brindle colored.

Can you get cowhide from a rug?

You can choose cowhide that is all white, speckled or even brindle colored. If you choose to get your cowhide from a rug, then you have a lot more options as well because you can get rugs with dyed and stenciled cowhide. Cowhide patchwork rugs are also real popular and can give your furniture a more subtle look.

What to do when you cut cowhide?

When you cut cowhide (I just used regular old scissors), be prepared for a big mess. Hair will fall off as you cut. Just have your vacuum ready – all will be fine.

How to get a smooth finish on a cushion?

The key to getting a good unwrinkled finish on your cushion is to HEAT THE HIDE with the iron as in the step above just prior to upholstering. This allows a little give and stretch in the hide and will help you get a nice, smooth finished product.

What is the Ikea rug called?

Specifically, we are going to use an Ikea cowhide rug, known there as the “Koldby”.

Is cowhide hard to work with?

Since the cowhide is very thick, it’s much harder to work with unless it has been heated up. I kept the iron on, and heated it up, little by little as I went.

Can you reuse foam from a chair?

Sometimes, you can re-use the existing foam from your chair. But, in this case, our foam was gnarly and smelly and super icky. So, we opted for new foam, and luckily, I had some from previous projects.

Can you use a pneumatic stapler to staple upholstery?

My personal favorite stapling tool right now is an electric stapler (great because I don’t have to lug the air compressor into the house). If you don’t have a powered stapling option, you can certainly staple upholstery with a simple hand-powered staple gun as well.