One of the ways to update upholstered furnitureis to replace its upholstery. You can use the services of professional craftsmen, or you can upholster the sofa yourself in ordinary home conditions. The event is quite troublesome, but does not require serious physical effort.
Sofa upholstery: a – soft and upholstery materials; b – cutting; c – order of upholstery and re-upholstery.
Preparatory stage
It is recommended to start any work with planning, upholstery of a sofa is no exception. The action plan is determined according to the type of the upcoming repair - cosmetic or major.
Types of sofa repair work.Cosmetic repairs usually involve only replacing the old upholstery or even attaching new material to the old. For example, replacing the wallpaper on the walls. Major repairs involve a complete or partial replacement of not only the top of the upholstered furniture, but also the filler. The preparatory stage will require:
- pliers;
- Screwdriver Set;
- a set of keys;
- a hammer;
- centimeter or tape measure;
- A piece of paper and a pencil.
It is also better to stock up on boxes or in advancebags for storing fasteners. When disassembling very old furniture, vinegar may be needed. To dismantle fasteners welded together by rust, it is enough to moisten them with acetic acid.
Sectional diagram of a soft sofa.It won't hurt to have a vacuum cleaner or a brush and a damp cloth. With their help, you can immediately remove deposits of debris and dust found in hard-to-reach corners of the furniture structure.
When determining the dimensions of the pieces of new upholsteryfabric, the features of fastening the old one must be taken into account. In order to save money, some manufacturers do not fold its edges, which then "fray". Butt-jointed seams also do not extend the service life of the upholstery. Return to contents</a>
The process of skinning the sofa with your own hands
Furniture before and after re-upholstery.Before covering the sofa, you need to inspect its structure for possible defects and damage. If necessary, carry out repair work. The foam rubber is replaced entirely. Do not try to save money by putting pieces of new material on the dented areas. An additional layer of batting and burlap will not only extend the life of the upholstery, but also provide comfortable conditions during rest and sleep. When calculating the amount of materials, the following must be taken into account:
- seam allowances - 1-1.5 cm;
- hem allowances along the edge - 1-2 cm.
To upholster a sofa, you need to purchase not only foam rubber, batting, upholstery fabric, but also:
- threads - preferably nylon;
- A ruler, a triangle, a tailor's chalk or a conventional color pencil, contrasting with the color of the chosen upholstery;
- adhesive for fixing foam sheets on sidewalls;
- glue BF-6;
- good scissors for fabric;
- wallpaper carnations or a construction stapler.
In compliance with the main tailor's rule "7"measure once, cut once", carefully cut out the foam rubber, batting and upholstery fabric. It is better to go over the crumbling edges with an overlock or "zigzag". Covers are sewn onto the sides, other necessary seams are made. The time and effort spent on preliminary ironing of the upholstery fabric and seams will more than pay off in the process of its fastening. One way to extend the service life of the upholstery is to strengthen the areas located at the corners of the furniture. To do this, patches of burlap or a piece of upholstery fabric left over from cutting are sewn or glued to them from the inside with BF-6 glue.
All canvases are stretched evenly and neatly.Then the sofa structure is assembled. If the sofa is planned to be covered with new fabric over the old upholstery with your own hands, then the second one is thoroughly cleaned of dirt beforehand. Heavily worn areas are reinforced with patches that are sewn or glued. The advantage of this option is the minimization of material and time costs. The disadvantage is that old accumulations of dirt and dust remain inside.</ ul>
