02/21/2026
Winter is typically a pretty slow season for the jewelry biz, so I often take the time to work on house projects or anything else that needs to get done. This winter I finally got around to this reupholster job. We got this really cool mid-century modern chair probably 9 years ago at the Habitat for Humanity store. It was a great find but was in horrible shape. We found a beautiful turquoise fabric remnant online not long after, both had been sitting around since then waiting for me to find the nerve to get started. I had been procrastinating on this one for a long time because I knew what a complicated job it would be and that it would push my limited upholstery skills. It did not disappoint!
First task was to remove the extremely nasty 1980’s fabric and batting. Masks on! I removed the fabric in whole pieces so that I could use them as patterns for cutting the new fabric. I basically had to start the project by doing the whole job in reverse first, which honestly is pretty helpful because it gives you the steps, in order, for applying the new fabric.
After removing the fabric, batting, and about 1,000 staples and old tacks, it was time to size everything up. The old foam was in pretty bad shape, but a random post that showed up on my instagram a while back showing how to revive the foam by steaming it with a clothes steamer. it worked like a charm!
Then it was all about patterns, cutting fabric, sewing (thanks mom for teaching me that skill), and placing new batting. Now it was time to stretch and staple the new panels in place. This chair has so many compound curves and odd angles that there was a lot of trial and error here. Many staples were removed and re-done. The back panel was affixed using a strip of sharp-toothed metal that grabs the fabric and folds over to make a clean edge. I managed to slice my knuckle open on it, but otherwise it did the job as it was supposed to. The dust cover on the bottom finished up the job.
Meanwhile the wood base got a light sanding and a fresh coat of oil. Once that was dry, everything got put back together and the chair was finally ready to use. And of course this guy already claimed it as his new chair. :)
