For two years, I waged a silent battle with my nemesisa channel-back chair covered in a truly hideous fabric that some kind soul insisted I couldn't live without. A saboteur of style, it sat in all its dubious glory in the corner of my living room, subtly souring the social scene like a bad smell permeates an elevator. I was secure in the knowledge of its intrinsic value and my lack of storage space dared me to confront its offensive appearance.
I didn't do anything about the situation for so long because I was paralyzed by the fear that I might somehow make a bad thing worse (impossible!) if I were to attempt to recover it. I have recovered my share of wingback chairs and other assorted upholstered pieces. But the channels on this chair (all 25 of them) mocked my previous efforts. Finally, after a party guest opted to sit on the floor rather than the chair, I knew I had to do something.
I want to save others from a life of fear and disgust, so I decided to share what I learned the hard way about recovering the channel-back portion of the chair. The rest of the chair can be recovered easily, same as any other chair or sofa, using copious instructions found on the web.
You'll need the following supplies to complete this project:
Upholster's foam of desired size, thickness, and density
Spray-on fabric adhesive
Scissors and a craft knife
A ruler or straightedge and a sewing tape
A strong, tightly woven fabric for backing (can be ugly and inexpensive as it will not be seen on finished product)
Beautiful, non-scary new upholstery fabric (spend a bit extra to get good quality fabric and go classic, not trendy, unless you want to do this project repeatedly)
Pliers (to remove staples or nails)
Fabric marker
1. You must systematically remove the existing fabric on the piece. You'll need to use the strips of fabric as patterns for the new strips you'll be applying.
2. Determine if you can use the existing padding for the chair or sofa back or if you'll need to replace it or add more for comfort or aesthetic reasons. You never know what you are going to find when you begin removing the old fabric from an upholstered antique. Many types of padding-hair, cotton, rags, burlap, etc. were used to create the desired shape and texture of these pieces. If the padding material is rotten, retains an odor, or is shapeless or worn out, you will need to discard it and start with new padding.
3. If you can reuse the padding, then skip ahead to step 6. To create new padding for the channel-back, you must obtain a square of foam with the desired denseness and thickness for your chair or sofa. Keep the old padding to use as a template when cutting the new foam. Rule of thumb: Make the foam a bit thicker and wider than the old padding to add fullness to the finished product.
4. Once you have the shape cut out, figure out the spacing for your channels. Find the center of your foam and measure equal segments out from the center line to the edge of the foam. Use a marker to note where your channels will run. Using a ruler and a craft knife, carefully score along each line. Trace over each scored line a second time, carving each channel to a uniform depth of one-half inch.
5. Using the foam as a pattern, trace the shape on the backing fabric, adding at least two inches to the top and sides and six inches to the bottom before cutting. Adhere the fabric smoothly to the foam using fabric adhesive, being sure to maintain the fabric borders mentioned above around the foam. Let dry.
6. You'll need to cut down your upholstery fabric to work with it. Width: Measure the foam width (side to side) and add four inches plus 2 inches for each channel. Length: Measure the foam top to bottom and add four inches plus one inch per inch of foam thickness. Always err on the side of more fabric as you can cut off any excess, but you generally can't add more fabric without it looking odd.
7. To cover, start with the middle channel. Fold your fabric in half width-wise and insert the fabric into the channel. The foam will hold it in place initially, but you'll need to pin the fabric securely in the channel to keep it in place as you continue covering. Work from the middle to one side, keeping the fabric smooth and tight, but not completely stretched.
8. Using a sewing machine or by hand, sew a straight seam down the center of each channel, through the upholstery fabric, the foam, and the backing fabric.
Now you can use this foam panel to upholster the interior back section of the chair or sofa as if you were upholstering a smooth back piece.
You don't have to live in fear of your furniture. You can do this project. When it's done, you'll feel so much better about yourself and your guests will too because they'll finally have a place to sit down when they visit.