Chair Upholstery 101 V.2 – Rebuilding

Since I was still recovering from a handful of blisters, I arrived at the second upholstery class armed with a brand new staple remover (totally worth the $5.97) and leather gloves, but yet still was in no way prepared to spend a solid 2 hours ripping out staples, and I am not done yet! Seriously, I’d pull out one and there would be two more lurking below. Brutal!  At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I think I’ve only got two sides left to go…. Of course, my instructor did offer these words of encouragement – he said by the end of the class I’d think the staple removing part was the fun part. Dear lord. Must say finally getting to use the power staple gun was a lot of fun.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why it is so expensive to get something upholstered, wonder no more. It is incredibly, incredibly labor intensive and leaves me sore and ready for bed after a mere 3 hour class and I am not one to shy from manual labor. I’ve spent many a summer, many a weekend rennovating houses and am equally sore as I’d be after installing a wood floor or painting a room top to bottom.

Supplies thus far:

• 15 yards webbing – $12
• 3 yards burlap – $9
• 4 yards muslin – $3.12
• 1 yard cambric – $1
• 25 yards 5/32 welt cord – $4
• 1 staple remover – $5.97
• 100 #6 tacks – $2.48
• 8 yards fabric – $14.98/yard if I go plain, $23.99/yard for the Thomas Paul
• 1″ foam (looking for chemical free) – tbd
• 8 yards cotton batting – organic $7/yard vs. traditional $3/yard

And this is how it looks after 6 hours of labor, baby steps…

If you are interested in a crash course in upholstery, join us at the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Follow the complete story of this upholstery project:

V.1 The Saga Begins

V.2 Rebuilding

V.3 Mild Freakout

V.4 Taking Shape

V.5 Hello Fabric!