I would like to reupholster my fiance's brown plaid couch. I know that reupholstery costs around $1000, so I would like to attempt to do it myself. However, there doesn't seem to be much info on how to do it yourself! Please help if you've ever reupholstered a couch, especially if it had wood on the arms!
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Many areas have Adult Education classes with very resonable fees. Upholsery classes are usually on the list of classes available..
I do a lot of things but am the master of none! Don't let that stop you, you get better as time goes one.
There are books at the library that you can read to give you a general idea. It really is not that hard ... after all, you have to start somewhere! I have 47 years of frugal experience.
I found that the main thing is to start taking the thing that you want to upholster apart piece by piece, save the covering for a pattern. Remember, you learn as you go. If need be, jot notes to remind you what to do later.
Last year I reupholstered a "Lazy Boy Lounge Chair" and did a pretty good job, there were mistakes, that I can see, someone else may not notice. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so that is my problem.
Over the years I found that if you went to a professional, they always said you need much more fabric than you really need. After all, they sell you the fabric by the yard at high prices plus they have a lot of material in case "they make mistakes" at your expense.
Syd Barr
Not having a lot of money in our early years of marriage, I learned that if something was almost HISTORY what did I have to lose if I tried to salvage it!
Do yourself a favor and check into www.surefit.com. They have a wide range of slipcovers with very good pricing. Most are machine washable.
If you don't want to go that route, check into trade schools who teach upholstery and see if they will take yours on as a training project.
This is a huge project for a beginner to do correctly. If you are determined to tackle it, go to your public library. They should have books that cover the subject. - Loretta
You can go to www.upholster.com and it gives you detailed information on how to do it.
If you feel a slipcover is too expensive, you could always make one from a set of king-size sheets (look for them on clearance). This could also provide the material you need to recover the couch. The benefit of a slipcover is that they're washable!
I, too, have been planning to reupholster a couch--this is a Broyhill queen sleeper now covered in a velveteen type material. This is what I'm going to do:
I known that they say to never upholster over what's on there and maybe you can't do this over your couch if the weave is too coarse, but with this tight fitting smoothweave that I have, I'm going to upholster right over it.
I'm also going to stick on fabric on with the paste I use to attach wall paper borders, then staple it down. How's that for bold. I did this on a trunk and it came out perfectly. I don't know why this won't work, but if I have to take the finished product to the curb, I'll let you know.
Regular people have to spend way too much to get a show stopping couch. When you have to have something and can't afford it, you just have to try something new.
And the couch as is would have to go anyway!
Good luck! (I'll need some, too)
Bright ideas you people
The latest discovery of mine to give my beatiful sofa a new look was to buy a "leather look" cheep material. I paid $1.97 a metre at Walmart. I cut sections to the size of evrey part of my couch and sewed them on, trying to hide the stiches.I used fishing line and curved nedles from the $1 dl store.
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