Shades of Blue Interiors

  • Home
  • Explore My Home
  • Tutorials
  • About
    • Disclosures
    • Features & Press
    • FAQ
  • What I’m Wearing

How to Strip the Upholstery From a Chair

December 17, 2013 Rachel 8 Comments

I decided to show a “play by play” if you will, of how to strip, repair, and reupholster a chair for the absolute beginner. For someone who maybe has some ugly chairs with good bones (wooden frame) but is a little intimidated to tackle it. I think this is doable for most anyone with some determination!
This first post will be simply on how to STRIP the upholstery, batting, hog hair (or what have you), and burlap so you are down to the bare springs.
SUPPLIES:
Needle-nose Pliers
Tack Puller
That is all.
And here is how the story begins:
Once upon a time, I went to the thrift store hoping to get lucky– furniture-wise. I found 2 french-looking chairs, one was close a bit pricey,  but in practically perfect condition, just ugly upholstery. I passed. The other was pretty good condition, but the springs were clearly out of whack. It was half the price of the other one! I scooped it up.
This sat in my living room for a few weeks because I was trying to decide how much I like the dark wood frame, or if I would paint it to bring out the details. I still haven’t decided, to be honest, but either way I would have to fix those pesky springs.
I’ve reupholstered several chairs, so I am not afraid of ripping things apart. Ye need not be afraid either! It can be rather therapeutic! And messy. It probably would have been a good idea to do this in the garage or basement. Oh wait, I don’t have either, so I guess living room will do! ha! (counting the days till we move!!)
Here is the before:
Before of French Chair with Loose Springs
Bruno thought I might be able to salvage the fabric, but I didn’t for two very good reasons: 1) I didn’t like it; and 2) the glue along the gimp was yellowing making it hideous:
Stained gimp trim on french chair
So I got to ripping it out. Er… not working so well.
Removing trim on french chair
 I nixed trying to take off the gimp first, and just pulled and tore at the fabric, and the gimp trim came with it! Here you can see a peak at the batting underneath and the original linen underneath that. Make sure to pull out the staples from the old fabric.
Removing fabric and batting from french chair
The arms weren’t too bad… some interesting velvet was exposed…
Removing arm pads on french chair
And I pulled the batting out of the little pocket in the arm upholstery…
Salvaging batting from arm pads on french chair
 And starting peeling off layers of batting and SAVING for later!
DO NOT DISCARD PERFECTLY GOOD BATTING/FOAM/HOG HAIR/HORSE HAIR/CUSHION!
French chair with removed fabric

Removing batting from French chair

I could tell this had been reupholstered fairly recently because of the poly-fil batting used on the seat back.
Removing batting from french chair back
After all the linen was removed, I found MORE layers of batting! Surprise surprise!
French chair with removed first layer of batting
Oh P.S. you will likely need that tack puller to remove the little tacks that held the linen in place. Or you can wait until the end to do that part!
This stuff had hog hair/horse hair on the back and I did not and DO NOT recommend separating them. Remove in one piece and save for later.
Removing layers of batting and hog hair from french chair
You will notice this portion is ‘tacked’ down with some thick thread in a few places. Just cut that loose.
Cutting strings keeping batting in place on french chair
Here is what was underneath that batting:
Exposed burlap on french chair
Can I just say, I don’t think this is normal? SO MANY LAYERS!! This one was tacked down with little tack nails. Easy peasy to remove, thankfully.
Removing tack nails from burlap on french chair
That piece also had more hog hair/horse hair underneath it. Again, don’t try to separate them.
Removing  and salvaging burlap and hog hair on french chair
I even saved all the nails for possible reuse!
Saving tack nails for reuse on french chair
Last layer: nasty burlap (which I will have to replace).
All batting and cushioning removed from french chair leaving only spring and burlap
Now what was under that burlap:
This isn’t typical, but these springs were only tied 4 ways, instead of 8!
And here she is! All naked! This is the point when you might get a little faint-hearted. Just remember! BABY STEPS! Only think about the next step in front of you!
Exposed loose springs on french chair
Come back on Thursday for the next phase where I will show how I tied the springs down using the 8-way method, and putting all the layers back on!
Maybe by then I will have decided on painting the frame…
To see the next phase in the process, How to Tie Upholstery Springs, CLICK HERE.

Tutorials

Comments

  1. Danielle says

    December 18, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    Rachel, such a great post! Do you find these chairs quite often where you live? I’ve only found one once at a consignment shop which wasn’t super cheap. I’d love to find more to go in where our fireplace is 🙂 Def. pinning and sharing! x

    Reply
  2. Patti-Ann says

    December 18, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    Looking forward to the next phase. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  3. Leatherrepairssurrey jbncreators says

    December 19, 2013 at 5:54 am

    Here at Leather Repairs we have experienced leather technicians who cover a wide range of leather repairs, from small repairs, full restoration and leather panel replacements.

    Reply
  4. Jimmie Lee Atchley says

    January 10, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    Rachel,

    I can never thank you enough for this tutorial! I have the exact same style chair and the upholstery tools and material and I’ve been too intimidated to actually start the project! Now, thanks to you. . . .I’m going to start tomorrow!!

    Reply
  5. Amanda says

    November 8, 2020 at 1:21 am

    Chair reprieving issue is common issue. This post describes how the respire the chair. This very useful post. Thank you for the post.

    Reply
  6. Lily says

    December 13, 2020 at 10:30 am

    Thank you for great post! Going on to next one!

    Reply
  7. Mary E Ralls says

    December 26, 2021 at 10:19 pm

    I have a Victorian chair I would love to upholster but was a little bit scared to try doing it by myself. T&anks for the post.

    Reply
  8. Elizabeth warr says

    October 19, 2022 at 12:28 am

    Why paint the frame ? Then it won’t be original just another painted chair

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi! I’m Rachel.

Subscribe

Privacy Policy & Disclosures

Category

[footer_backtotop text="Top"]
Copyright © 2023 Shades of Blue Interiors · Customization By: Creative Kristi Designs