Reupholstering a Wing Chair {Part III}

Here we are again, in case you stumbled on this post through search, you can find the two previous posts here for reupholstering a wing chair Part I and Part II.

I was planning on showing you all my own step-by-step process with this. But I ended up finding a series of videos online that walked me through the entire project. I cannot thank this man enough for uploading these videos, he saved me from a lot of frustration. Below is the the link to the second video. There are 22 in total, and all of them are linked. Here are also a few of my own tips and photos to get you started.

Step 1: Begin to remove the staples from the bottom of the chair. Most likely you’ll be removing about 2-3 layers. The first layer will be black mesh (keep this as you’ll want it later).

Continue to pull staples from each layer until you’ve exposed the bottom.

{Exposed bottom of the chair}

Each layer may have this stiff cardboard. If you can salvage it, do so. It will make it easier to keep a clean line when you staple everything back later.

When you begin to pull the back off, you’ll need to separate the fabric with either a screw driver, or I used a paint can opener (much easier).

Once you get the back off, and the sides (which again you want to keep in tact so you can use this to measure on the new fabric), you’ll see exposed cotton. You can reuse this if it’s still in good shape, or buy new.

You want the cotton to be soft, and not too worn down. I do think it made it easier to keep the cotton on the chair because I was able to get a cleaner line when I tightened the fabric.

If your chair has front arm covers, it may look like this. You will want to purchase new tags, as these will most likely be bent and worn.

This is what the arm will look like under the front cover. Lots of staples. Take a picture of this before you tear off the fabric, as it will guide you later (the arms were one of the hardest parts to put back together).

More to come!