Mini Upholstery Projects

I call these mini projects because you can get them done in a few days or in a day. Compared to the upholstery of the previous 3-seater, these are simple! Check them out.

I wanted the matching fabric used in my bedroom for my dresser stool. It was the easiest upholstery work done in 2 hours. That includes the dismantling, cutting & sewing of fabric, re-stapling and assembling it back. This was the original look...

Dismantling is easy peasy!

 Dismantling the cushion parts.

There was minimal sewing. I used whatever leftover fabric I had, machine sew the sides and staple the fabric using a handheld staple gun. The staple gun is cheap, but can be tricky to use.
Tip: Best to use the handheld staple gun on a flat surface. Any curved areas or edges that needs stapling, it's best to use the air compressor types which are pricey.

The completed stool!

Next is my mum's mini project. It probably took her 2 weekends to complete since she has to work from Mondays to Fridays. Sorry, I don't have the original picture of it. To give you a brief background; we bought this at our favourite 2nd hand shop for cheap. The original fabric was really filthy and the whole thing just looked tattered. The frame was in gold and it had bad scratches all over so mum decided to paint it black. 

Originally, we would use wood paint, this time we decided to try spray paint - in matt black. I must say that the results turned out a lot better than if painted by brush. Just make sure you protect your floors or if you can do it outside when spraying. You don't want to get tiny specks of black paint on your floors!!

The coat of paint is very even throughout when you spray on it. I'm very happy with the results. As usual, always keep the dismantled pieces for reference before throwing them away.

This time, mum decided to use the handheld staple gun rather than the trusty nails and hammer. Thinking that will save her time... wrong!! It is not as easy as we thought!! Because you need to hide the staples in corners of the frame, the handheld staple gun becomes clumsy and needs 2 persons to make ensure stability (stapling on a "flat platform") and direct force downwards (so that the staples don't warp during the stapling process). Overall, it would be better off using the traditional method. 

The finished chair!

The only sewing was the piping on the edge of the seat cushion. The rest is just stapling. The job done this time is not that fantastic; still, the chair looks as good as new.

Good job mum!


xxXxx

Dress Me Up - Final (Part 3)

Herro! It's been some time since I updated the progress of my lamp shades. Honestly, I didn't do much for the Victorian lamp shades that I sooo raved about. I lost a lot of steam after searching so long for the perfect lamp shade... You guessed it! I couldn't find any suppliers locally that sells the skeleton of my perfect lamp shade off the shelf. They are mostly custom-made and are super pricey!

So, I had to put this project off till I find a more reasonably priced lamp shade. I'm not prepared to pay SGD$80 per lamp shade just to tear them apart and put on a new fabric (yes, in retail shops, they only sell them fully done up in gaudy cheap lace which looks horrible).

So I'm just going to show you those that are completed. :)

Remember this?

I bought some lace ribbons in champagne gold and black for the trimmings, and black lace fabric for the body of the lamp shade.

Sewing will be the ideal method to put on the fabric onto the shape. However, it was too much of a hassle. Mum did most of the work and we mostly used glue to stick on the fabric and lace onto the shade. Wala!

Next up... I bought 2 of these, again, mum did all the work. This DIY shade is even easier to make. We left the shade as it is since it was still in good condition. Added crystals on the base and stick on the gold lace.

Tada!

In my opinion, it's not the best nor did it give me a "WOW", BUT, for the price we paid, it's a good bargain! We kept it very safe this time since I was unsure how it will turn out. Perhaps we'll change the look of it in 2-3 years and give it a new look.

At the mean time, I'm pretty satisfied. :))


***********************************************************************

Mission Impossible - Final (Part 5)

It's the grand finale now. The last bits. I covered the back with a lining.

Thereafter, the main fabric goes on top. 

Tada!! Done!! After, I used whateve scrape cloth to cover up the bottom of the sofa. A dustcloth is usually used, but since I have extra lining fabric, I used that instead.

Now, to stick on the lace. I found these at a good price in Chinatown. I bought 15 yards. These lace tend to go out of shape at the cut ends, so make sure you tape or glue them securely first.

Stick the lace on the edges of the fabric and wood frame. I did this for the back, and front.

I'm missing the final picture of the finished product. Please wait for an update on this picture soon. 

I'm so happy this project turned out to be a success (Laugh back at mum who mocked me! HA!). There are some parts I'm not satisfied with:

1. Some of the folds on the "Chesterfield effect" (back rest) were not visible due to over stretching of the fabric.

2. Throughout the process, at times when I'm not careful, I injured the wood frame. You can't see it now because the "injured" areas are covered over with lace.

3. I couldn't find a denser foam for the seat cushion area. When I sat down on the sofa, I sank right in. Luckily, I re-used half of the old foam which was dense enough.

4. I should have sent the wood frame to be sanded down and put on a new coat of varnish, however, I was looking at the overall cost, hence decided against it (Since it's for personal use). The frame looks a little old, but it fits right into the theme of my room.

Overall, I'm really satisfied with the outcome. Can't say that I'm keen to embark on another big project. Perhaps when I'm ready again, this time I'll get professional tools to minimize time, effort and back breaking experiences!!

Again, check out the "before" picture.

xxXxx

Mission Impossible (Part 4)

Hello folks!! Another update on the progress of my stunt. 

The last post was mostly about making your own matching buttons. This time, what you see is not completed in a day. It was done during the weekends, span across one month or so. That is because the back rest of the sofa took tremendous time and effort to complete. It felt like forever... 

See? I didn't lie!! The upholstering done is in traditional style - Hammer & Nails! 

To make sure I have a nice snug edge, I had to use cardboard to give it a nice shape when the fabric is flipped over. My chief seamstress was nice enough to sew the piping for me.

Traditionally, you use cut tacks (nails), however, they tend to split my wood, so I changed to a different nail. I use 3 types of nails throughout the upholstering. One for linings, the main nail and the long slim one for hard to reach areas. Also, I had to use this metal bar assist to hammer in the nails. This is mainly to avoid injuring the edges of the wood frame. In upholstering, you want to secure the fabric as close to the edge as possible and be "hidden" from view. 

Look how the edges look neat with the help of the cardboard? I would recommend this even if you are using the staple gun.

I was so happy we bought the 7ft table. It served as a work table to cut the fabric! Remember I kept the old fabric pieces for reference? I'm using them as a template now to cut my fabric.

Ok, this is work I've done for the "Chesterfield" effect. Had to pull the strings taut and nail it down to the frame. It's best you use the nylon thread. I realized that the cotton one I used tends to snap when I nail it down.

Handling the fabric on the "arm" section" is super tough without using the staple gun. Had to get my mum to help position the cardboard and fabric on the wood frame while I pushed down the foam and position the nail into place for hammering!! No pictures to show, but it really was an acrobatic act!! Had to use both hands and a foot. Haha! Like a bunch of monkeys.

Now for the seat foam. This is a piece of cake after the back rest.

Finally!! All nailed at the back.

I really gave a sigh of relief when these two parts are completed. They comprise of the main job to the upholstering. It's quite a good job I've done there. After all the blood, sweat and tears!! So worth it. 

The next post will be the last one on the final touches to complete the job. 

Now I just need a nice cold beer!



xXx

Mission Impossible (Part 3)

Ok, I really did stop for a long while because I hurt my fingers while striping down the old fabric. Not just the striping but accidently hammering into my fingers as well!! Remember, I complained a lot about my finger muscles feeling sore after over-working them? Yes, my fingers felt so stiff that I had to stop to rest them. The recovering process took longer than I thought. Smart me refused to buy a compressor and staple gun because I'm not sure if this project would interest me to invest in one, so I used the most traditional method... Hammer and nails.

So, if you are really keen on upholstering, I would recommend you to use professional tools or some tools that can give you leverage rather then you being a hero... you'll end up like me...

This was done sometime back in mid Nov.

I've already put on a lining with a little stuffing for the seat area and I'm working on the putting on the inner lining for the frame. (I decided to chuck the idea of putting a new webbing after my minor injury)  This is how it looks when it's done.

Next, the buttons. It was hard to find a seamstress who is willing to do the buttons for me.  I knew it took a lot of time and the selling price is just not worth the effort, hence, I figured that's why these shops don't want to do it.  Luckily, I found a shop that sells a gadget that makes these buttons. Hurray!!

Instructions are in Japanese, but they are pretty straight forward with the picture instructions given. I'll just show you a photographed version of this. Start off by drawing and cutting out the template given on the fabric of your choice.

Please use these labelled indications to understand the process below.

First, put the cut fabric on (C), then place the aluminium caps (D) on top of the fabric and push both into the casing (C).

It looks like this

Then, place (E) into the bottom side of casing (B).

Complete the above and place into casing (C). After, place casing (A) into casing (B).

Thereafter, hammer it down hard to secure all parts to form the button.

 

 Remove it from the casing using a pin.

 Now you've got the perfect home-made matching buttons!!

I made a lot of them as they were needed for the back rest. It took some time and they were more fun then the upholstering. :)

That's all I did for that day. I remembered I ran out of nails hence my work was halted. Well, look out for more. I'll be uploading them soon.


(^v^) bisous

Mission Impossible (Part 2)

Day #02 & #03 of Dismantling

I took 2 days break to rest my poor fingers & hands. I had stiff fingers and muscle cramps in my fingers after day #01. First time in my life ever! Usually it's muscle cramps on major muscles if I suddenly start exercising vigorously after a sedentary lifestyle. I think callouses will start forming soon... Urg!

Remember I got stuck the last time? It's really not that hard. The joining were hidden underneath the foam sponge. So to get to them (un-stapling at joining), I just had to remove the foam sponge. Take a look at the process:

There it is!!

I started off by pulling out the fabric from behind (back rest cover) to the front to get ready and yank it off. Before that, the back rest cover was also secured by buttons, so I un-staple them behind. Lots of work have the be done on the back before removing the fabric on the front. 

Buttons are out!

I realized that the foam sponge is glued on. Both seat cushion and back rest. Take caution if you want to reuse them. If the foam is stuck on too strongly, it may rip if you use force. I had a cutter in handy to release areas that got stuck too much.

Now the back rest foam is also gone. See that back rest lining? It's probably some scrap material that the previous upholsterer had and used. That has to be un-stapled as well.

I set these aside as reference.

After the back rest cover was removed, I realized one thing. There was another fabric lining the edges of the wooden frame. They were in fact the previous material that was used as the sofa cover. My assumption is that this sofa had been upholstered before. The previous upholsterer didn't bother the un-staple the edges. He/She just cut it off and stapled over them. 

Bummer, which means more work for me!!

I've already unstapled the original first layer. See the edges? Clean.

Next, un-staple the lining on the seat section. Now revealing the support below.

This is really right to the bone. Seems that the support below is still strong enough, so I'll be keeping that. Perhaps I'll add some webbing weaving through it to re-enforce the strength. Lastly, I'm also considering changing the webbing on the back rest. They are made of rubber, so some has already started to disintegrate. 

All the covers & sponges kept as reference when I change to a new piece.

That's it for today. I'm beat and my hands and fingers feel sore again. Plus with all the bending and squatting, it's really bad for my back and knees. This time, I have to source for some professional upholstery tools. I'm not going to invest in a staple gun and compressor just yet, so the traditional method - nails and hammer, will be preferred now. 

Worse case, I may purchased these professional tools online if I can't find them locally. 

Wish me luck again. I need lots of it!  :)


xXx