How to Tuft a Bench

Tufting is a quick and inexpensive way to make even cheap furniture look like pricey boutique pieces. A stool purchased for a few dollars at a big-box discount store can be completely transformed with a bit of upholstery. Tufting is a pattern created using fabric-covered buttons pressed firmly into the upholstered surface you have created. You can purchase fabric-covered buttons at most sewing stores, or use kits available at such stores to make your own custom buttons that perfectly complement your chosen fabric.

Paper and pencil
Computer
Scanner
Upholstery foam, cut to the size of the bench seat
Sheet batting, 2 inches longer and 2 inches wider than the bench seat
Upholstery fabric, 3 inches longer and 3 inches wider than the bench seat
Permanent marker
Fabric chalk
Drill
1/4-inch drill bit
Utility knife
Spray adhesive
Staple gun
Upholstery staples
Sharpened wooden dowel
Cotton twine
Covered buttons
Upholstery needle

Instructions

- 1
  Plan out a pattern for your tufting, making marks to represent buttons. Straight lines of buttons are easiest for beginners. Sketch the design out on a sheet of paper.
- 2
  Scan your design and enlarge it so that it is the correct size to fit the surface of your stool, upholstery foam, sheet batting and fabric. Use the larger template to mark the pattern onto the first three surfaces with a permanent marker and onto the fabric with fabric chalk.
- 3
  Drill holes through each mark on the surface of your stool. Cut a hole at each mark on the upholstery foam using a utility knife. Attach the foam to the top of the stool with spray adhesive, aligning the holes as perfectly as possible.
- 4
  Lay the sheet batting over the top of the upholstery so that the marks line up with the holes beneath. Pull the edges down and underneath and staple them to the underside of the stool. Poke the holes in the sheet batting with a sharpened wooden dowel.
- 5
  Thread 16 inches of heavy cotton twine through the ring of each covered button so that the two ends of each piece are even. Thread both ends of the first button through the eye of a large upholstery needle in opposite directions. Lay the fabric over the top of the stool so that the marks are aligned with all of the holes underneath.
- 6
  Poke the upholstery needle down through the centermost, or one of the centermost, marks in the fabric. Work the needle through all of the holes and pull it through the bottom hole in the stool. Be careful not to let the ends of the twine slide out of the needle.
- 7
  Slip the needle off of the ends of the twine. Pull the twine straight down firmly so that the button tufts the fabric on the stool surface. Staple the ends of the twine in place against the underside of the stool.
- 8
  Continue tufting the entire stool with buttons in the same manner. Work in one direction from the first button at a time. For example, do all of the buttons to the right of the first one, then to the left, then above and below.
- 9
  Turn the stool over. Fold in the top and bottom edges of the fabric and staple them tautly to the bench underside, over the twine. Fold the corners of the fabric as if you are wrapping a gift, fold in the side edges, and staple them in place, as well.

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