Tips on Reupholstering a Wingback Chair

Fabric Removal Tips

• When you remove the old fabric from the chair, try not to tear it. Instead, keep the pieces intact and use them as patterns for your new fabric. As you remove each piece, label it with its location on the chair.

  If you’re new to upholstering, you may not be accustomed to the hardware used for wingback chairs, such as the flexible strips of metal teeth used for contouring the fabric along the wings. Document the disassembly process with photos. Otherwise, you may not recall where and how each piece is used when it’s time to put the new fabric on the chair.

Fabric Selection Tips

• Solids and nondirectional mini-prints are the easiest fabrics for beginners to use. If you do opt for fabric with a pattern, buy extra -- at least two additional yards -- so you can match up the pattern when you cut and affix the pieces to the chair.

  Avoid stripes, checks, plaids and geometric patterns unless you have experience with pattern matching. The effect is amateurish and unsettling if the pattern isn’t perfectly aligned where the inner and outer wings meet the back.

Design Tips

• The wingback shape is particularly well-suited to dual-fabric applications because of the clear demarcation between the inside and outside of the chair. Use a patterned fabric on the outside of the chair and a solid inside, or opt for the other way around. For a subtle dual-fabric look, use two different fabrics in the same color, one flat-woven and one plush or textured.

  Contrasting welt adds interest to wingback chairs upholstered in a single, solid fabric, especially if your chair has curving wings. The welt highlights and visually exaggerates the wing shape.

Upholstering Tips

• While a manual staple gun will work for attaching the new fabric to your chair, consider investing in an electric staple gun or a pneumatic model with an air compressor if you plan to do much reupholstering. The job goes faster and you won’t end up with sore hands.

  As you staple fabrics to the chair, place them at least 1 inch in from the edge of the frame. Otherwise, the staples may show when you attach the back, side and outside-wing panels. When you staple the inside wing fabric over the edge of the frame to the outside wing, clip the fabric’s raw edge into fringe-like strips, which keeps it from buckling along the curve.

  Pull the fabric taut before stapling it for a fitted, professional look. With upholstery, the homemade look isn’t charming; it just looks sloppy. You may need to enlist an assistant to help.