How to Reupholster a Tufted Back

Reupholstering a piece of furniture is a two-part process. First you must remove the old upholstery. However, you need to do this carefully so that you can measure the fabric you remove.The second part of the process is adding the new upholstery. In the case of a tufted-back chair, this can be a bit more difficult, but it's still something that you can do yourself with a little extra time and effort.

Tailor's chalk
Embroidery floss
Embroidery needle
Scissors

Instructions

- 1
  Lay out the piece of upholstery that you are using for the back of the chair. Mark the desired spots where you want to place the tufts on the cloth, using tailor's chalk. Attach the upholstery to the back of the chair.
- 2
  Run embroidery floss, five pieces at a time, into the eye of an embroidery needle.
- 3
  Sew a 1/2-inch stitch on each chalk marking and run the needle through to the base of the front of the chair, pulling tight enough to create an indent in the back of the chair where the tuft is forming.
- 4
  Run the needle to the back of the chair, still holding it tight to keep the indent, and bring it out the the same chalk marking with 1/2 inch of extra floss sticking out.
- 5
  Hold the extra 1/2-inch of floss and knot it so that it is pressed right up against the upholstery.
- 6
  Repeat the process on each additional chalk marking.

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