Cutting Tips for Reupholstering a Chair

Save the Old

• Existing upholstery is the ideal cutting pattern for reupholstering your chair. No commercial pattern is identical, and most aren't even close. Even though the old fabric is ripped or worn, you can still rely on it for cutting your new fabric to the right dimensions, suggests Mother Earth News. Use a delicate hand with old fabric, even leather, because age breaks down its strength, making it susceptible to more damage as you remove it. Instead of tugging at the fabric, use pliers and a flat-head screwdriver to loosen staples and tacks. Once the fabric is removed, mark each piece with a number and mark the chair in the same spot so you'll know where the new pieces go. If fabric is too fragile to use as a pattern, trace the outline on a piece of heavy paper to make a template, marking lines where folds in the fabric exist.

Use Pinking Shears

• Consider using pinking shears instead of standard sewing scissors to cut upholstery fabric. Edges are hidden once the upholstery fabric is in place, but there is quite a lot of stress on a finished piece of furniture, both from pulling the fabric to attach it and from everyday use. Pinking shears have triangular-shaped notches across both blades that cut in a zigzag pattern, which helps prevent fraying or unraveling. Cut the fabric slightly wider than you would with straight scissors to account for the pointed notches along the edge. If you do not own pinking shears, apply commercial fray-preventive liquid along the cut edges of the fabric.

Align Fabric

• Cutting upholstery fabric isn't just a matter of finding space on the cloth and placing the pattern. It is essential to understand the pattern you chose and how it will appear on the finished piece. Stripes, for example, should align on chair backs and seats so the finished product won't be mismatched. Abstract floral designs and small patterns are forgiving, but medallion prints look best when a medallion is centered on each section, including upholstered arms. Since most upholstery fabric is between 54 inches and 110 inches wide, you should have plenty to work with, notes Threads Magazine. It may help to draw a rough diagram of your chair, adding the numbers for pattern pieces, so you can reference it as you plot the best position for each piece. When placing pattern pieces, match the grain of the original fabric with the new to be sure it is cut straight. Placing fabric and pattern pieces face up when cutting will help you with alignment.