How to Upholster a Cushion With a Plywood Bottom

Turn the chair upside down. Remove the screws that hold the seat to the chair frame. Lift the frame away from the seat.

Disassemble the seat. Remove the staples that fasten the upholstery fabric to the frame. Pry the staples with the screwdriver, then pull the staples out with pliers. Lift the seat off the fabric. Lift the foam cushion off the wood seat base.

Lay the old cushion on top of the new foam and trace around it with a pencil. Cut out the new cushion with scissors. Squeeze the foam between the thumb and forefinger of your free hand as you cut to make it easier for the scissors to penetrate the foam.

Place the foam on the batting. Measure 2 inches from the edge of 1-inch foam. Alternatively, measure 3 inches from the edge of 2-inch foam. Mark the measurement with a pencil. Cut the batting around the perimeter of the foam, maintaining the same distance from the edge of the cushion as the pencil mark. Make additional pencil marks to use as a guide if necessary.

Arrange the batting on the underside of the fabric. Use the perimeter of the batting as a guide for cutting the fabric. Cut the fabric 1 inch larger than the batting on all sides.

Protect an outdoor work surface with newspaper. Place the wood seat bottom face up on the newspaper. Spray the wood with adhesive using even, sweeping motions. Glue the foam to the frame. Let the adhesive dry.

Assemble the seat. Center the batting on the underside of the fabric, then center the seat base, cushion side down, on the batting.

Staple the batting and fabric to the underside of the seat. Start in the center of one side of the seat. Stretch the batting over the cushion, then pull the fabric over the batting. Staple the fabric and batting in place together, with one staple. Repeat this process on the opposite side. Staple the batting and fabric to the centers of the two remaining sides in the same fashion. Working on opposite sides helps you maintain even tautness.

Pull the batting and fabric over one corner of the cushion and staple them in place. Put the staple near the edge of the seat base, then snip off the excess fabric and batting beyond the staple to reduce the bulk. Repeat this process on the opposite corner. Cover and snip the two remaining corners in the same fashion, taking care to keep the tension even so that the right side of the cushion remains smooth.

Finish rounded corners by arranging and stapling the fabric in a way that minimizes creasing. Finish square corners as if you were wrapping a gift to create smooth, sharp edges.

Continue wrapping and stapling the batting and fabric, centering each subsequent staple between two existing staples, then working the opposite side. Finish working your way around the cushion until you have enough staples to secure the fabric.

Turn the cushion over and look for imperfections such as a section that's too loose or too tight. Remove the staples causing the imperfections, adjust the fabric tension, then restaple.

Screw the seat onto the chair frame. The screws easily penetrate the fabric and batting.