Reupholstering a Reclining Sofa

Disassemble your sofa. With most models, the pieces are either attached with bolts or screws, so have a wrench and screwdriver handy.

Turn the individual sofa pieces over. If there is a fabric or batting covering the bottom, remove the nails or staples holding it in place with the nail remover on your hammer.

Pull off the fabric from the sofa pieces, being careful to avoid large tears. If the fabric is not easily coming off, then use the nail remover on the back of your hammer to pull out the nails or staples holding the fabric in place.

Mark each piece with chalk when you take it off so that you know where each new piece will attach. Marking should be specific to the piece's position on the sofa and the numeric order in which you removed it.

Disassemble all the pieces at the seams with a seam ripper. Avoid tearing the fabric so that you can clearly see the seam allowance. Use chalk to mark how each piece connects.

Place your new fabric on the pin board and lay the old fabric on top. Pin both pieces together and trace the old piece onto the new one. Cut out all the pieces with sharp sewing scissors.

Remove the old padding from the couch’s frame and trace the shapes onto the new padding. Typically the padding is lightly glued onto the wood frame and should pull up easily. Pick off any pieces of foam that stick to the frame.

Spray the upholstery adhesive to the back sides of the new padding and secure each to the wood frame.

Pin and sew the new fabric pieces following the old chalk directions. Consider double-stitching all the seams and using an upholstery thread for extra hold.

Lay the fabric over the frames and padding. The fabric may seem smaller on the pieces because of the new padding. Stretch and staple the fabric to the frame, leaving the same tension allowance that the old fabric had.

Turn the pieces over and reassemble your sofa.