Recovering a Round Stool

Flip the round stool over to reveal the staples or tacks holding the fabric to the frame. If required, remove the screws attaching the legs to the seat using a screwdriver. Pry the staples out with a staple remover, collecting them in a zipper bag instead of scattering them on the ground. Work carefully so you preserve the structural integrity of the stool.

Slide the old fabric and foam from the seat and set them aside. Lay a new piece of 2-inch-thick foam on the worktable and center the barstool seat on top of it. Cut a foam circle that extends 2 inches beyond the edge of the seat all the way around it.

Lay the cut foam on a sheet of upholstery fabric. Cut a circle out of the fabric that extends 1 inch beyond the edge of the foam.

Spread a thin layer of glue over the seat. Center and lower the foam over the glued seat, pressing it lightly to form a secure bond. Leave the glue to set according to the estimated time specified on the label.

Lay the upholstery fabric wrong-side-up on the table. Lower the padded stool seat to the center of the fabric.

Pull the upholstery fabric taut over one side of the seat. Insert a staple through the edge of the fabric to attach it to the seat padding and give you a starting point for forming pleats.

Hold the fabric along the corner of the section you stapled between your fingers. Make a series of identical pleats, between 1/2 to 1 inch in width until you work your way around one-fourth of the stool perimeter. Tucking the fabric or forming pleats prevents it from bunching along the edges of the round stool. Pull the pleats taut and extend them over the base. Insert two to three staples into the pleated fabric to secure it to the base of the stool.

Grasp the fabric along the edge of the pleated section and continue folding it into tiny pleats until you work your way around another quarter of the stool's perimeter. Pull the pleated section taut and secure it to the base of the stool with staples. Repeat the process of tucking and folding the round seat until it is completely covered.

Inspect the face of the seat for wrinkles or folds. If the fabric bunches over those edges of the stool where you inserted the upholstery staples, form tiny pleats on each side of the staples to smooth out the fabric when viewed from the top.

Place the seat over the legs of the stool and replace the screws you removed earlier into the screw holes.