Step by step instructions on how to cover a sofa with your own hands. How to update old upholstery on upholstered furniture with your own hands. Master class on sewing new covers

Everyone likes change. If an old, but beloved and familiar sofa has worn out, and you have not yet saved up the money to buy a new one, you can update it by covering it with new beautiful upholstery. You need to figure out how to choose the material and then cover the sofa with your own hands.

If your sofa is worn out and looks ugly, then reupholstering it will be the way out of this situation.

You need to start with the main thing, without which it is impossible to start work, with tools and materials.

Tools and materials

How to upholster a sofa yourself? It is necessary to prepare in advance the tools that are available in the house:

In the process of reupholstering the sofa, you will need a construction stapler.

hammer;
screwdriver set;
scissors;
hex wrenches;
screwdriver;
wire cutters;
construction stapler;
pliers;
pliers.

Now about the materials. First of all, this is upholstery fabric. The main requirements for it are as follows: it must be strong, easy to clean when in contact with external environment, do not lose its original appearance. The following fabrics are most often used for upholstery:

Tapestry is a practical and cheap fabric, dense, 100% cotton with woven patterns of various shades and colors. Has dust-repellent properties.
Jacquard fabric is expensive, looks very solid, is easy to clean, strong, durable, and wear-resistant.
Flock is a fabric similar to leather or suede, but much cheaper. It is easy to clean, does not fade, durable, velvety, pleasant to the touch.
Shinil is a fabric containing 50% synthetics and 50% cotton. Similar to velor, but more high quality. Strong, breathable material.
Artificial suede is durable, environmentally friendly material, easy to clean. Can be washed in warm water. Visually it is not easy to distinguish natural suede from artificial one.
Leather. Both artificial and natural materials are used for furniture upholstery. Solid, strong and comfortable material.

In addition to upholstery fabric, you will need to prepare braid, furniture tape and piping. Also needed:

plywood sheet;
foam;
padding polyester;
special staples;
a piece of chalk;
strong threads or twine and needle;
nails;
screws and bolts;
wood glue or PVA.

To change the upholstery of the sofa you will need foam rubber.

When buying foam rubber (polyurethane foam), you should note the following properties:

softness;
density;
elasticity.

Thickness of polyurethane for sleeping sofa should be at least 4 cm. Markings will help you find out its density, where letters indicate the brand, numbers indicate density (the first two) and hardness (the final two). To sit on a sofa, you need foam rubber with a hardness of 40 to 50 units.

For different parts of the sofa with unequal loads, polyurethane is selected with different densities: for the seat - with a higher density, and for the back and armrests - with a slightly lower density.

The heaviest load is directed at the seat, so you should choose foam rubber with a density of 40 kg/m³ (EL4050 brand), but you need to lay super-soft polyurethane foam on top.

For the handles and back, you can use foam rubber with a lower density, for example, 25 kg/m³.

Dismantling an old sofa

Use a nail puller or screwdriver to remove the upholstery from the sofa.

Before starting the main work, you need to carefully inspect the condition of the furniture. Use a screwdriver to remove the upholstery from the furniture. Then it is recommended to pry the staples. If they are firmly fixed, then you need to use a flat-head screwdriver and pliers.

To repair an old sofa with your own hands, you need to inspect all the wooden elements. For a detailed examination of the frame, you need to remove the backing. All joints and fastenings must be checked for strength. It is better to replace screws and bolts with new ones. Broken and old structures must be replaced with new components from wooden beams, fiberboard sheet or plywood sheet. In case of minor damage, the product can be corrected using construction tape and wood glue. Particular attention should be paid to fastening elements. Replacing them will allow you to extend the life of the sofa for a long time.

To repair a sofa, you need to separate the seat from the back:

First, unscrew the bolts holding the armrests to the sides.
Then remove side surfaces and disconnect bottom part furniture.
Unfold the sofa and turn it over with the outside facing the floor.
Remove the backrest and remove the metal mechanisms holding it in place.
Dismantle the seat and remove used fasteners: staples and nails.
Remove the old drapery and take out everything that is filled with the sofa.
If the springs are not damaged, then leave them, and if there are damaged ones, then remove the block.

There is no need to rush to throw away the old upholstery; it can be useful as a pattern for a pattern when sewing new covers.

Sofa interior repair

Use pliers and a hammer to remove old springs from the sofa.

First you need to start repairing the spring blocks inserted into the back and armrests:

Use pliers to unscrew the damaged springs.
To replace the removed springs, new ones must be installed.
Attach the spring blocks to the sheathing with nails.

If the springs on the seat are particularly worn out, they can be made elastic again:

Cut the polyurethane into small pieces.
Stuff the spring block tightly with these pieces.
Cover it with an old blanket or some material, such as burlap.
Attach this entire layer of material with nails to the box.
Attach the springs to the material using twine and a thick needle.
If there are depressions between the springs, fill them with foam rubber or cotton wool.
Cover everything on top with binding material, for example calico, and secure it with nails, pulling it tightly.
Apply glue to one side of the polyurethane and place this side on the material. The foam will stick and the surface will be smooth.

If there are sagging springs, do not throw them away; you can stretch them and they will still serve. To make the sofa more voluminous, you can put padding polyurethane on top of the polyurethane.

When all of the above work is behind you, you can start sewing covers for the sofa.

Upholstery and reupholstery of furniture

Each detail of the sofa should be cut out separately.

Now you need to figure out how to cover the sofa. First you need to cut the fabric. The fabric chosen for drapery is laid out on the floor or on a huge table, used covers are placed on it instead of patterns and outlined with chalk. They cut the fabric, leaving allowances, and sew new covers on a machine. When sewing, it is necessary to take into account that the seams receive a large load during operation. Therefore, their strength is mandatory. You can use reinforced threads when sewing and sew in 2-3 layers.

You can use decorative tape or braid at the joining points. These materials will cover up unnecessary or unsuccessful seams and give the product a decent look.

When everything is ready, you can put new covers on the seat, armrests and backrest. The attachment points for the new upholstery should be in the same place where the old covers were attached.

You can attach the covers with a stapler, tensioning the material each time you insert the next fastener. The upholstery on upholstered furniture should stretch well. The fasteners should be located every 2-3 cm. This will ensure a strong and reliable fixation of the upholstery. Fabric sagging is unacceptable. But excessive fastening is also undesirable. Therefore, this procedure requires caution and accuracy. During finishing work, it is necessary to control the degree of fixation.

In order for the upholstery to lie flat, you need to find the middle long side sofa, drive in the fasteners, and then move from there gradually to the edges, alternately driving in the fasteners on one side or the other of the first fastener.

Having finished with the upholstery, assemble the sofa with your own hands in the reverse order:

Strictly control that the marks match.
Attach the lock first to the back, then to the seat and the bottom of the sofa.
Secure the sides.
Attach elbow pads to them.
Pin wood panels, pre-coating them with varnish if necessary.

Anyone who wants to do this can upholster a sofa with their own hands, because there are no barriers for an interested person.

To decorate the sofa and disguise imperfections, you can make several decorative pillows from the same fabric. This will give an organic and undivided look to this design. A set like this looks great and will be complete. And the pillows will also perform a practical function: they are comfortable to lean on. They will act as side backs. Now you know how to upholster a sofa, and you can do it yourself.

Every home has a favorite sofa where everyone gathers. big family, receive guests or simply relax with a book and a cup of coffee or tea. This important upholstered furniture in an apartment becomes unusable over time, but often the owners do not want to part with it. In this case, you should resort to a procedure such as reupholstering the furniture upholstery with your own hands - this is a simple and quick process. The sofa will find a second life and will delight you with its updated appearance and individual decor.

The advantages of upholstering a sofa with your own hands

A help in the upholstery process is the high-quality and durable base of the sofa - old Soviet or imported furniture is considered much better than that which is currently being produced. You can choose the material to your liking - the decor will be individual in any case.

When starting to replace the upholstery at home, repair the frame or spring block of the sofa as necessary. By doing this work yourself, you save a significant amount of money, because buying new furniture will cost more.

Design selection

The decor of the sofa when covering it will always be individual and depends only on the imagination of the owner; you can sew a new cover, make bright thought pillows or a cape with a blanket original form, colors and design. The furniture will sparkle with new colors and give the interior exclusivity.

IMPORTANT! The reupholstery may be partial, for example, you will need to replace only some parts of the sofa with more colorful elements.

The currently popular patchwork technique made from different pieces of fabric looks very beautiful. An applique on any theme will also look unusual - it is glued to the upholstery.

You can reupholster furniture artificial leather or fashionable denim. Often people choose leatherette, velor, faux fur on a durable base, jacquard, tapestry. If you need removable covers, they can be easily sewn from clothing fabrics.

Required materials and tools

Before starting the sheathing, choose the fabric: color, with or without print, artificial or natural material. There is plenty of furniture in stores; there is plenty to choose from.

Some tips for choosing fabric for upholstery:

it is undesirable to buy artificial, rough and synthetic material;
You should not purchase crumpled-looking material;
to reduce cash costs, you can prefer a fabric with a small print or a plain material, as it is easier to cut;
To add softness to the upholstery material and increase the comfort of subsequent use of the sofa, you can use foam rubber or padding polyester.

IMPORTANT! The smell of the upholstery should not be unpleasant.

Necessary materials and tools for work:

textile;
foam;
piping for closing seams;
padding polyester;
zipper;
needles, sewing machine, threads;
hammer, screwdriver, stapler, stapler, staples and scissors;
sewing chalk, glue.

How to cover a sofa correctly – step by step instructions

Beginners in this business often make mistakes that cost them wasted money and time. The main problem is the incorrectly calculated amount of fabric for upholstery. It’s a shame when you buy expensive fabric, but there isn’t enough of it and there is no such fabric in the store anymore. Therefore, you need to take the calculations for the upholstery fabric seriously and take with a small margin, let there be an extra piece left, but the sofa will be reupholstered without problems and from the remaining fabric you can make a cover for a chair or just sew something. To determine the amount of fabric required, add up the length and width of the furniture and multiply the resulting sum by 2. It is more difficult to determine the amount of fabric for covering corner sofas, since their shape is non-standard.

For trouble-free reupholstery, you need to purchase a high-quality stapler and strong staples; this option is better than driving nails into new upholstery and will look neater.

It is not recommended to choose synthetics for upholstery. If you purchased striped or large drawing, then it must be cut in the same direction, so the cost of fabric increases. Additional seam allowances are always taken into account. The ideal option is to purchase fabric with a large margin of about one meter. If the filling of the sofa is also changed, then choose padding polyester or foam rubber for filling. Buy foam rubber 25 mm thick and lay felt between the layers. There are parts in furniture that need to be tightly stuffed with foam rubber and this can cause difficulties in work. In this case, the foam rubber is wrapped in padding polyester, attached to the sofa and wrapped in upholstery fabric.

IMPORTANT! The foam rubber must be porous and of good quality, otherwise during use it will quickly settle and lose its properties.

The procedure for upholstering a sofa is simple, if you follow some tips:

Before the upholstery begins, the furniture is disassembled, the parts are marked, so that everything can be put back together correctly.
First, the sides and back of the furniture are removed, and the staples are disconnected with an anti-stapler.
The old upholstery is removed, as this is a future stencil for the new one.
Replace foam rubber, springs or other parts that need to be updated.
Using the removed upholstery, draw a stencil with chalk on new fabric with a margin of 5 centimeters and cut out all the details.
The parts are sewn together on a sewing machine.
Stretch the new fabric over the sofa and secure it with staples; in some places the fabric is placed on glue for strength.

After all the work with padding and upholstery of the sofa, they begin to decorate it. Bright pillows with prints or removable covers of various colors are added to the updated furniture. Now you can make these attributes yourself or just go to the store and buy what you like. Moreover, the choice nowadays is huge: there are water-repellent covers, with a protective coating against pets, and in general there are many options and models. If you don’t feel like decorating yourself or don’t have the necessary skills, then you should just cover the sofa with a beautiful blanket.

IMPORTANT! Upholstering pillows yourself is quite difficult and time-consuming; it’s easier to contact a specialized workshop - this way you can save time and money.

Upholstering a sofa is a rather exciting and interesting process, during which you can realize your imagination and transform the interior. If you do everything according to the rules, then the house will appear original furniture, which will last for several more years and will delight household members with its appearance.

How to reupholster a sofa with your own hands at home, is interesting to many rational and economical owners and housewives. The goals they pursue are not only updating the interior, but also saving money. Buying a new sofa to replace one that is worn out or damaged by animals is a very expensive proposition. A huge number of positive reviews about this procedure, as well as a countless number of beautiful photos reupholstered sofas with “before” and “after” notes.

Sofas have long been part of people's lives. The first copies of this upholstered furniture They consisted of a large number of pillows, stacked one on top of the other and randomly placed on the stage or directly on the floor. And today such designs can be seen in most Turkish and Asian restaurants.

In modern apartments or houses there is always upholstered furniture. Modern sofas more complex in design than their predecessors, and are presented a large number models. Most often, this upholstered furniture is found in living rooms. Also, sofas are often used instead of beds in children's rooms and bedrooms. Not quite standard models can be seen in hallways, on balconies and loggias, as well as in kitchens.

All sofas are distinguished by functionality. Improvised kitchen corners-sofas are considered the easiest to use and cheapest. They are followed by book sofas. They got their name due to their similarity to the book. It was precisely these sofas that formed the basis of the assortment in Soviet furniture stores. Currently, the range of upholstered furniture and its model range have expanded significantly.

Sofas are chosen based on their massiveness and functionality. Most often purchased for living rooms corner sofas or fixed structures. The upholstery material is often leather (both artificial and natural) or expensive jacquards with silk threads. The color range allows you to satisfy the most sophisticated tastes of consumers.

For small rooms, the following types of roll-out units are considered the most suitable:

dolphin;
click-clack;
accordion;
cot.

Leather or leatherette sofas are inappropriate to use in bedrooms. First of all, because the material wears out quickly. And such furniture will be slippery. The sofas that replace the bed are covered with breathable materials. They are inexpensive and practical. Such furniture is elastic to the touch and is often made on orthopedic spring blocks, ensuring healthy sleep and comfort for the sleeping person.

Kitchen sofas are mostly narrow and quite hard. It is unlikely that you will be able to sleep on them, and sitting on them for a long time is also uncomfortable. Kitchen sofas most often have wear-resistant upholstery, easy to clean and resistant to stains.

Over time, absolutely all sofas become unusable. They not only break wooden structures, springs sag or mechanisms fail, but the coating also wears out. And if serious damage to the frame is difficult to fix at home, without experience and special devices, then everyone can update the upholstery at home. You will learn how to do this with a minimum of costs in this article.

DIY reupholstery

Reupholstering a sofa with your own hands is not an easy process. In order for the work to be of high quality, it must be done without fuss. That is why reupholstering a sofa should begin with preparing materials and tools.

To update the coverage you will definitely need:

pliers;
measuring tape;
marker;
notepad and pencil;
nail puller;
hammer;
set of wrenches;
sharp tailor's scissors;
stationery knife;
a furniture stapler and several sets of metal staples for it;
screwdriver or screwdrivers with various attachments;
needles of various sizes;
sewing threads;
a sewing machine designed for sewing coarse fabrics.

You may also need a camera or video camera. Using this device, you can easily recreate the process of disassembling a sofa. This will help you stay calm when assembling your “new” sofa and avoid mistakes.

The materials that may be needed when reupholstering a sofa at home are:

main fabric;
foam;
padding polyester or holofiber;
auxiliary fabric (non-woven or cotton);
batting;
buttons;
nylon threads;
substrates made of sealing fabrics;
frame nylon or rubber bands.

In addition to all this, when replacing upholstery it may sometimes be necessary glue gun and the rods for it, regular glue and brushes for applying it, foam plastic, bars, plywood, nails and screws.

The method and complexity of reupholstering depends on the design of the upholstered furniture. The more complex the mechanism and the more decorative or voluminous parts, the more time and effort it will take to disassemble and reassemble the sofa.

Classification of sofas and choice of fabric

The main criteria by which sofas can be classified are functionality and upholstery material. The appearance and price of upholstered furniture depend on these indicators.

Sofas in living rooms and halls can be classic - straight or corner. In most cases, the design of such furniture is simple and low-functional, and the sofas themselves are quite bulky. In bedrooms, on the contrary, folding models are most often used, which can quickly transform into a full-fledged sleeping place, as well as tiny sofas, which when assembled take up very little space. Sofas in living rooms can be covered with natural or artificial leather, as well as expensive fabrics. Such furniture usually has many decorative elements and decorations. In addition to all this, such sofas do not have hard spring blocks inside the cushions.

The choice of the main fabric depends primarily on the conditions in which and for what purposes the sofa will be used in the future. The best materials for reupholstering sofas used in various rooms are listed below:

Kitchens and hallways:

tapestry;
arpatek;
leatherette (leatherette, leatherette) and artificial leather;

tapestry;
cotton;
flock;
interlock;
chenille;

Living rooms and halls:

jacquard;
velours;
printed silk;
natural and artificial leather;
canvas

Cotton fabrics, canvas, non-woven fabric and nylon are used as auxiliary fabrics. Sintepon and other fillers are needed to fill rollers and sofa cushions, as well as for securing foam rubber on curved parts. Foam rubber and other substrates are distinguished by density and thickness. It is noteworthy that by changing the amount or thickness of padding used, you can change the softness of the furniture and its appearance.

It is very difficult for a non-specialist to determine the amount of material required for reupholstery before disassembling the sofa. It is also not easy to determine what kind of material may be needed in the work. Among other things, it is very likely that when opening the upholstery, you will also discover the need to replace leaky frame strips, plywood or fasteners.

All those who have decided to try their hand at refacing a sofa with their own hands should remember that the process of changing the appearance of upholstered furniture without sewing and design skills is impossible, and the time until the final result is achieved can last from three days to several weeks. You should also know that the cost of reupholstering at home will not be much lower than the price of similar work in specialized workshops, because fabric and other components will need to be purchased at retail prices. In addition, the workshop will be able to not only renew the outer layer, but also

replace broken bars;
align the springs;
carry out anti-corrosion treatment of wood;
change the shape of the covers and the model of the sofa.

If you are ready to do it yourself or do not know where you can return the furniture to its original appearance, then the next section will be useful to you.

Step by step instructions

Step-by-step instructions, following which you can make the old sofa look like a new one, looks something like this:

Free the sofa and the space around it from unnecessary things. Prepare a sheet of paper, a pencil and a camera, which will make it easy to recreate the disassembly at any time.
Prepare tools with which you can remove the old upholstery. Please note that the outer layer must be removed with extreme caution. This will facilitate the subsequent cutting of parts and calculation of the required amount of materials. Remove the staples with a device for removing them, carefully remove the nails with a nail puller or pliers, and remove the screws with screwdrivers with suitable threads. By the way, if unscrewed correctly, the latter can easily be returned to their original place during reassembly.
Remove the upholstery pieces one at a time without cutting them, and then mark them with a marker. Be sure to indicate the bottom and top, whether the piece of fabric belongs to one or another part of the sofa, as well as the direction of the grain thread.
Before you begin removing the foam, lay the upholstery on the floor, maintaining the direction of the longitudinal and longitudinal threads, and then measure the area it occupies. Most furniture fabrics are produced in a width of one hundred and eighty centimeters. Fabric selection is underway linear meters. When purchasing, allowances should be taken into account, especially if complex parts will be made from the canvas. As practice shows, to reupholster a sofa you need to purchase about a third more fabric than the layout takes up. It doesn’t matter if the material remains, because you can sew additional pillows from it or change the color of the ottoman.
Remove the foam, being careful not to tear it. Label and measure it exactly as you would the fabric. Be sure to record the thickness of the pieces. Remember that this material shrinks during use, so when purchasing a new filler, take material that is thicker than the one you removed!
Write down all measurements on a piece of paper. You can draw on it rough plan layout of materials. Write down the location of the screws and where the nails were.
Lifting mechanisms, wheels and stands should only be removed if they interfere with the removal of materials.
Calculate required quantity consumables and purchase it.
After all the materials have been purchased, cut out the foam rubber according to the patterns, and then the auxiliary fabric.
Secure the foam sheets with staples, cover them with auxiliary fabric and secure them according to the model with frame tapes or nylon threads.
Sew covers for removable pillows.
Place foam in them. If the height of one piece is not enough, then use several pieces. To prevent the foam rubber from “walking,” be sure to glue the parts together and then cover them with auxiliary fabric or non-woven fabric. Pieces of foam rubber, short in length, are connected according to the principle of brickwork.
Cover the sides of the sofa, shaping them in place, or put on prepared covers and staple them to the bottom of the armrest.
Cut out the pieces on the main fabric, sew the covers and start assembling from the front side of the furniture. Place the fabric on the frame with a soft layer and attach it with staples. Form folds and bends on the spot. Make ties using buttons covered with fabric.
Attach wooden armrests or interior details.
Hand stitch the back wall of the sofa. If the furniture will stand against the wall, you can close the technical hole with cotton or furniture lining fabric that matches the color. If this side of the sofa is visible, then only the main material should be used for upholstery.
Secure the legs and assemble the sliding structures.

You can see the reupholstery of the sofa in more detail in the master class in the video attached to this section of the article. In the video tutorial, the master furniture maker will talk in detail about the rules and show the entire process of updating the appearance of the sofa. By analogy with it, you can reupholster soft chairs.

In conclusion of this section, I would like to give some useful tips regarding what you need to focus on when reupholstering sofas with your own hands.

Textile. Choose it based on the subsequent use of upholstered furniture, as well as color scheme interior In children's rooms, give preference to bright and colorful shades and children's prints, while for the upholstery of the sofa in the bedroom, use muted classic shades. Light-colored, breathable fabrics may show stains from sweat, while dark and patterned upholsteries show little or no stains. A profitable solution for upholstering sofas in living rooms is to combine fabrics not only in color, but also in texture.
Foam rubber. Preference should be given to rigid material with low porosity. It is heavier and more expensive than a conventional seal, but more durable. In areas where you need to create height, bulge, or other shape, use layering from least to most. On strong bends, cover the foam with a protective cloth.
Frame. Be sure to replace worn sheets and bars, otherwise reupholstered furniture will not last long. When replacing parts of the frame, replace damaged parts with ones that are similar in rigidity, that is, do not replace plywood chipboard or fiberboard. Eliminate all gaps: tighten with bolts, corners or glue.
Legs. They and other supporting mechanisms, as well as wheels, must be replaced if the bases are bent or visible cracks have formed on them. The sofa is a very heavy structure, and if you decide to turn it over (and this will definitely have to be done more than once when reupholstering!), then it is imperative to inspect the bottom and supports!
Moving parts. If any mechanism fails, it must be replaced when changing the casing. When choosing a replacement, you need to find exactly the same mechanism as it was before. If this is impossible, you need to change it to a similar device, and you need to do the revision on both sides at once. Entire parts of the components must be cleaned of old grease and dust adhering to it, treated with an anti-corrosion compound, and then lubricated with a portion of fresh grease.

Changing the upholstery of a sofa once done with your own hands will help you believe in yourself. And over time, this activity can become an excellent hobby and source of additional income.

As evidenced by the reviews of many owners of mini-workshops for the repair of upholstered and cabinet furniture, it was the change of fabric on the old sofa that became the first impetus for opening own business, which, by the way, quickly brings good profits.

We hope that this article will instill in many readers the confidence that it is quite possible to reupholster an old but very beloved sofa yourself.

Sofa- the main element in the living room, which emphasizes its interior, which means its appearance should always be attractive. Worn upholstery will not add chic to the room. Unfortunately, from the appearance characteristic shortcomings no one is immune, especially considering the significant and regular loads that this piece of furniture experiences. In this case, wear occurs naturally. But it also happens that pets irreversibly damage the upholstery. In both cases, replacement cannot be avoided. It often happens that the cost of reupholstering furniture is almost equal to buying new one. To help you save family budget, in this article we will give useful tips , how to reupholster a sofa with your own hands.

1. Where to start?

Before taking on such a responsible task, and even without the proper experience, you should sensibly assess the situation and understand whether your sofa is really worth reupholstering. There are cases when the furniture already resembles a wreck, but it’s still a shame to throw it away. But at the same time, everyone in the household is just waiting for the moment when something will finally break, so that there will definitely be a reason to take it far away. In such cases, even independent restoration will reach the price tag of a new piece of furniture. Therefore, you should not go to extremes. The exception is when the sofa is valuable as a family heirloom or is an antique. There are several other situations when it's worth abstaining from manual replacement, for example:

If, nevertheless, an unambiguous decision is made to act, it will be necessary to go through all the labor-intensive restoration processes, namely:

Dismantling an old piece of furniture into individual elements;
Complete removal of worn upholstery, and sometimes;
Thorough inspection of the frame, spring block and other parts;
Choosing new upholstery material;
Upholstery cutting;
Fastening fabric to individual furniture parts;
Reassembly of the structure.

Let us consider in more detail, taking into account key tips from cabinet furniture manufacturers and restoration and reupholstery specialists.

2. Stage I - dismantling the old sofa

If your sofa is a standard configuration, the process will not be difficult and will last about an hour. In order for everything to be quick and organized, first of all, you need to prepare everything necessary tools:

You definitely can't do without a set;
A set of wrenches for nuts or bolts;
In the absence of keys, pliers will do.

Dismantling must begin with those elements whose fastenings are visible. Usually these are the sides of the sofa, after unscrewing which, nuts are found that secure lifting mechanism. After removing the mechanism, you can disconnect the back and seat. If the sofa has legs, you can start disassembling them. At this stage it is very important to keep all fasteners intact. If in some places the parts are connected to each other using grooves and protrusions, you should not make sharp jerks so as not to break them.

Necessarily remember the sequence of your actions. After all, you have to assemble the furniture according to reverse scheme. It is important to remember which of the fastening elements connected this or that part of the sofa. Otherwise, in the end it may turn out that this bolt is not the right length, and the required one is already hidden somewhere under the sidewalls. We'll have to take everything apart again.

3. Stage II - remove old upholstery

When a sofa appears in front of you in the form individual spare parts, it is necessary to carefully remove everything that is old and has lost its visual appeal and functionality. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to get rid of more than one hundred staples from a furniture stapler. This process can become very painstaking and annoying if you do not prepare everything in advance. required tool:

First of all, the bracket will need to be pryed off with something; a thin flat-head screwdriver will do for this;
Now you need to remove it; pliers or round nose pliers will do for this;
A utility knife may come in handy.

The work will progress much faster if you first pry up all the staples on each part and then remove them. There will be no time wasted changing working tools. To avoid finding staples later in the most unexpected corners of the apartment and to avoid injury, immediately prepare a garbage bag.

When removing fasteners, be careful not to cut the fabric itself. At the stage when you need to cut new upholstery, you can use old fragments as patterns. Under the fabric you will find filler. It can be foam rubber or other materials. In older models, filler often fills the space between the springs. You need to carefully pull it out too.

When starting this stage, after you have prepared the necessary tools, we recommend that you cover the area of the floor on which you will be working with oilcloth. The old filler can simply crumble in your hands and turn into dust, which will quickly spread throughout the apartment. There will be a lot of garbage.

4. Stage III - visual inspection and identification of problem areas inside the structure

There is no point in wasting time and effort replacing the upholstery if the inside of the sofa is damaged. Beautiful fabric will not hide the holes that form when the filler loses its density. It will not hide sagging structural elements, which are the result of a stretched spring block. It is for this purpose that it is necessary to completely clean the frame of all unnecessary things - so that find And troubleshoot problems. Under the filler you will find springs or mesh or belts. All these components, including the joints of the wooden frame itself, must be carefully examined. If springs stretched, belts burst and are torn, and metal or nylon guy wires no longer perform their functions, all this must be replaced with new parts. Very often the springs burst in the middle of the seat.
If you find cracked wooden crossbars, They also need to be replaced without fail. To do this, choose well-dried wooden beams without knots or cracks. The presence of such defects will serve as stress concentrators, and under heavy load the crossbar will soon burst again. Damp wood, gradually drying out under the influence of the temperature in the apartment, will become deformed, which can cause distortion of the entire frame.

Experts advise saturate the joints of new and old beams with PVA glue before reassembling. In older models, the frame has three fiberboard jumpers, one in the middle and two on the sides. Very often they also burst after many years of use. It is useless to repair such parts. It's better to do complete replacement. You can attach the jumpers to the frame using small, larger quick way– use a pneumatic stapler.

Regarding filler. In 95% of cases it needs to be thrown away. To replace the worn one, you need to purchase a medium or high degree of hardness with high density values. Its height should be at least 45-50 mm, and better yet – 60 mm. This will not only make the seat more elastic and give it an attractive shape, but will also protect the internal parts from damage. To ensure a longer service life of the filler itself, it is recommended to wrap it with several layers of padding polyester. If you need to change the filling in the back, you can use foam rubber of a less high degree of rigidity. This will make your stay more comfortable.

Very often he blabs himself lifting mechanism Uncharacteristic play appears or the springs fall off altogether. If the problem is not resolved by replacing the screw or spring with a stiffer one, you should buy a new lock.

As you can see, self-upholstery The sofa is not only about replacing the top upholstery. This is the replacement of all structural elements that have lost their original appearance. Only like this complex work will lead to the desired result and give a second life to old furniture. Of course, if your sofa was simply damaged by pets, or you decided to fit the furniture into new interior by changing its color, then you may be lucky enough to avoid all this.

5. Stage IV - choosing new upholstery

It's time to begin the most creative stage of our work - choosing new, beautiful upholstery. First you need to decide what you need amount of material. This will be very easy to do if you measure all parts of the old fabric and add a margin of 0.5 meters to the resulting amount. Firstly, you may make a mistake during the cutting process, and secondly, since you are doing this for the first time, for convenience, you need to leave more space for twists. What for? pay attention When choosing a new fabric for upholstery:

Considering all these points, the choice can be quite difficult. Below we provide a short list most popular upholstery materials and their operational characteristics so that you can quickly navigate.

Microfiber– a type of synthetic fabric that is highly resistant to various stains, high humidity and temperature changes, affordable cost. Therefore, it is very easy to maintain. Good quality microfiber is highly breathable and hypoallergenic. To confirm this, you must ask the seller to present the appropriate quality certificate. This material will be ideal for. The only drawback is that it is flammable. To avoid trouble, simply place furniture away from gas stove. Color palette quite diverse, there are both plain and colorful varieties. There will be plenty to choose from.
Fleecy fabrics, e.g. velor or plush, are very gentle and delicate. They quickly lose their color under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and have a low degree of abrasion resistance, which makes them unsuitable for upholstering a sofa that will be used daily. The exception is material called flock with a diagonal weave of fibers, which in appearance resembles velvet. It is slightly less durable than microfiber, but is more attractive in appearance and is suitable for upholstering a sofa in the living room. The advantage of flock is its resistance to food and other contaminants. Modern flock has a special silicone coating, and its surface is very soft and pleasant to the touch.
A chic but expensive material is jacquard. It is distinguished by high performance characteristics and a rich, varied palette of colors and textures. Its surface practically does not wear out and does not fade. The fabric itself is very dense and durable. However, if you have pets or children, then you should think about it, because caring for jacquard is very difficult. It does not tolerate contact with wet fabric and is more suitable for strict ones, and its surface is cold to the touch.
Tapestry– a type of fabric with a high degree of wear resistance and density. Able to keep its shape well. Retains stability and color saturation for a long time, regardless of exposure external factors. The tapestry has antistatic properties. The color palette is also very diverse. All this makes this material very popular among furniture manufacturers.
Chenille– variety natural fabric with the addition of synthetic and artificial fibers, is considered ideal option for upholstery of sofas. Its feature is its very high strength, which is achieved in a special way production and the addition of a small amount of synthetic fibers. This fabric is very warm and pleasant to the touch. Sitting on such a surface will be very comfortable. And any dirt can be easily removed from the surface with an alcohol or vinegar solution.

6. Stage V - making a pattern

Once a suitable fabric has been selected, you need to cut it into fragments. To simplify the process use old upholstery which must first be shaken out or vacuumed well.

7. Stage VI – securing the new tissue

Finally, everything is ready, the beautiful new covers have already been sewn, and it’s time to attach them to the parts of the sofa. You must understand that it is from this stage the end result depends. Whether the surface of your sofa will be smooth and flawless, or whether folds and distortions will form on it, depends only on you. Therefore, you need to work slowly and carefully. It’s better to try on all the covers first, because for now you have time to make adjustments. You may have to sew something in by hand, cut something somewhere, there’s nothing wrong with that. Better to discover it now. It is better if the cover fits tightly than loosely. In the latter option, when secured with staples, folds may form. So, subsequence yours actions:

This is the difficult and painstaking process of reupholstering a sofa with your own hands. But if you complete all the steps thoughtfully and measuredly, the result will exceed all your expectations. And your new “old” sofa will delight you for several more years.

8. Nuances of the process of working with genuine leather

Genuine leather is a very pleasant and pliable material, it is a pleasure to work with it, you just need to follow small recommendations.

Apart from these points, the technology for upholstering a sofa with leather is similar to the steps described above. Of course, such a sofa will look more respectable, and caring for it will be easier than textiles.

Any thing becomes unusable over time and upholstered furniture is no exception. But in the case of furniture, it is possible to restore its original appearance and properties. This article will discuss reupholstering a sofa yourself. How, what and in what order should be done, what materials should be used.

Damage and types of repair

Damage to a sofa or other upholstered furniture can vary in severity. Depending on the existing injuries, a different range of work is required. Here's what could happen to your furniture:

So reupholstering a sofa may include various works. From simply replacing the upholstery to a complete renovation, including part of the frame. The most troublesome part is with the spring blocks. This is long and painstaking work. If the “historical accuracy” of your furniture is not important to you, it is easier to replace a failed spring block with foam rubber or (better, but more expensive) furniture silicone. If everything is done correctly, the sofa will become even more comfortable: incorrectly tightened springs cause a lot of inconvenience.

Types of "soft part"

Let's talk in general terms about what the seat and back of the sofa can be made of. There are options:

Without springs:
- High-density foam rubber (polyurethane foam, also called PU foam) (also called furniture foam).
- Foamed latex. In terms of quality and convenience, it is better than foam rubber, but also much more expensive.
With springs:
- with classic springs connected into one block;
- snake springs that support the foam/latex filling.

These are the most common types of sofa seats. In more expensive models the spring block can be supplemented with a layer of polyurethane foam or latex, which makes the seat more elastic and comfortable at the same time. When reupholstering, they then look at the condition of both parts, replace or leave them - depending on desire and capabilities.

But that's not all the layers. In addition to springs, polyurethane foam/latex, padding polyester or thermal felt (or regular felt) are also laid. This is if the sofa is more or less modern and not too expensive. Older exhibits may contain matting or burlap, batting (or something very similar), horsehair, dried seaweed and other now almost exotic materials for sofa stuffing. When repairing a sofa, they will need to be replaced with the same ones (if you want to look) or similar in thickness and properties. So, to understand how a sofa should be reupholstered, first understand what’s inside it.

We disassemble the sofa and assess the scale of work

Reupholstering a sofa begins with disassembling it. During the process, you will be able to assess the extent of the damage and decide what exactly you need to do. For this part of the job you will need:

a large screwdriver to unscrew visible bolts (if any);
a small flat-head screwdriver, pliers or staple remover - to remove the staples that secure the upholstery.

The main thing is to remove the old upholstery. Then everything will become clear

Actually, that's all. First, remove the individual pillows, if any, and remove the side panels. It’s difficult to suggest here - there are many designs. Look carefully, you are sure to find something. If you have retractable parts, you can try starting with them.

Separating the upholstery

The next step is to separate the fabric from the frame. It is attached with staples to the wooden bars of the frame. We pry the staples with a flat screwdriver and pull them out. Some may fit very tightly; it is easier to pull them out by grabbing them by the raised back with pliers or pliers.

We remove the fabric carefully, trying not to damage it too much. We will then use it as a sample for new sofa upholstery. There are several layers underneath the upholstery fabric. Maybe felt, padding polyester, some kind of fabric. If the sofa repair was started only to replace the upholstery, look at the condition of these materials. If there are signs of wear, it is better to replace. After all, it will be a shame if in a few months the sofa needs to be reupholstered again, but this time because the layers of the lining have been removed.

Once the fabric is removed, it's time to evaluate which parts you'll need to replace. Everything is clear with the upholstery and lining underneath. It is advisable to keep the pie in the same composition. If old materials were used that are not currently on sale or are too expensive, replace them with modern analogues. The main thing for folding sofas- reach the same height of the seat and backrest that were before, since the folding mechanisms are designed for certain parameters of the “pillows”. In order not to be mistaken with the thickness of materials, find unworn (or least worn) areas and measure the thickness.

Assessing the damage

This stage is needed if the sofa seat is uneven, there are humps and depressions, protruding springs (and from below too). In seats that consist only of foam rubber, everything is simple: they are usually replaced. They can be made from high-density foam rubber by folding several layers; you can order ready-made foam rubber at a store that sells furniture spare parts. It is wise to order a latex mattress according to exact dimensions (measure after removing the fabric and all layers).

If the sofa has springs, remove all the covering layers to get to them. If there are no burst springs, the frame and its connections are strong, without play or cracks, the backing for the springs is in in good condition, we can stop here. We change the covering layers, sew a new cover, stretch it and fasten it. This completes the reupholstery of the sofa.

One of the common defects of spring blocks is a broken spring. There are also sofas with spring snakes that are attached to the frame and give elasticity to the foam mattress standing on top

If there is any damage listed above, the spring unit will have to be separated. It is attached to the frame frame using U-shaped brackets or nails. Now you have completely disassembled your sofa into its components. Next is the replacement and repair of damaged parts, and then reassembly.

Classic sofa pie with a spring block and possible problems

To understand how to repair a sofa at home, you need to know what layers of materials are needed and in what order. For example, in a sofa seat with a spring block the sequence will be like this (from bottom to top):

Frame made of plywood or wooden blocks. A plywood frame is more reliable, but it takes longer and is more difficult to make. Therefore, pine bars are usually used. They are connected according to the tenon-groove principle, gluing the joint with wood glue. If desired, the connections can be strengthened with dowels or corners (aluminum).
Spring block base. There may be options: lamellas (straps of elastic material), fiberboard, plywood. The most budget option is fiberboard, the most expensive is lamellas. The lamellas are attached to special stops (lamella holders). When using plastic stops, there is a risk of them breaking. In this case, low-quality lamellas can bend (in normal condition they are curved slightly upward) or break - to reduce cost they are often placed at large intervals. All this leads to the fact that the sofa seat is pressed through. Instead of wooden slats, there may also be snake springs. They also have sufficient elasticity, but cost less. The problems with them are the same.
The spring block itself. The block can be with independent or dependent springs. The first one is cheaper, the second one supports the body well. Such mattresses are also called orthopedic.
Felt or thick fabric(teak or other similar dense fabric will do). This layer is needed so that the springs do not push through the foam rubber located above.
If the fabric is thin, it will tear, then the foam will begin to crumble. But this is not the saddest thing - the lamellas were bent in the opposite direction. In normal condition they should be curved upwards
Polyurethane foam(PPU, foam rubber - all names of the same material). Special dense foam rubber is used. If you choose, in addition to density, look at such an indicator as the durability coefficient - the higher the number, the better (and more expensive). This indicator reflects how long the foam will take to restore its original shape after removing the load. Its thickness is taken according to the original, factory cake. You can make it thicker without restrictions only on upholstered furniture that does not fold out (banquette, sofa, armchair).
Sintepon. This is necessary so that the fabric does not “erase” the polyurethane foam. It is usually glued to a layer of foam rubber so that it does not bunch up during use. The glue is taken in a can.
Upholstery fabric. The best are tapestry, chenille. They don't fray and it's easy to sew with them. Flock and jacquard are good fabrics, but some of them “creep” at the seams. Therefore, when you sew, the seams need to be strengthened. By the way, it is better to sew upholstery for a sofa with special Tytan brand threads. Regular ones, even thick ones, will quickly tear.

These are all the layers and their features. You can add something (for example, a double layer of padding polyester), but removing it is highly undesirable.

The design of a sofa on snake springs and options for its restoration

Snake springs in expensive models are used as an additional means to increase elasticity. In budget models, a foam block can be placed on this base. They are attached to a wooden or metal frame across the seat - each spring separately. The installation step depends on the planned load. If your sofa begins to sag, or the springs have lost their elasticity or are broken, the solution is to replace them.

To increase elasticity and extend service life, when reupholstering a sofa, the number of “snakes” can be increased. Another option is transverse reinforcement with rigid corsage ribbons (which are used for straps on bags and backpacks).

The tape is nailed on one side to the frame. Professional furniture makers then stretch it using a special tool, but it can be replaced with a regular block wrapped around the middle sandpaper with large grains. You wrap a couple of turns of tape around this beam, pull it with both hands (make sure that the frame does not bend), secure the tape with staples or nails, release it and cut off the excess. The same method is also suitable for increasing the service life of a mattress with slats.

An example of sofa repair with step-by-step photos

The old sofa became completely uncomfortable, began to sag in places and creak. There is no way to buy a new one, it was decided to reupholster and change the upholstery. As usual, reupholstering a sofa begins with disassembly. The legs were removed first. The railings were fastened with two large bolts; they were unscrewed and removed without any problems. Further disassembly is also not difficult - we unscrew the bolts that appear one by one.

When all the components were separated, the old upholstery was removed. The staples were easy to remove - the frame was made of pine timber. The spring block itself turned out to be without defects, but there was a crack in the frame, one of the frame beams sagged, the fiberboard sagged, although there were no cracks.

Frame repair

Since the frame bears the main load, it is better to replace damaged elements. We carefully measure them, draw them schematically, and put down the dimensions in millimeters. With the drawing we go to the carpentry shop. Please pay special attention: the wood must be dry, preferably kiln drying. If you know how to work with wood yourself, you can do it yourself.

It was decided to connect the frame, as it was, with a tenon/groove, coated with wood glue. But to prevent it from coming loose, the connection was reinforced with metal dowels.

First, the connections are glued and clamped in a vice. A hole is not drilled under the dowel large diameter, the dowel is hammered in. The frame stands in a vice until the glue dries.

We will use 4 mm thick plywood as the base for the spring block. The sheets are standard, a little more than 1.5 meters, and the length of the sofa is almost two. It turns out two pieces. It is better to make the joint of the pieces on a jumper, it is more reliable. Cutting out rectangles the right size, coat the frame with wood glue, lay down the plywood, and nail it with small nails. The length of the nails is so that they do not stick out outside the frame. We additionally support the joint with a plank (50*20 mm).

The updated sofa will serve in the country house, so we try to keep the budget to a minimum; we use an old blanket instead of a backing for the springs. We stretch it well and fasten it with staples using a hand tool.

The base for the springs is an old fleece blanket

If possible, it is advisable to put thermal felt here. It is more reliable and not so expensive. It is cut to size, straightened and nailed around the perimeter. You can use staples or nails with large heads.

Repairing and fixing the spring block

To fasten the spring block, you can use powerful U-shaped brackets, and it is better if their legs are sharpened. But the stapler does not work with these, so we cut staples from steel wire with a diameter of 1.5 mm and hammer them in with a hammer.

In addition to being attached to the frame, the springs are also secured with nylon straps. Twine was taken, folded in two layers, secured with the same wire staples. We tighten the constriction so that it does not press down on the springs, but the tension should be sufficient so that the block does not “move around”.

Some dense material should be placed on top of the springs, usually felt. In this case, the old one was used flooring. Something like felt. It is quite dense and durable. Fold in two layers, cut to size. This layer must be attached to the spring block. The coating is dense, you can’t pierce it with a needle, even a gypsy one. A large diameter awl would be suitable, but there isn't one. We pierce the coating with a nail, which we push through with the handle of a screwdriver. We thread a thick thread into the holes made. The stitch pitch is about 3.5 cm. To speed up the process, we use several nails at once.

Next “according to plan” there should be foam rubber, on top of which a padding polyester is placed. In this project, it was replaced with two layers of densely elastic material, which had been stored in the attic for a long time. Instead of padding polyester, another old blanket was used. To prevent the blanket from moving around, it was grabbed around the perimeter with threads (in conventional technology, synthetic winterizer is glued to polyurethane foam or latex using glue from a can).

Case and cover

Upholstering this sofa turned out to be easy: the shape is simple, without decoration. The old cover was ripped open and a pattern was made from new, not very expensive upholstery fabric. In the place that falls on the corner of the sofa cushion/seat, a thick tape was sewn from the inside to prevent the fabric from fraying. The fabric is inexpensive, so the edges had to be rolled up to prevent fraying. They are often left unprocessed.

The finished cover was laid out on the floor, and the restored part of the sofa was placed in it. At this stage it is important that the fabric is stretched evenly and does not wrinkle. We started nailing the cover from the middle, moving towards the edges. Staples with thick backs were used to avoid damaging the fabric.

The back of the sofa was restored in the same way, the armrests were covered, then all the parts were screwed to the folding mechanism. The thickness of the pillows matched, so there were no problems.

The reupholstery of the sofa is finished. The result has been verified :)

According to the test results: the seat turned out to be a little hard, but it’s just right for a tired back. For the home, of course, it is better to use foam rubber, and for those who like comfort - latex.