DIY Houndstooth Upholstered Vintage Teak Chairs

 

You have seen our houndstooth upholstered vintage teak chairs before, but have you ever wondered why there are only ever two visible?

We actually have a set of four, but the other two have been languishing in the basement, un-upholstered, since we wrapped up the first two chairs in 2009.  Embarrassing?  A little.  But I think we should applaud this procrastination because 2009 was pre-blog, so without the procrastination there would be no tutorial of how Hubby & I upholstered these chairs and did our part to keep the staple folks in business.  You'll see what I mean because we finally tackled the other two and can now show you the how-to.

Hubby & I have our own way of doing this that guarantees a smooth and secure finished product.  However, it also makes it miserable for whoever tries to undo your lovely work, because we use way too many staples.  Ha ha.

Supplies:

• Quilter's batting (we used three layers - how much you need will depend on the size and number of your chairs)
• Upholstery grade fabric (again, dependent on size and number of your chairs - I also bought extra in case some genius spills tomato juice on one)
• Staple gun
• 8mm staples (many)
• Pliers
• Screw driver (to remove seat)
• Patient set of second hands

Get Upholstering:

Remove the chair seat:

Save the screws some place you will find them, just in case it takes you three years to wrap up this project:

These screws have literally been in this bowl since 2009

Remove the staples, using pliers.  I really got attached to the tool pictured below because, although it is meant for cutting, it has such a fabulous grip.  I used it for pulling 2.6 billion staples from the sub-floor after ripping up carpet for hardwood floors.  But pliers are what most folks use.



Throw out the old foam - especially if it is a vintage/used piece.  Blech.  I've seen people keep the grossest foam that is starting to disintegrate.  Trace and cut out three layers of quilter's batting (it is a cheap, cushy alternative to foam), or foam if you prefer, using sharp scissors because dull scissors will only make your life harder:

This is where we deviate a bit from other tutorials (you can skip this step if you'd prefer).  Once cut out, we affix the batting to the chair seat with a few staples so we're not wrestling with it and the fabric simultaneously.  I don't see a lot of people do this, but it makes life so much easier.  After affixing, trim some of the excess batting for less bulk in the finished product.

Throughout the whole process, stop periodically and check fitment.  You don't want bunches of fabric on the underside of the seat where it will be affixed to the chair frame. 

With the batting wrangled into submission, trace and cut out the fabric (making sure the pattern is "facing" the same way on each chair).  You can use the old fabric as a template.

Begin upholstering by pulling the fabric tautly and stapling in a few staples on one side, then the opposite side, checking the alignment and also the tension. These first few staples really anchor your fabric, so take your time.  It helps to have a second set of hands so one person can hold the fabric and the other can staple.

Keep working your way around the seat, pulling the fabric tight and stapling.  Pull corners especially smooth, even if that means you have a bunch of excess fabric a few inches from the edge.

For corners, we pull tightly and keep checking the make sure it looks sharp from the top.  To tackle the bunching, we make slits in the excess fabric once it's stapled in place.  This allows us to overlap the fabric and really staple it down smoothly.  It is hard to take a photo of that because this print is so busy when zoomed in on.

We go a little staple crazy, I know this.  We even add a second "ring" of staples so everything is smooth.

When you're done, you can add a cut-to-size piece of no-fray, very thin material to make the work look a bit tidier (for anyone who happens to be hanging out under your chair, I guess).  This involves more staples.

And that's it!  Reaffix the seat to your chair and host a dinner party.

Now we have a full set of four.

We like to leave a little love for future DIY-ers.  Anyone who is ambitious enough to remove the staple overkill happening here (gosh, I hope it's not future-me) will be affronted by this message:

P.S. Am I the only DIY'er whose nails get totally wrecked?!?  They looked so pretty in my latte post but now the deep plum shade that previously looked so chic is all chipped and worn, making me look like a disgruntled teen.