How to Recover the Deck of a Chair

Today I am going to show the class the torture I've been experiencing,

tackling the frou frou chair for Kris.

It's going in her guest room.....

Remember the chair?????

Last I told you guys, 

I had gotten this far.....

 Sooooo.....

I finished painting the details in green, then I distressed and waxed the chair.

I'm really starting to get a handle on the painted finish I like.

I've only been trying to figure this out for the past two years.

I'm a slow learner.....

anyway......

after I finished painting the chair....

Kris and I dragged it up, out of my basement workshop.....

up to my second floor sewing/upholstery room.

The next thing I needed to tackle was redoing the decking for the support under the seat cushion.

Now, 

both my upholstery teachers told me that if the existing decking is in good condition,

the springs in good shape,

DON'T TAKE OFF THE FABRIC!!!!!

LEAVE IT IN PLACE AND JUST GO OVER IT!!!!

So that was what I was intending to do.

First I measured the seat area, to figure out how to cut the new fabric going on the chair.

When making a deck, you need to have a seam going across the front, around 5 inches from the front edge.

Look under the cushion of the nearest chair, you'll see what I mean.

Sooooo.....

I cut the fabric and seamed it together, and then sewed a zig-zag stitch along the cut edge of the seam, because I am using linen, and it's a bear.

It unravels by just looking at the damn stuff.

I then ironed the fabric to smooth the seam.

Don't iron the seam open, though.

You want both edges to lie flat together against the chair.

I then looked at the existing deck again.....

It was really bulky, because the old fabric was thick.

So.....

I thought.....

maybe I'll just pull the front off and see what's under there!!!!!

It was like an archaeological dig....

This chair is from the 1920's, so it makes sense that it had been recovered some time in its past.

Sooooo.....

I took off the top deck cover, and kept the original fabric in place.

I thought it was really funny that the original fabric hadn't been centered properly.

I should learn to be less snarky, because I was off by 1/2 an inch by the time I was done with my debacle.

First, I sewed the new fabric along the old seam, using a curved upholstery needle and upholstery thread.

Lay the fabric with the wrong side up along the existing seam of the old deck.

Line up your new seam with the old seam.

Pin in place.

Then get your curvy upholstery needle and sew along the seam.

I was a little brain dead, and started by trying to bring the needle up at the seam.....

NOT REALIZING IT'S MUCH, MUCH EASIER.....

if you sew down through the seam and up through the old fabric.

The first time I sewed the fabric in place, I flipped it over, proud of having  gotten this far.....

only to see that the seam had started to come apart, because I did a crappy job of sewing it.

damn

damn

damn

damn

damn!!!!!!

So I had to take it all apart and re-seam it and re-sew it.

Well....

I finally got it right, so it was time to staple it to the chair.

I cut slits in the back corners for the legs and pulled the fabric under the arms and back.

I used my trusty tucker to do this.

I used to use a spatula, but my tucker is much stronger, and much better.

I find one of the hardest parts of reupholstering anything is when I go to cut the fabric around the legs and arms.

This is when the whole thing can go south.

When you do this,

just remember....

you can always cut it a little more.....

BUT YOU CAN'T UNCUT IT!!!!!

This is what makes me so scared.

Weak in the knees.

Sweat buckets.

Anyway, after you fit the fabric around the legs, staple it to the seat frame on the sides and back, pulling the fabric taught and smoothing it across the seat.

Then it's time to do the front.

Flip the front part up, to where the seam is sewn onto the deck.

Then add Dacron padding along the front edge.

Then flip the fabric back down and staple along the bottom edge of the front of the seat.

You can see that when I redid the seam, I wasn't as careful matching up the stripe.

I reassure myself that Kris won't mind, 'cuz it's under the cushion.....

After stapling the fabric, trim it off at the staple line.

 Now there is one thing that you should be careful about when stapling your staples.

If you're going to have a double welt trim along the frame of the chair,

leave around a half inch space between the staples and the frame for the welt to fit against the wood.

Otherwise the welt will not be able to lie nice and flat.

The staples should be around 1/2 inch away from the frame.

I probably stapled them too close, but it should be OK.

I hope.

OY.

I trimmed the fabric with a razor blade.

I have a whole pack of them.

They're really good for trimming the fabric, dacron and foam.....

You may feel like using them on your person when in the middle of the project.....

but just keep on going.

I work until I reach the limit of my tolerance for frustration....

and then I walk away and go do something else for a while or a day or a week, until I am able to face the dragons again.

I though the deck would be the hardest part of the chair, but that was before I started on the back.....

I will share the harrowing adventures of that in a future post.

I am in the middle of it.
I hope it goes welllllllll.......

OY.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah