DIY Network

'30s-Era Chair: Upholstery '30s-Era Chair: Upholstery From "Trade School" episode DTRS-112

Figure A

Here, continue with upholstery student Shanna Vigil as she resurrects a dilapidated 1930s-era reading chair that was left behind by a former student (figure A). The chair definitely seems ready for the scrap yard, but is still structurally sound. This project is a much bigger challenge than the ottoman explored in the previous segment, but the approach is the same ....

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Basic Tools:

Tack Hammer
Tacks
Cloth tape measure
Nail remover
Staple remover
5" curve needle
Electric foam saw
Sewing machine
Rubber mallet
Cutting shears
Needle-nose pliers
Wire cutters

• Shanna's first order of business is to inventory all the pieces of the chair and "map out" the project. She labels each piece on the chair in chalk and writes them down in a notebook. The chair has a total of 10 pieces: Seat, seat deck, inside arm, inside back, outside arm, outside back, cushion top, cushion-boxing, welt cord and arm panels. Shanna works on each piece in this order.

	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F

• With the inventory complete, Shanna measures each piece on the chair from the widest points and adds two inches (figure B). She writes these dimensions under each corresponding piece in her notebook. She also notes the pieces that require muslin, patterning and shaping and have a twin counterpart. These measurements help her determine how much total fabric she needs.

• Then she begins by marking and cutting the muslin sheets for the pieces that require it (figure C).Similar to bed sheet fabric, muslin serves to retain the shape of cotton batting and reduces wear on the final fabric. Any piece that requires cotton batting requires muslin.

• Next Shanna moves onto patterning and shaping muslin for the seat deck. This is the only piece that has curves and requires sewing. Patterning and shaping is basically pre-sewing the cut muslin. She test fits each piece of muslin to the chair and traces all the muslin pieces onto paper for later reference (figure D).

• After setting the muslin set aside, Shanna begins stripping the chair to the frame and springs (figure E). She flips the chair over and removes the numerous tacks and staples. As this chair dates back to the 1930s, Shanna discards the fabric and stuffing, but recycles the plywood arm panels used later.

• With the chair stripped down, Shanna begins the challenge of tying the coil springs in the seat deck and back (figure F). She measures the dimensions of the frame and cuts many pieces of nylon string accordingly. Because this chair has coil springs, she utilizes a method known as an 8-way tie. Each spring ultimately gets eight knots. She begins by tacking down one end of each string to the frame. She then ties a series knots along each row of coils making sure each spring is aligned upright and depressed at three inches. Then she tacks in the opposite end to the frame. She continues vertically, horizontally and diagonally until each row of springs is crossed four times. Tying the springs causes them to act in unison, thus increasing the longevity of the chair.

• Next Shanna covers the coil springs with a layer of burlap to protect the cotton and muslin. She folds the ends over and tacks the burlap to the frame (figure G).Then she hand-sews the burlap to the springs using a curved needle (figure H). This causes the burlap and the springs to act in unison.

Figure G

Figure H

• With the burlap secured, Shanna begins layering up cotton batting on each of the inside pieces (figure I). She measures around the cotton to meet the dimension of the muslin pieces. To reach the desired height, she adds five layers of cotton batting.

• Finally, Shanna applies the pre-cut muslin over each piece tacking and re-tacking it to the frame as she adjusts the shape of the cotton underneath. For the back of the chair, she creates a pleated effect in the muslin (figure J).that serves as a guide to pleat the final fabric. When satisfied with each shape, she pounds the tacks all the way in to secure the pleats.

Figure I

Figure J

In the next segment, read how Shanna finishes upholstering the chair.