Before & After // Mid-Century Sofa
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 Every Portland Flea, we strive to have some sort of upholstered piece in our booth, Remnant. Chris came across this couch at a sale a few weeks ago. He saw the potential of what it could be. Chris and I had been talking about wanting to try out upholstering a sofa and this seemed like a perfect first project as I wouldn't have to worry about the arms. There were many things wrong with this sofa, obviously the upholstery, but you also could feel the springs almost coming through the batting and fabric. One thing we've learned with every project is that it's not just about making a new fabric covering. It's also just as important to fix what's underneath.
Chris took the "fun" job of ripping off the fabric and removing all staples. He kept the fabric intact so that I could study it to help with the reconstruction of the new upholstery. Then we researched and tried out multiple methods to fix the springs and to make a comfy sofa. After many Google searches, fabric & home depot runs, we found thin foam and thick batting for upholstery and the combination fixed all of the problems.
Choosing which fabric is one of the most difficult parts for me. There are always many options, but not always exactly what I'm looking for. I love textured neutral sofas, and I wanted to find something that would compliement the walnut wood. We finally found this very light blue with brown/gray weaved fabric. It looked perfect!
I measured once, twice then a third time before cutting into the fabric! I was afraid that I would make a mistake measuring over 72" long for one cut of fabric. After measuring each original piece, I drew a diagram of the individual pieces and began cutting them all up. I found it super useful to put write the name of each piece on washi tape and put it on the fabric.
Once I started sewing it all together, I immediately made a huge mistake that took me a few hours to undo. But that is how I learn best! ;) After fixing it and taking a break, everything came together. Basically, I made a huge structured blanket for the sofa, then stapled it all together! Here is a progress shot of stapling the back side:
After stapling everything, Chris helped me add the covered buttons using a super long needle and waxed thread. To finish it, the back panel was added using tack strips that hide staples and holds the fabric down making a nice clean fold. Finished!
I couldn't be more proud of this first accomplishment. It is the beginning of much more upholstering to come!
sofa, upholstery in Upholstery
Reader Comments (3)
Well done. Have you ever made slipcovers?
It's AWESOME! Great job!
This is one of the common problem with sofa in the house. For me upholstering can be done only by the real upholsterer. When i saw this tutorial I realized that I can be a upholsterer for our sofa. Like this one, the old sofa has a new look and much better now..