Some people are passionate and love to reupholster old furniture, which gives them the courage to deal with the lengthy process without losing patience.
However, buying a new wingback chair is better than reupholstering an old one as it will not only be an expensive task but will take a long time.
How to Reupholster a Wingback Chair With Buttons? You can reupholster a wingback chair with buttons by selecting the desired fabric and buttons and measuring its size. After that, you have to remove the old upholstery material, including foam, webbing, springs, etc. Prepare foam and fabric by marking and drilling holes in equal spaces. Furthermore, add webbing and foam, and put a cloth to secure the buttons at their place, followed by fixing of fabric neatly.
It is challenging and expensive to reupholster an old wingback chair having scratches and stains, as it takes much time and money to change foam and fabric completely.
It takes almost $500 to $1400 on average to reupholster a wingback chair, including the cost of labor, fabric, foam, springs, and other related items.
Furthermore, you can reduce the cost to half by adding new fabric to the older one if it is not dirty, damaged, and dark in color.
Collecting all the required material before starting the process is better and place a measuring tape, chalk, scissor, nylon or reupholstery thread, and fabric at a close distance.
In addition, you have to keep a staple gun, sewing needle, hook, long rod, twines, and glue.
Organize them in a sequence according to the steps that help avoid frustration while finding the right tool.
Measure the size of the wingback chair
You have to start the re-upholstering process by measuring the size of the wingback chair.
Take a measuring tape, put one end on the floor, and raise it higher until it reaches the highest end of the backrest. Measure cushion size from the outer to the inner side.
Keep a notepad and a pen with you to note down the readings. It is better to check the length in inches as it can help you make correct measurements.
These measurements can help you decide the length of fabric required for reupholstery and make it easier to cut fabric accurately.
Select fabric and buttons
You have to get the desired fabric to replace the old worn-out stuff. Many people like to use velvet stuff to give it a luxurious look.
The vibrant velvet colors can make it appealing when you add a new fabric after replacing the compressed foam and loose springs inside.
However, cotton stuff is also good to use as it is breathable, allowing air to pass through the foam. It is also resistant to abrasion and absorbs moisture and heat.
Almost 7 to 8 yards of fabric is sufficient for reupholstering the wing chair’s arms, seat, backrest, and front side. Furthermore, collect 15 to 20 buttons to make it tufted on the backrest only.
Break down old upholstery
Remove the dust cover on the seat’s lower side to access the webbing material. Take pliers to get a good grip over the cording that helps them remove quickly, or you can use any other tool.
Start removing the fabric from the backrest and move towards the arms and seat. After that, remove liming, cording, and curve ease from the outer side.
Moreover, rip them off slowly by maintaining a good force while pulling them out.
Remove the fabric from the back side of the backrest and remove all the webbing and foaming material to reupholster it.
Prepare foam and fabric
You have to cut the foam according to the chair size and prepare it before placing it on the wing chair. Cut small pieces of foam to put them on the backrest, armrest, seat, and backside.
In the same way, cut the fabric pieces according to the noted measurements, or use old pieces of fabric to measure.
Place the old piece over the new fabric and mark the points where you want to add buttons. Use white chalk to mark the point that needs to be present at an equal distance or in a specific pattern.
After that, create holes in the same pattern on the separated piece of foam using a large steel rod. Place the fabric over the foam to make holes at the correct positions.
Add webbing and springs to the wingback chair
You have to add a new webbing material on the wingback chair, which can be any soft material to provide proper support and cushioning platform.
In addition, add springs that can be old if they have sufficient strength, but it is better to replace old springs with new ones if you are reupholstering the whole chair.
Place foam on the backrest and fix it into the right position using a staple gun. Similarly, put pieces of foam on the armrest and seat area and fix them in the correct position.
Add and secure buttons
Cover the backrest of the wingback chair with an appropriate piece of fabric and adjust it according to the size.
Take out a sewing needle made for reupholstering, and a curved hook with a narrow hole at one end can also be used.
Moreover, use a double thread and pass it through the needle to move inside the fabric and foam accordingly at one of the marked points.
Then, take it out of the foam and create a loop to pass the hook within the circle.
Stretch the thread outward to create a knot in the foam, and move the hook out by passing through the fabric.
Pass the hook through the button and move it back within the fabric and foam.
Take the hook out of the fabric again and move the thread at a 360-degree angle around the button twice or thrice to fix it into the position.
Then, create a loop and pass the hook from this loop and stretch it outwards. Cut the thread at a distance of 1.5 to 3 cm, tie a knot, and cut extra thread using scissors.
In addition, you can add buttons by cutting 8 to 10 cm long threads followed by passing buttons through each thread to move them inside the fabric using a long needle.
Tie the knot behind the foam after passing the thread into it and fix them using staples. Fix all the buttons through any of these two methods depending on ease.
Fix the fabric on the wingback chair
Use your hand to tighten the fabric by stretching it outwards close to the tufted areas to avoid creases.
After that, use a staple gun to fix the cloth into its place and staple them on the foaming material neatly.
You can also add buttons on the armrest or seat area if you want to give it a tufted appearance on all sides. Most commonly, the backrests have tufted buttons that look gorgeous.
Furthermore, it is essential to fix the fabric on the wingback chair accurately.
It is a tedious and challenging process to reupholster a wingback chair, as it takes time and skills to complete the process.
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