Furniture is the main component of the interior of the apartment. Every house has sofas and armchairs. A person constantly uses upholstered furniture. Gradually, the upholstery wears out, fades. The fabric becomes ugly, hard-to-remove stains appear on it. When people realize that furniture only spoils the interior with its appearance, they rush to get rid of it. Some take old things, sofas and armchairs to the country, other citizens use garages as a warehouse. Some people immediately purchase new furniture. Nowadays, a soft set is quite expensive, so people are often interested in how to sheathe a sofa. Restoring upholstered furniture will be much cheaper than buying a new one. In today's article, we will pay special attention to this issue.
What are the benefitsself-plating furniture?
Before you sheathe a sofa with your own hands, you should consider all the features of this undertaking. The following advantages are distinguished in self-restoration of furniture:
- It is often found that old furniture has a reliable frame that will last for many years to come.
- You can use step-by-step instructions on how to sheathe a sofa with your own hands, and not spend your family budget on buying new furniture or restorer services.
- When a person himself changes the upholstery of a sofa, he will simultaneously eliminate the breakdown of the frame or springs.
- Sofas that were produced 30-50 years ago were of better quality than modern novelties. If a person has such furniture, then he can only update the appearance of the product without affecting its frame.
- Saving family budget.
- A person does not have to throw away furniture that is outdated. You can give old interior items a new life.
But you need to understand that this work will require some effort and will take some time.
What designs are in fashion now?
Before you sheathe a sofa, you need to understand what design a person wants to see at home. Some come up with original covers themselves, others take ideas from the Internet. You can decorate the sofa with pillows, it will immediately change.
There is a technique called patchwork. She is in demand these days. Unusual applications on the upholstery look good. Modern designers offer leather and denim options. Tapestry, velour, as well as specialjacquard for upholstered furniture. Artificial leather is often used.
What materials do you need to work?
Often people are interested in how to sheathe a sofa at home. To do this, prepare the following materials:
- Upholstery fabric.
- Fittings.
- It is important to choose foam of a certain thickness.
- Edges will be required in order to mask the seams.
- Felt.
- For filling you will need a synthetic winterizer, you can use batting.
- You need to think about the fastener in advance, usually a zipper is installed.
- Buttons for decoration.
The main task is the selection of fabric. It is important to choose a material that will last a long time and not get bored. You should take fabric with a small margin.
What tools do you need for upholstery?
Before you sheathe the sofa yourself, you need to prepare all the necessary tools. This is:
- Sewing machine and sewing meter.
- Large size needle set for coarse fabrics.
- Threads (better to choose high strength). You can take threads from polyester.
- A set of screwdrivers (it is better to choose flat models for work).
- Hammer, square and metal ruler.
- Anti-stapler (needed to remove old staples from the sofa).
- Pliers and scissors, you will also need a screwdriver and a drill.
- A set of wrenches, 8 to 19 millimeters in diameter.
- Side cutters, as well as a special stapler forfurniture.
- Staples from 6 to 8 millimeters.
- Chalk and glue.
Preparatory stage
How to sheathe a sofa with your own hands? Step by step instructions will make the job easier. There are several stages. The furniture must first be disassembled. You need to remove the old pillows and decor. It is necessary to separate the back from the sofa. To do this, use pre-prepared tools. In the same way, the sidewalls are separated from the sofa. The seat is dismantled from the base. It is important not to lose fasteners. It is better to put them together in a separate container.
What should I do first?
Before you sheathe the sofa, you should remove the old upholstery. To do this, you need to use an anti-stapler, you will also need a flat screwdriver. According to the samples of the old upholstery, you can cut out new elements for the upholstery of the sofa. The old foam must be thrown away. Instead, it is worth putting a new layer, or synthetic winterizer. When working, be extremely careful not to tear the old fabric.
After dismantling, you need to understand if the spring block or frame has broken. If there are minor damage, they need to be repaired. It is important to strengthen the joints and tighten the screws until they stop.
Sewing pattern
Taking the old upholstery of the sofa as a sample, you need to make patterns from the new fabric. It must be remembered that allowances must be left for the seams. It is better to fasten the details first with special needles, and only then stitch them. Patterns must be of high quality, the appearance of the sofa depends on this.
How to calculatehow much fabric do you need?
To calculate the right amount of fabric, add the length and width of a piece of furniture. The resulting number is multiplied by two, as a result, the footage necessary for covering the sofa is obtained. The most difficult to do the calculation for the corner models.
If a person has chosen a large ornament for his furniture, or the sofa will be striped, you need to cut the fabric in one direction. The only disadvantage of this method is the increased cost of upholstery.
Don't forget about the extra inches that go into the seams. It is best to take a meter more than required when buying upholstery material.
It is better to make the filler from foam rubber, and buy two sheets of 20 millimeters each. A layer of felt is laid between them. If thick foam rubber is used, then it is better to wrap it with a thin layer of padding polyester. Only then can the material be sheathed with upholstery fabric.
How to choose a quality foam rubber?
For a sofa, you need to choose high-quality foam rubber that will not “sag”. It must be remembered that this material has small pores. If you squeeze it with your hand, it immediately straightens back. It turns out the original form.
Decoration step
Many people ask how to sheathe a sofa so that you can add unusual decor. Unusual prints will add originality. You can make bright pillows or the back of a sofa. You can add one large image to the case.
Upholstery looks good, on which fabrics of different colors are combined. Some connect the stripwith squares, or make strips from different types of fabric.
You can make several different cases and change them as needed. If there are children, it is better to choose a material that is easy to clean and has water-repellent properties. If a person wants to see bright colors, then saturated colors are best done in the center of the sofa. More neutral tones are best placed at the edges. You can add a twist to the design by making pillows of an unusual shape. They can be round or triangular. Fur inserts look interesting.
Corner sofa upholstery
If a person is interested in how to sheathe a corner sofa, then one should start from skills. If the owner of the furniture is engaged in sheathing and upholstery for the first time, then it is not recommended to use leather, as well as its substitute. It is better to choose simple fabrics. The most time consuming is the dismantling of the corner sofa. The stage of cutting the fabric, as well as sewing new parts, will be difficult. More fabric will be required, and material costs will increase accordingly.
Mechanical stapler required for assembly. The upholstery should be evenly stretched over the details of the sofa. You need to make sure that the picture is not distorted.
Many people use microvelours for corner sofas. This fabric is highly durable. It doesn't fade with age. This material does not collect dust. People who have cats say that cats do not peel off such upholstery.
Faux suede is a good option. This material does not require additional care and is easy to clean. It is recommended to use in families where there ischildren and animals.
What should I pay attention to when choosing a material for upholstery of furniture?
One of the important issues when upholstering a sofa is the choice of fabric. Please note:
- Design features of the sofa, as well as its type (corner, sofa-book).
- Room design.
- The complexity of the lining and sheathing of this type of structure.
- Price per meter of fabric. If the design of the sofa is very old, you need to consider whether it is advisable to sheathe it with expensive material.
- The place where the sofa will stand. If they plan to put it in the kitchen, then it is better to stay on the skin, or its substitute. If you choose a fabric, it will quickly get dirty, plus everything it absorbs odors. Few people like it if the sofa smells like food. Therefore, some stop at a simple leatherette.
- Thermal jacquard is currently a good buy for kitchen sofas.
Summing up
So, we figured out how to sheathe a sofa with fabric. Thus, you can significantly change the look of the furniture. In addition, the skin has many advantages:
- Large selection of textiles. You can choose any upholstery material.
- If the frame of the structure is broken, it is possible to repair it or change it.
- An old sofa will look like new and last just as long. It often happens that old structures are much stronger than new ones. Such sofas serve after changing the upholstery for a long time.years.
In addition, you can save money. But you need to understand that plating will require certain materials, time, some skills and a set of tools. This work will take more time than buying a new sofa, but the result will definitely please. As a result, we will have reliable furniture that will last at least another 5-10 years.
