Sofas have always been and will be the main subject of the interior of the apartment and house. It is cozy and comfortable with him. Unfortunately, over time, its appearance deteriorates. Therefore, it is important to know how to change the upholstery of the sofa with your own hands. Such work, though laborious, but accessible to everyone. This process is described in the article below.
Choose fabric
Before you change the upholstery of the sofa, you must select the appropriate material. Now there are many types of fabrics, so choosing the perfect option is not so easy. What to do? It is necessary to determine how often and in what conditions the sofa is used. When there are children, they are likely to stain the upholstery. There may also be pets that scratch the material and leave hair on the sofa. This is an important factor when choosing a fabric.
There are 3 groups of materials used in sofa upholstery:
- non-woven - flocked material;
- textile - jacquard, velor, tapestry;
- natural and animal-derived fabrics– leather, fur.
Each material has its own characteristics, allowing you to make a choice. Genuine leather is one of the highest quality - a luxurious and expensive fabric for furniture upholstery. Such a coating can serve for a long time, but only if it is not scratched. When using leather, experts advise entrusting the reupholstering of the sofa to professionals, as there are many nuances of this work.
Eco-leather is also for sale. This is a substitute for natural fabric, but in terms of characteristics it is no worse than the main material. If flocked material is interesting, then you need to know that if there are pets, the furniture will be in wool. And if the sofa is their favorite place, then there will also be sand and dirt on it. In this case, you will often have to clean the furniture, and this is done with a stiff brush and soapy water or a washing vacuum cleaner.
Practical and easy to use is a textile material. It is perfectly cut, stretched and attached to sofa fragments. It is important that the upholstery meets the requirements of the owner of the furniture, as in the next 5-7 years you will have to be content with your choice.
Benefit of self-employment
It's good if the sofa has a quality base. Old furniture is much better than new. But still, the upholstery is gradually losing its shape. Benefits of refurbishing a sofa yourself:
- The upholstery can be done with any fabric you like, and painterly details can be added to your liking.
- By carrying out replacement work, you canrepair the frame or spring block.
- Outdated sofas are usually the strongest and best quality, and with the replacement of upholstery it will be possible to extend their life.
- You don't have to spend a lot of money when working on your own, and new furniture is much more expensive.
- No need to throw away your favorite furniture.
The appearance of the sofa depends on the upholstery. It deteriorates from various factors, so replacement may be required. Only specialists are capable of doing quality work, but you can do it yourself if you have experience.
Design
To change the design of the sofa, you can sew a cover, make pillows, capes. The furniture will have an updated look. Moreover, you can make accessories from the same fabric as the main upholstery. But contrast is also used, which also looks no less advantageous. If you need a hauling, then it can be done partially, replacing only some parts of the upholstery. There are many types here - from standard to creative.
The patchwork cape looks extraordinary. You can make an unusual application and stick it on the upholstery. For the waist, denim is also used, which will make the sofa original. Removable covers are also sewn from clothing materials.
It is important that the upholstery material is not only beautiful and suitable for the interior, but also of high quality. Then it will be resistant to various damages. This is especially important if you have small children and pets at home. Durable material eliminates frequent furniture repairs.
Types of damage
Furniture damage varies by "severity." Depending on the "injury", a different set of works may be required. Types of damage can be as follows:
- Only the fabric has become unusable, that is, there are no dips in the soft part and protruding parts. The upholstery will then need to be replaced.
- In some areas there are sagging places. The damage is due to the wear of the components of the soft part. Sometimes you need to replace the synthetic winterizer, other underlying layers. In difficult cases, repair of spring blocks, if any, or foam rubber, if the furniture is spring, is needed. If the upholstery is decent, then it is washed and used again.
- May be a dip at the bottom of the seat. Sometimes, due to heavy loads, the springs break through the bottom of the frame. This usually happens if it is made of fiberboard. Then you will need to disassemble everything, remove the spring block, replace the fiberboard, preferably with plywood.
- Sometimes there are damages in the frame. A common problem is cracks in the frame bars. Furniture will need to be completely disassembled, broken bars replaced, and then everything restored. This is an absolute sofa upholstery.
These are just the main types of damage. Therefore, the upholstery of a sofa can consist of different jobs that require certain skills. It may require both replacement upholstery and a complete update, including the frame. The work becomes more complicated if spring blocks are provided in the furniture. They can be replaced with foam rubber or furniture silicone. If everything is done correctly, the furniturewill be even more convenient: poorly tightened springs cause a lot of inconvenience.
Soft part
The seat and back of the sofa are made by:
- without springs;
- with high density foam;
- with latex foam;
- with springs;
- with classic springs that are connected in one block;
- with serpentine springs supporting a foam or latex backing.
These are the most common types of sofa seats. In expensive models, the spring block is supplemented with a layer of polyurethane foam or latex, making the seat elastic and comfortable. A synthetic winterizer or thermal felt is also laid. They are used in inexpensive sofas. In the old "exhibits" there is matting or burlap, batting, horsehair, dried seaweed. During furniture repair, the filling must be replaced with the same or similar materials.
What is required?
Such work is painstaking, so everything you need must be prepared in advance. To reupholster a sofa, you will need:
- Wrenches, screwdrivers and pliers. Furniture will need to be dismantled.
- Side cutter and staple remover. Such devices easily remove the old upholstery of the sofa. But if it is not possible to buy these tools, then a regular knife and scissors will do.
- Large scissors, a small bar of soap, thread and a sewing machine. It is advisable to choose tailor scissors, since it is easier to cut dense material with them. Soap will perfectly perform markings along the line of the future cut.
With the help of such devices, it will be possible to change the upholstery of the sofa at home. In order for all the work to be done clearly, you must follow a simple instruction. With its exact observance, success is guaranteed.
Stage 1. Beginning
To change the upholstery of the sofa yourself, you need to disassemble the furniture. If it is presented as a complex structure that has numerous repeating elements, then you need to number them - this simplifies assembly.
All fasteners should be put in a box or jar so that nothing is lost. So, all bolts and nuts will be safe until the sofa is re-upholstered.
Step 2. Remove old upholstery
To reupholster a sofa, you need to remove the old material. This must be done carefully, as the upholstery will be a template for cutting. Be sure to rip the seams so that there is no error in determining the size. Usually upholstery fabric is fixed with studs.
Do not tear the material without first removing the fasteners. An inaccuracy in the pattern of a new upholstery can lead to poor quality results.
Step 3: Eliminate deficiencies
We need to examine the mechanisms and fragments of the sofa. This will allow you to troubleshoot and fix them - when the furniture is disassembled, this is not difficult.
Many items are sold as spare parts in furniture stores. It is advisable to take a broken part with you to pick upsuitable option for it. If all parts are working properly, then you just need to lubricate them with machine oil so that there is no squeak.
Step 4. Fabric preparation
You can start working with upholstery. It should be steamed to remove a clear pattern. This is done quickly and simply - the fabric is ironed with an iron, but sprayed with water in advance. It is necessary to ensure that all seams, bends and corners are smoothed - every millimeter of material is important in the issue of upholstery replacement.
Stage 5. Main work
Before dragging the sofa, a pattern is made. To do this, the material is spread on a flat surface, preferably on the floor. It still needs to be fixed. Steamed old upholstery is superimposed on top, and 2 layers of matter are noticeably chipped off with pins.
Then outline the outline of the upholstery with soap. It is necessary to cut the material along the marked lines, then remove the pins and sew all the seams on the sewing machine.
Finishing
Now you can reupholster the sofa. The material is stretched over the furniture. For this, a stapler is used, while it is necessary to monitor the uniformity of the stretch and the absence of distortion of the pattern on the fabric. To perform such work, it is advisable to involve an assistant - one person will pull and hold the material, and the other will fix it. After that, you need to collect all the elements of the sofa. That's all, you can evaluate the result.
When do you need specialist help?
Although you can change the upholstery of the sofaindependently, it is still better to do this with experience and skill. You need to contact specialists in the following cases:
- Furniture is complex, making assembly difficult.
- Upholstery is complex - includes different structural elements, since you need to repeat all of them, which is unlikely to work out without experience.
- Old upholstery worn out - likely to require replacement filler, spring, which requires specific knowledge and experience.
- The sofa is very expensive.
- If the sofa will be upholstered with genuine leather or eco-leather. After all, experience is needed to work with such fabrics.
If you entrust the work to a specialist, you will get an excellent result. High-quality close-fitting furniture will make it comfortable. You just need to properly care for the matter, and then its appearance will always be attractive.
Where to change the upholstery of the sofa? Similar work is carried out by many firms that are in every city. Experts perform upholstery quickly and efficiently. Properly done work will allow you to get a sofa that will last long enough.
