Covering A Chair Seat With Leather

[SimonJester753]

I have these instructions:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6768122_recover-chair-cushions-leather.html

One difference is this is a telephone table and one of the corners of the seat is notched for the outside support on the back rest.

I'm wondering about how to go about dealing with the notched corner.

[Leatherimages]

I have these instructions:

http://www.ehow.com/...ns-leather.html

One difference is this is a telephone table and one of the corners of the seat is notched for the outside support on the back rest.

I'm wondering about how to go about dealing with the notched corner.

Well you don't make it easy to help.

If what you're going to cover is like the attachment shown on the back of the chair, I'd say cover it in blue painters tape, draw your cut lines, taking note of (we call them lasting) margins, peel it off, lay it on manilla folder material, and cut it out. Then just tune it up for accuracy.

Or, at least that would work if that's what you wanted to do.

Good luck,

Edited February 23, 2012 by Leatherimages

[SimonJester753]

No, it's just the seat cushion. It's basically square with one corner notched. Here's a picture of the seat covered in cloth.

Well you don't make it easy to help.

If what you're going to cover is like the attachment shown on the back of the chair, I'd say cover it in blue painters tape, draw your cut lines, taking note of (we call them lasting) margins, peel it off, lay it on manilla folder material, and cut it out. Then just tune it up for accuracy.

Or, at least that would work if that's what you wanted to do.

Good luck,

[Leatherimages]

Upholstery leather is usually very stretchy. Shouldn't be a problem.

Just pull the inside corner in first, and then distribute the wrinkles underneath.

If the leather is too firm, you could spray it with alcohol/water solution and gently stretch it into place.

Relief cuts may help, and may not even matter if it's hidden by the leg.

If you're unsure, cut a section and practice.

You can do it!

[WScott]

....and post lots of photos of your progress, so those of us too chicken to recover bar stools get to learn.

Edited February 24, 2012 by WScott

[mrdabeetle]

Upholstery is pretty easy once you get over the initial fear of screwing up. I like to punch holes around the edges that will be trimmed later. Then use twine to lace it up tight in all directions. This helps keep it snug over the form and helps hold everything together while you tack the leather down. It helps keep the wrinkles to a minimum as well. There is a bit more waste than if you were going by a pattern, but it works for me.

[SimonJester753]

Upholstery is pretty easy once you get over the initial fear of screwing up. I like to punch holes around the edges that will be trimmed later. Then use twine to lace it up tight in all directions. This helps keep it snug over the form and helps hold everything together while you tack the leather down. It helps keep the wrinkles to a minimum as well. There is a bit more waste than if you were going by a pattern, but it works for me.

That's an interesting idea. We only have the one chair and the leather is big enough, but there's not enough for another chair, so it's not like we need to conserve.

[DoubleC]

I have these instructions:

http://www.ehow.com/...ns-leather.html

One difference is this is a telephone table and one of the corners of the seat is notched for the outside support on the back rest.

I'm wondering about how to go about dealing with the notched corner.

I think Paul gave you the advice you need, now we want to see how you did it. Cheryl

[SimonJester753]

Well, here are some pictures. We hit a snag.

The leather is probably a bit thicker than what would be ideal. I don't know if you can see how thick it is in the photo. We can't just stretch it over the seat as it will bunch up in the corners.

We can't figure out how to do the corners. It seems to need some sort of gusset or something.

The one corner that is inset around the back rest is especially daunting, though that one will be snugged up against the back rest went it's done, so it may not matter as much as the front 2 corners.

I'm thinking we may need to stitch the corners. Probably do it flesh side out, then turn it inside out when we go to tack it down.

Anyone with a diagram or pattern for something like this?

I think Paul gave you the advice you need, now we want to see how you did it. Cheryl

[SimonJester753]

Here are 2 other pictures.

It's strange how the pictures come out sideways or upside down here, when I view them in Photoshop, they're fine. If I open them in a browser, they're not. So I rotated them 180 deg then saved then rotated them back, then saved again.

I guess it's because I'm left handed and my iPhone has some kind of image compensation where it knows which way is up and it can pass the info to Photoshop, but browsers don't read it.