Reupholstering furniture can bring new life to old chairs, couches and ottomans. Whether the fabric is worn, or it doesn't match your décor anymore, reupholstering is an economical, satisfying choice. As a professional in the business once said, "reupholstering is not about expertise, it's about patience and detail." In this Crafty Chic project, we'll take you step-by-step on how to reupholster a wingback chair. Don't be afraid to reupholster and give your furniture a facelift -- all it takes is a little "elbow grease" to do the job right.

By Lori Garcia, editor-in-chief

From top to bottom: flexible jaw metal stripping, cardboard striping and welt cord.

Supplies:

- 11 yards of upholstery fabric (You can purchase non-upholstery fabric at a cheaper price, but it generally will not wear very well. Also, a lot of upholstery fabric is stain-guarded.) To calculate the amount of fabric you will need for your wingback, other chair or couch, consult a fabric store's upholstery guide.

- 1/2 inch thick batting for extra padding if needed.

- needle-nose pliers or a claw tool used to remove old staples

- welting or piping, the thick cord used to create trimming

- rubber mallet

- sharp scissors for cutting fabric

- staple gun and stables (It's not necessary to have an electric staple gun, but it will make the job a lot easier on your hands. They are relatively inexpensive and can be used for a variety of jobs around the house in addition to upholstery)

- cardboard stripping, you can find this at a local upholstery shop

- rigid metal stripping, you can find this at a local upholstery shop

- flexible jaw metal stripping, you can find this at a local upholstery shop

- hot glue gun and glue sticks

- ice pick tool (basically anything sharp and pointy will do)

Step by Step:

1. Begin stripping the chair by removing old staples with needle-nose pliers or a claw tool. (SEE FIGURES A & B) Be sure that each piece comes out mostly intact so you can use them as patterns in subsequent steps.

BEFORE	FIGURE A	FIGURE B

2. With the upholstery fabric laid flat, place old pieces on top and cut out new pieces, leaving a generous seam allowance. (SEE FIGURE C) Be sure to keep each piece labeled so you don't forget which is which.

3. Place padding over chair in bare spots. This chair had holes in the foam so the covered buttons could be easily inserted. In the new version, buttons are not going to be used, so the holes in the foam were filled in with padding as well. (SEE FIGURE D)

FIGURE C	FIGURE D

The Back

4. Drape the fabric you cut out for the back over the back of the chair. Tuck in the sides and pull them through the back. (SEE FIGURE E)

5. Holding the fabric taut with one hand, stable the top back into the piece of wood that spans the back. (SEE FIGURE F) (Crafty Chic Tip: You can reupholster by yourself, but it's much easier to work with a second pair of hands.)

6. Trim off the excess about 1/4 of an inch from the staples. (SEE FIGURE G)

7. Take the bottom of that same piece and pull it through to the back of the chair. Pulling it very taut, staple it to the upper wood bar that spans the back of the chair. There are two wood bars at this location, an upper and a lower. (CRAFTY CHIC TIP: It's imperative that you staple the back to the upper bar because you need to staple the seat piece to the lower bar in the subsequent steps.

8. Pull the sides through to the back and staple them to the wood bar frame, making sure you are pulling it very taut.

FIGURE E	FIGURE F	FIGURE G