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Question
I recently wrote asking about how best to cover a rocker that had been stripped. There is no padding or cover. It was stripped down to metal bars (rusted) in horizontal grid pattern on which I presume horsehair or foam was placed. Wondering how best to recover this chair. Do I need to look for springs on metal bars or is there some alternative way to do so? You said you needed a photo, so I'm uploading one.
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thanks.
Hello Brenda.
Although the metal strips are old they are not original to the chair and were used to replace jute webbing.
There is a very easy way to upholster this rocker. Cut a 1/4 inch thick piece of ply-wood to a size that is the exact size as the outer perimiter of the groove that is cut into the seat.
Put a 1" thick piece of foam on top of the ply-wood that is the exact same size as the plywood. Over the foam place a layer of padding material such as dacron batting.
Cut a piece of muslin that is a total of 5 inches larger than the plywood. Upholster the seat in the muslin fabric starting in the center of each side and the front and back. Then smoothing the fabric toward the corners upholster the whole seat. Trim away all the excess fabric.
Put another layer of dacron batting over the muslin and upholster the seat in the final fabric - following the same steps as the muslin.
Place the seat on the chair frame and from the bottom of the chair using 4 wood screws attach the seat to the chair, you may need to drill small pilot holes in the chair frame to prevent the chair wood from splitting.
If you do that you will have a beautiful seat that is as good as it gets, and that can be upholstered over and over again by removing the outer fabric and only replacing the top layer of dacron batting.
The seat I described above is called a "slip seat" and is the easiest of all upholstery projects to do. The important tip is to begin in the center of each side and work the fabric toward the corners, if you do that you should have no pleats or wrinkles but a smooth surface that looks similar to a mushroom cap.
I hope this helps. Have fun and when you are done sit down and relax. The chair you have is a great rocker - well worth doing a great job.
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Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks
Answers by Expert:
Mark H. Miller
Expertise
custom furniture upholsterery. Became journeyman custom upholsterer in 1969. Certified by Upholsterers Intl. Union. Worked at San Francisco`s most prestigious upholstering shop as senior upholsterer. Am now president of Domar Upholstered Furniture Inc. Have upholstered for Presidents Reagan, Nixon, Clinton and the Queen of England. formerly taught classes in custom upholstering at the San Francisco Community College. Happy to answer all your upholstering questions.
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