Pleased I've started re-covering armchairs/ sofa myself

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I've braved stripping all the old material off and using this as a pattern to re-cover with tacks and a staple gun and dare I say it it's going really well and looks just as it did before but lovely as all the stained material has gone!!

I haven't done a re-upholstery course but have learnt just from dismantling the old covering what order to re-cover it in and it's addictive despite the hard work.

I guess this is quite a good thing given we couldn't afford to get a professional involved, and now my brother's asking if I can learn to make curtains too!!

have thought about doingthis myself. Did you get into online or in books?

I was just going to cover what's already on it with something else!! Do you have to take the old stuff off, if it's just got worn out bits but not dirty?

I bought a book but it turned out not to be relevant as was more about refurbishing the frame etc. than the fabric.

If you didn't want to strip the cover, I think you could just make loose covers which would also be washable?

Wow! Brilliant.

I always was terrified of making loose covers as the sewing looks so complicated, but I didn't realise you could just nail the fabric on.

I guess it depends on the sort of sofa.

yes i can't see myself havign the technology to actually make loose covers. Couldn't i just, as flight said, nail something over the top of it!!?

I was really surprised as assumed it was all sewn together but as soon as I started taking an armchair apart, I found there was barely any sewing and now I've nearly finished without even borrowing my friend's sewing machine as have managed by hand!

Mind you, ours were in such a state that I had nothing to lose.

I think loose covers might be harder in one respect in that you can't just use the current fabric as a pattern, so there might be more measuring involved!

I don't think nailing over the top would be as neat as for instance at each seam I had to sew in a trimming (basically a thick cord covered in my same fabric) so this wouldn't work.

Also, it did help having the old fabric to pin and cut round and I ironed each seam

where di you get you fabric, and what type would you reccomend, how did you choose. I think i would be pushed to choose!!! what a statement you could make with a new sofa covering!!!

v tempted, as mine is now 11 ys old, and from a differt lifetime almost!!!

yes iswym, i suppose there are so many type of sofa. Mine is a 3 seater bench seat type thing (good old ikea) and no cushions. it would be quite easy to nail/staple over in this instance!!

i always wanted a staple gun!!!!!

I looked in Peter Jones etc. but in the end I found a much cheaper fabric online and they sent me 8 different samples I'd chosen free so I could choose if any suited.

I used End Of Line Fabrics www.endoflinefabrics.co.uk/?gclid=CKWX84qO_5YCFQ7tlAodrFgVXw who were amazingly good value and could advise on whether the material was suitable for upholstery. They also sold me the right colour thread to match!

I really don't dare actually. Mine are all tightly covered, really complicated shapes and I think I might kill them

Piping as well....Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ........

BTW my staple gun was £6 from Sainsburies and comes with nails as well as staples!! I think I've got a bit obsessed as I keep talking upholstery to my poor friends!!

You need v roughly 9 metres for a small sofa I think, 6 for armchair but do check

I keep getting old furniture from the tipshop recycle warehouse and am thinking about re-covering a wicker chair I have recently found, so your tips are very useful LL

yerp, piping sounds tres difficile.

i wanna staple gun!!!

as mine is a bench type seat, how on earth would i attach fabric,say down the back, where you sit.

Piping v easy, honest! One long thin strip material, fold over thickish cord/ string and one row stitches to hold it tightly in place.
DarrellRivers I don't think my tips deserve the term useful as I'd never done this before and wouldn't have dared if our furniture was worth anything

Our sofa's a bench type thing too - and I've found I'd need a carpenter to fix the material properly down the back so just stuffing the long end down and putting some stitches in (with a curved needle I ordered pretending to know what I was doing) to hold it there. We do have seat cushions on top of ours though.

You do need perseverance as I've been doing this for weeks while our 2 year old naps which isn't often enough. Longest bit was stripping the chair as involved removing so many nails and tacks.
I also had to order bits and bobs like new stuffing as it's given a much smoother surface.
I'd better be off now as starting to sound like i've got a bit carried away but it's most satisfying when you've lived with scruffy coverings you hated

I've got two chairs I want to try recovering myself. I've got a book but have been a bit nervous to get started.

You have inspired me!

What book have you got trixym, might have to go off to the library tomorrow

My mum and I were supposed to be doing mine but the only bit she'll allow me to do is remove the old material!!! She's going on holiday today for three weeks and I have one half done chair with a million pins in it and one chair with no seat cushion because she's taken it to get new foam. I'm having a xmas party in 2 weeks and am 2 chairs down!!!!

I got my material from Ikea, £3.99 a metre and it's lovely. I went to quite a few places to look but the ones I really liked were £20 a metre. We needed approx 4 metres per chair but I bought about 12 just incase so will have loads left over, might drop hints for some matching curtains!!!

I've got this book

It looks quite good, but i haven't actually started yet.