Q&A for How to Reupholster Furniture

When reupholstering a chair, you'll first need to disassemble the cushion or the upholstered parts. Some chairs have seats that can be screwed right off, and some are attached. If the padding is in good condition, you can cover the seat easily with new fabric using either upholster glue or staples. If you cannot dislodge the upholstered area of a chair, you have to neatly tuck the fabric around the edges and add something that will conceal the seams. Either roping or fabric beading will work.

Pull the headboard away from the wall, and remove the fabric carefully, using a knife, screwdriver, pliers, or a seam knife. Remove and store any padding. Use the fabric as a "pattern" for the new material. Reinstall any padding, and position the new material, attaching it the way the old material was attached. If decorative tacks were used, you may need to replace them with new tacks.

Carefully remove the fabric (or leather). Save the cushion or padding. Use the fabric as a pattern for cutting out new fabric. Machine- or hand-sew the new cover and stuff it with the old (or new) padding or cushion. Reinstall.

It's hard to say without seeing it. If you're asking about upholstery, fabric panels are sometimes attached to wooden elements using tack strips folded within the fabric and pounded in place with a rubber mallet. They can be removed with a prying tool such as a screwdriver.

Yes. For removal, the tool looks like an adapted flat-head screwdriver, but with a notch out of the middle. For nailing them on, the tool is a small, skinny hammer with magnetized tip.

Remove the old fabric, spread it out, and measure it. Allow extra for the welting (cording covering seams).

If there are "plugs" over the screws, remove them with pliers, a knife, or an ice pick.