Materials and Tools

• Collect the right tools to reupholster your furniture. To do the job properly you will need a pair of needle-nose pliers to remove old staples, a staple gun to attach the new fabric, a rubber mallet, scissors, welting to trim the furniture, glue gun and cotton batting to cushion the furniture for sitting.
  
  Choose the correct fabric to reupholster your furniture. This may be the hardest task of the project. Find a fabric that is soft, will wear well and is aesthetically appealing. If you are a bit clumsy, or rough with your furniture, consider getting a stain-resistant fabric for your furniture. Measure the furniture's area using a measuring tape. Allow for a little extra fabric in case you make a mistake.
  
  

The Task

• Remove all staples from the furniture you wish to reupholster and take off the old fabric. Use the needle-nose pliers to get the staples out of the fabric. If the batting underneath the fabric looks worn out, remove it and replace it with new batting. Stretch the batting over the area and staple it down. If you are replacing the batting, and the fabric, of a cushion that is on a wood board, put the cushion upside down, with the batting on the floor. Place your fabric under the cushion and pull it over the batting, stretch it tight, then staple it to the bottom of the cushion board. If you are reupholstering a cushion that does not have a board, cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover the entire cushion, then sew the piece together, around the cushioning.
  
  To reupholster an armchair or a couch, drape the fabric over the back of the piece of furniture and tuck it into all the crevices so that the fabric hangs in place. Pull the fabric tight, then staple it into the wood frame of the furniture. Then cut pieces for the arms of the furniture and repeat the draping and stapling.
  
  

Welting and Piping

• Hide any unsightly staples by gluing piping around the edges and corners of the piece of furniture to cover the areas where the fabric was attached to the wood. Piping is a thin cord covered in a trimming fabric that is placed over the areas where you have stapled your furniture. This gives the trim a rounded, raised look. To make piping, take a 1 1/2-inch-wide piece of fabric and wrap it around a standard size furniture cord. This is usually found in a 5/32-inch size. Sew your measure of fabric around the cord and trim any excess fabric away. Use a hot glue gun to attach the piping.
  
  Upholstery trim, or welting, is another good way to cover staples. To apply welting to the furniture apply a small amount of hot glue to the welting fabric and press the fabric to your furniture piece in the desired position. Work slowly so that you do not put the welting in the wrong place; glue can stain the fabric.