Hi there,

I was given a pecan wood dining room set with 6 chairs. Everything looks fine except for the chair seats. The previous owner apparently tried to restuff them herself with I would guess is polyfill, and the seats are horribly lumpy. Plus, the seat size itself is rather small compared to our old seats. I want to create a larger seat base and fill it with foam. When you buy dining room furniture from the high end stores, what are they mostly filled with..batting or foam? Which would you recommend?

I know I will have to have some plywood pieces cut for the base, and I'll get foam/batting/upholustry fabric from Joann's. How do I cut the foam? Do I just trace the shape of my plywood piece and lay the fabric over it? Do I cut it a little larger since the pulling of the fabric and stapling will bring it in some?

Another thing is that two of the seats are captains chair. When cutting the plywood piece, do I just have them cut inserts out to accomodate the arms? When cutting the fabric and foam for these, do I do the same thing..trace the shape of the plywood?

Thanks for your help in advance

-Cassie

 

I'm no expert, but I am in the middle of doing somethng similar. I built a new dining room table and we're recycling the chairs from the old set. Unfortunately the seat base panels are particle board as is parts of the backrest panel. Consequently I have to remake these from scratch.

1. I'm using 3" foam.
2. Use an electric carving knife to cut the foam.
3. For upholstery I dismantled one of the chair seat & back cushions and gave the coverings to my seamstress (aka "Mom") who is going to use them as a pattern to make replacements. Actually what she said she was going to do is use them as a pattern to make a "master" out of cheaper material to make sure everything fits and then use THOSE as the patterns.
4. The base material for the bottom and back will now be 3/4" plywood instead of particle board which, frankly, is pretty much crap in any application.
5. If you are going to try to attach the upholstery over the filler/foam without sewing you will probably end up with some material bunched up in some spots, especially the corners. Better to angle cut the corners and sew together.
6. Sounds like a good plan on the captains chairs.

Hopefully a real upholstery expert will come along with better guidance.

 

Tow guy, your instructions are very good!

The only thing I'm not understanding is when you're asking what they're filled with. Is this a drop in seat or a separate cushion that sits on top but stapled to the underside of the seat?
Sometimes the drop in kind can be filled with just batting and usually the kind that sit on top will be foam wrapped with batting and then covered with muslin first, then the fabric.
Have you ripped one of the old ones to see how it's made? Will a larger base look in proportion to the chair?
Sorry, I have more questions than answers.

 

Good morning to you!

The type of seat we're talking about is originally a drop in seat. When you're looking down at the seat from above, you see the seat cushion, but it has a wood border around it. The cushion doesn't go all the way to the edge. I'm trying to create a larger cushion base, so I'm going to convert if from a drop-in to one that sits on top using plywood and all the upholustry is stapled underneath then the whole seat is screwed to the chair using L-brackets. When I was asking about what the seat is filled with..I think you already answered for me. I guess I'll use 3 inch foam, then cover that with a layer of batting, then a layer of muslin, then the fabric? Does that sound right to you? What is muslin and how does that make for a better seat? Where do I get it?

My biggest question is how to cut the foam? I will us a electric carving knife (thanks tow guy) but do I cut it in the same size of my piece of plywood or do I cut it larger? Or smaller?

 

Also, towguy...when you say:

5. "If you are going to try to attach the upholstery over the filler/foam without sewing you will probably end up with some material bunched up in some spots, especially the corners. Better to angle cut the corners and sew together."

What are you talking about sewing together? Sew the foam/batting/muslin together first, then apply the upholustry over it then pull and staple it to the plywood?

 

OK, I just wonder if the seat will be too high since it's a drop in originally. You might want to make one first before you cut everything out, to make sure it will work out OK.
Unless you want to make a boxing strip, I wouldn't use bigger than a 2" foam if you want to pull the fabric over. I would rather see you use a good high density foam, medium, which you'd have to buy at an upholstery shop (there are online sources also) and they will even cut the foam for you. The foam they sell at Joann's really is not good at all. The batting you can get at Joann's and muslin is just an inexpensive lining, or you can use any cheap lining, which you can get at Joann's also. You don't have to use any lining, but it makes for a nicer finish, I think. You'll also need to buy some black stuff called "Cambric" (also at Joann's) which will go on the underside of the seat when you're all done, to cover the wood and the raw edges and to keep the fabric from fraying. Cut your foam 1/2" bigger than the wood and glue it to the wood to keep it from shifting around (any glue). What Tow guy is talking about with the corners is to slightly round them so it's easier to cover them. The corners will be the hardest part and you'll have to pull and tug at the corners to keep them smooth and neat looking and not bunchy. Staple the centers of the fabric first and do the corners last. Just cut the batting big enough to go over the edges, don't bring it to the underside. Then cover with the muslin/lining, if desired, then the fabric. Cut the fabric bigger and then you can trim some if necessary. You can also make cording to go around the bottom if you want. Then you'll cut a piece of the cambric to come almost to the edge and staple all around.
There's different methods to do this, but I think this may be easiest. If you have more questions (in case I left something out or you don't understand something) please ask.

 

Thanks for all the info. This is crystal clear. I'm ready to get started.