How to Do Rounded Corners When Reupholstering Chairs
Reupholstering chairs updates their design and transforms the worn-out pieces of furniture to appear almost new. Covering decorative fabric on rounded corners is not as easy as upholstering straight or square corners. However, a clean, round corner is not so difficult to achieve, and requires patience, practice and a steady hand. Once you learn the art of reupholstering rounded cushions and seat corners, you can create a custom look in your home whenever you desire, saving on extra costs otherwise given to a professional.
Step 1
Secure the new fabric along the straight or long edges of the chair using staples. Ensure the fabric is long enough to cover the seat and its bottom, so the staples you insert are not visible along its front. Leave the fabric along the corners undone, so the square ends of the fabric stick out.
Step 2
Hold the fabric along a corner of the furniture and make small pleats using your fingers, from one end of the fabric to the middle. Press and hold the tiny pleats down along the bottom of the furniture to keep the fabric from bunching at the front, where it is visible. Form pleats until you reach the middle of the corner.
Step 3
Pull the fabric taut to prevent wrinkles and secure this edge to the bottom using two to three staples.
Step 4
Hold the fabric along the other end of the same corner and begin to form tiny pleats, similar to the ones you made along its other half. Continue forming pleats until you reach the middle of the fabric. Pull the fabric taut and secure it to the underside of the piece with staples.
Step 5
Inspect the face or front of the piece of furniture along the rounded corner. You may notice a tiny “lip” in the fabric along the center of the corner where you inserted the staples. Pull this section of fabric taut along the underside and create tiny pleats on either end until it is smooth when viewed from above. Insert a staple into this section of fabric to prevent the lip from forming. Repeat the process of securing the fabric to the undersides of the remaining corners along the furniture.
Step 6
Trim excess upholstery fabric along the underside of the furniture with sharp scissors.
References
Tips
- Depending on the size of the rounded corners, form 1/4- to 1-inch-wide pleats to prevent the fabric from bunching.
Writer Bio
Tanya Khan is a freelance author and consultant, having written numerous articles for various online and print sources. She has a Master of Business Administration in marketing but her passion lies in writing.
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