Making upholstered furniture with your own hands

Where do we like to relax after a hard day at work? That's right, on a sofa or a soft comfortable chair, sitting in front of the TV with a cup of hot tea. Sofas are now a popular piece of furniture, there is quite a large selection in stores. Designers come up with more and more new models. Those who follow fashion and who have the means can change their sofa for a new one. What should those do who are short of money, but want to change, or are used to an old comfortable model, but the upholstery is already worn out?

For handy people who have done repairs at home or changed upholstery material, making upholstered furniture on their own will not be difficult. For those who are new to this business and do not have certain skills, it will, of course, be difficult.

The benefits of DIY

Making furniture at home is a fascinating and, most importantly, exciting process. If you have the desire and imagination, you will have not only a sofa in your home, but also other interesting and unusual upholstered furniture.

Making upholstered furniture with your own hands has many positive aspects or, in other words, advantages:

• You will bring to life the most unusual design ideas.
• This work is interesting and allows you to acquire skills in this interesting business.
• Allows you to save your family budget. Furniture made by yourself will cost significantly less than if you bought it in a store.
• The finished structure will be of high quality, since you will choose the material and components yourself.
• You will create an original item that will completely match the interior.
• The size will fit a specific place in the room.
• In case of wear and tear or other defects, you can easily replace the upholstery material.
• Upon completion of the work, you will feel an inner satisfaction from what you have done.
• Original furniture will become your pride. You will make upholstered furniture not only for your family and friends, who knows, maybe in the future you will open your own business.

We decide on the design and construction

Before you start making your masterpiece, take a closer look at the interior of the room, think about what kind of model you would like to make. Maybe it will be of an unusual design or you plan to create a sofa bed. You just want a cozy corner where you can sit, relax, comfortably settled on the sofa. In general, you need to decide what purpose the future furniture will have. Will the design include such furniture elements as armrests (they can be made in the form of shelves), drawers (or is a box for storing bedding inside supposed), folding mechanisms. It is necessary to select upholstery material according to the overall design of the room, decide on the filler.

Do you know how to make drawings correctly? Display the future sofa and diagrams of the necessary elements on paper. This will make it much easier to make an estimate and understand how much material will be needed.

What you will need for work

Basic principles of upholstered furniture manufacturing

When making upholstered furniture with your own hands, it is essential to adhere to certain principles:

• Firstly, the quality of the future design. You choose the material, folding mechanism, fittings, filler, upholstery material yourself, you create the furniture yourself. Thus, you get reliable upholstered furniture that meets the requirements, which will serve for a long time without any breakdowns.
• Secondly, a sofa or other piece of furniture should be impeccable in form, but at the same time simple. This will make the manufacturing work practical, less painstaking, spending a minimum of time and materials, and in the future will significantly simplify repairs and replacement of parts.
• Thirdly, ergonomic indicators. They determine the ratio of the design to the physical build of a person, his weight and general hygienic requirements - convenient and basic care of furniture.
• Fourthly, it must meet general aesthetic demands – it must not just be a comfortable piece of furniture, but must fit harmoniously into the overall environment, correspond to other furniture, fashion, and style.
• Fifthly, meet environmental requirements. When manufacturing upholstered furniture, materials should be used that do not contain harmful substances or contain the lowest level of them.

We create furniture upholstery

Before you start upholstering furniture, you need to decide on the material - leather or fabric. Your financial capabilities also influence the choice. You shouldn't choose leatherette - it won't last long. Remember the rules: furniture elements need to be covered with fabric before you start assembling the structure; when cutting, you need to take into account the hem allowances (about two centimeters); before you start cutting the material, make blanks.

Having taken the necessary measurements, we calculate the required length and width of the material. To make the upholstery last a long time, choose dense fabrics - chenille, tapestry, jacquard. They are better suited for work. We lay out the blanks on the selected material, outline with chalk, not forgetting about the allowances, cut out. In this way, we make patterns for the back, armrests, back wall. We sew on a sewing machine and put them on the furniture elements, then assemble the entire structure. The pillows for the sofa are sewn in the same way.

The final stage is decoration

Decorating is one of the best ways to add uniqueness, elegance to the environment, and to update the interior. If you have the desire and imagination, you can easily do this work yourself, without resorting to the help of designers.

Nowadays, the decoupage technique has found wide application – using thin napkins, you apply various patterns and designs to the surface of furniture.

If the upholstery is outdated or has become unusable, you can sew new covers and make decorative pillows. It is necessary to choose the upholstery fabric carefully - it should not fade or smell strongly, and the pile should not crumble. In fact, there is nothing complicated in the choice. To make the furniture look impressive, partner fabrics of a single color are chosen for upholstery. They are used to cover the armrests and lower lines, for other parts they use fabric with an image or a different color. To reduce fabric consumption, choose a material of a single color or with a small pattern.

The filler plays an important role in decorating upholstered furniture. If it has lost its elasticity and sagged, it must be replaced so that the furniture is not only beautiful, but also comfortable. Foam rubber, batting and synthetic padding are used from inexpensive means. The last option is the most common, using it as a filler, you will decorate the furniture in a short time. High-quality synthetic padding should be of the same thickness, dense enough and odorless. Foam rubber is no less popular, it should have a fine-pored structure. If it is instantly restored when pressed, then such a filler will last for quite a long time.

If the upholstery on your favorite sofa is worn out or there are stains on it that are impossible to get rid of, but you feel sorry to throw it away, since the furniture is still strong enough and can serve for many more years, then you can reupholster it by buying another fabric. If this work is difficult for you, but you sew well, then why not make new covers yourself, you can add drapery elements. If they get dirty, you can simply remove them and wash them.

When choosing a material, consider the overall environment, interior style and, of course, your taste. It is better to use fabrics of soft colors and sublime shades for decoration. The fittings should match the color of the material. Decorating furniture with your own hands, you will give it a second life, and the decor in the house will be original and unique.

Video: making a sofa with your own hands, how to make a sofa with your own hands

Interesting options for making upholstered furniture with your own hands: