You upholster a bar stool with a back by treating the seat and the backrest as two separate jobs. Remove the seat pad and cover it first, working foam, wadding and fabric from the centre of each side outwards. Then cover the back, which usually means wrapping the front face, pulling the fabric through or around the frame, and finishing the rear with either a stapled panel or a neatly folded edge. The back is where most projects go wrong, so plan that stage before you start cutting.<\/p>\n
The whole job takes an afternoon for one stool if you have the right tools to hand. A staple gun, sharp scissors, a flat blade screwdriver, pliers for removing old staples, spray adhesive and a tape measure will cover it. A pneumatic or electric staple gun makes a real difference across a set of four.<\/p>\n
Take photographs from several angles before you dismantle anything. When you reach the corners of the backrest three hours later, those pictures will tell you how the original was folded, and factory folds are usually the neatest solution available.<\/p>\n
Check the frame while it is stripped. A loose joint is far easier to reglue now than after new fabric is on, and a stool that flexes will stress the upholstery at its edges. Tighten every fixing, and if a joint moves, take it apart, clean the old glue away and reassemble it properly.<\/p>\n
Look at how the back is constructed. Three arrangements are common. A separate padded back panel that unbolts from the frame is the easiest to work with. A back that is upholstered directly onto a plywood or timber panel within the frame needs care at the edges. An open frame back where fabric is pulled around a shaped rail is the most demanding, because there is nowhere to hide staples.<\/p>\n
Measure the widest and deepest points of the seat, then add the depth of the padding on each side plus 8cm for pulling and stapling. Do the same for the front and rear faces of the back. Add the figures together, allow for pattern repeats if your fabric has one, and buy a little more than the sum suggests.<\/p>\n
As a rough guide, one bar stool with a back typically needs around 1m of 140cm wide fabric. Patterned fabric that needs centring can push that to 1.5m.<\/p>\n
Choose the fabric for the job rather than the look alone. Upholstery weight fabric with a rub count suitable for domestic use will survive a kitchen; dress fabric will not. Fabrics with a slight stretch forgive uneven pulling, while linens show every inconsistency. Velvet requires you to keep the pile running in one consistent direction across both seat and back, and getting that wrong makes the two parts look like different colours.<\/p>\n
Work slowly and keep the old cover intact. Lever staples out with a flat screwdriver and pull them with pliers rather than tearing fabric off, since every torn piece loses you a pattern.<\/p>\n
Lay the removed pieces out flat and label them with chalk on the reverse. These become your templates, and they are more accurate than anything you will measure yourself. Note which edge was the top of each piece.<\/p>\n
Assess the foam once exposed. Foam that springs back when pressed is worth keeping. Foam that stays compressed or crumbles at the edges should be replaced, because new fabric over dead foam looks tired within weeks. For seats, 50mm high density foam is a sensible standard; backs usually take 25mm to 40mm.<\/p>\n
Bond new foam to the seat base with spray adhesive, then trim it flush with the board using a long bladed knife or an electric carving knife, which cuts foam more cleanly than scissors. Add a layer of polyester wadding over the top, wrapping it slightly over the edges. Wadding is what stops the foam edge showing as a hard line through the fabric.<\/p>\n
Lay the fabric face down, centre the seat on it, and put one staple in the middle of the back edge. Pull to the front, staple the middle of that edge, then do the same on the left and right. Those four staples set the tension for the whole piece, so check the pattern is straight before you go further.<\/p>\n
Work outwards from each of those four staples in alternating directions, placing staples around 3cm apart and keeping even tension. Stop 5cm short of each corner. Corners are done last, once the flat areas are settled.<\/p>\n
For round seats, gather the fabric into small even pleats rather than one large fold. For square seats, pull the corner point straight down and staple, then fold the two side flaps in over it like wrapping a parcel. Trim excess bulk from inside the fold so the corner sits flat.<\/p>\n
If the back panel detaches, cover it exactly as you did the seat, then refit it. If not, start with the front face, which is what people see and touch. Staple the fabric along the top edge first, working from the centre out, then pull down and secure the bottom edge where it disappears behind the seat.<\/p>\n
Where the back meets the uprights, cut into the fabric to allow it to wrap cleanly around each post. Cut carefully and slightly short of where you think you need to, since a cut that is too generous cannot be undone. Fold the raw edge under before stapling so no fraying shows.<\/p>\n
The rear face is finished either with an outside back panel or with a folded edge. For a panel, cut the fabric to size, fold the edges under, and either staple close to the frame edge with the folded edge covering the front piece’s staples, or use a card strip along the top edge to create a crisp line. Studying how a factory finished example handles this is genuinely useful, and the modern fabric bar stools UK<\/a> range shows several approaches to the outside back.<\/p>\n Where the frame is open and staples would be visible, use a slim decorative braid or piping glued over the staple line. This is a legitimate finish, not a compromise, and it is how many manufacturers handle the same problem.<\/p>\n Trim excess fabric back to around 1cm from the staple line, then check every edge by running a hand along it. Anything you can feel will be visible once the light catches it.<\/p>\n Refit the seat to the frame, tightening screws evenly rather than fully tightening one at a time. If the original had a dust cover on the underside, replace it with black upholstery cambric, which keeps the inside clean and looks finished.<\/p>\n Once complete, treat the fabric with a suitable protector before the stool goes into service. It is far easier to do now than around an assembled kitchen.<\/p>\n Reupholstery makes sense when the frame is solid and the design is one you like. It is less worthwhile when a gas lift has failed, when the frame has been repaired more than once, or when you need four stools to look identical and the fabric you want is not available in enough length.<\/p>\n At Furniture in Fashion<\/a> we hold a large selection of ready upholstered seating across the modern bar stools furniture UK sale<\/a> collection, including options in easier care finishes. Free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes is included, and returns are available up to 30 days.<\/p>\nFinishing and Reassembly<\/h3>\n
When Reupholstery Is Not the Answer<\/h3>\n