Starting with a seat frame made of ash, I began tacking on the jute webbing, leaving about a 1-in. tail on the end of the webbing.
I built this chair from scratch, but the finishing touch of upholstering the seat is what brought it to life. It’s comfortable to sit on, and despite my lack of upholstery experience, actually turned out looking pretty nice too.
I used traditional raw materials for the job: jute webbing, burlap, cotton muslin, and real curled horse hair. I also hammered in every upholstery tack by hand- no staple gun here. I don’t judge anyone who does use staples, but for this traditional piece, I wanted it to be authentic, and I also wanted it to be around for a long long time. These materials have been used for so long that I have no doubt that my seat will be sittable for decades…
Check out the photos to see the process and let me know what you think!
Like reading about this chippendale chair? Learn more about them here.
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Starting with a seat frame made of ash, I began tacking on the jute webbing, leaving about a 1-in. tail on the end of the webbing.
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After sinking a staggered row of tacks in the end of the webbing, I folded the tail over, and hammered in another row, this time staggering them around the first row.
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For a super strong seat, I used three strips of webbing in each direction, and wove them together. To keep the seat from sagging, the webbing has to be stretched really tight. It's pretty simple, but you need a webbing stretcher to do it- mine is an English style that I made myself from some hardwood scraps.
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With the webbing finished, I tacked down a burlap covering over it. Next I'll stuff the seat with horse hair, and the burlap provides a nice foundation to put it on.
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Curled horse hair provides most of the cushioning in the seat. I covered the seat with a uniform layer of hair, then stitched it to the burlap and kept stuffing the seat until it was shaped nicely with plenty of cushion.
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Next I stretched a thin muslin cover tight and smooth over the horsehair and tacked it to the bottom. Then came a layer of cotton batting over the muslin... I trimmed it to the shape of the seat, and rounded the top edges on all four sides too.
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Since this is a one-off side chair and not part of a set, I chose a brightly colored fabric with an interesting pattern so that it can stand alone in a room without looking like an orphaned member of a set. To choose how to align it on the seat, I fitted it in place and experimented until I liked the positioning.
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Tacking the cover in place wasn't easy- I took my time to get the fabric straight and stretch it evenly over the cushion, first attaching it from front to back.
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After the front and back were tacked down, I moved on to tack down each side, stretching it tight but making sure to keep the lines centered, and lastly trimmed off the extra fabric.
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The last step was to tack a covering of thin black fabric called cambric onto the bottom to serve as a dust cover and close up the seat. I liked that it made the bottom look really tidy, even though it won't really be seen very often.
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I popped the upholstered seat into the chair, then sat down to rest and admire my work. The seat is only held in place by gravity and friction, but some choose to put screws in from the bottom.
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Building this chair was a long process, but it didn't finally come together until I dropped the upholstered seat in place. The formal, brightly colored fabric makes this chair able to hold its own in a room, and adds a lot to the chair by drawing attention to the other design features.
Comments
A seat to be proud of, without a doubt! Clearly not your first seat using traditional upholstery methods and materials.
Great job!
Excellent work! You have created a family heirloom that can be passed down to future generations. The traditional upholstery adds real authentic appeal. Bravo!
Where did you get your horse hair? I haven't been able to locate a reliable supply.
Thanks for the comments- the upholstery work gets a little better each time I do it... it's certainly not for the faint of heart!
saschafer- I actually bought the horsehair for this project from a furniture maker friend, but a web search for "traditional upholstery supplies" brought up several online stores who carry it.
Also, the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) is a great resource for traditional work. A quick search of their forum should turn up a wealth of info.
http://www.sapfm.org/
@Ben,
Most of the suppliers in the US only offer blends (typically hog hair with a little bit of horse hair added), or else they list 100% horse hair, but it's perpetually out of stock.
The only vendors I've found that will actually let you place an order for 100% horse hair are in the UK.
That is a beautiful chair. I have done some refurnishing but nothing looks as good as yours. Great job
Ben:
My compliments on your chair!
Should you do another chair bottom you might consider this approach. One the muslin is attached mark the centre point of the bottom of each side of the frame. Lay your fabric face down on a flat surface and place the seat upside down on the fabric. On one side line up the centre point of the pattern of the fabric with the centre point of the seat side and hammer in one tack. Repeat with the opposite side and then the two other sides. Next, on one side pull the fabric slightly toward the left seat corner and insert a tack an inch or so to the left of the centre tack. Repeat on the side opposite this. Do this on the side opposite and then on the other two sides. Repeat this process placing tacks on to the right of the original tacks.You should now have three tacks on each side of the seat frame with the fabric balanced and taught. Continue working towards the corners keeping the fabric taught and balanced. Fold in the corners and tack down. Now attach the covering.
Thanks for the advice, Paige- you're right on. I didn't have room to show or say it in the post, but I did actually start in the center on the front and back and work my way out. Even so, it was still a challenge to keep the fabric even... I think some of the trick to getting it right must be a combination of experience and muscle memory. My hat is off to the real pros out there!
I have been looking for a chair to build and this is it. I will do my first made from common available pine. Hopefully I will have a set of patterns when done... sigh, one only hopes...…
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