Traditional upholstery
Disassembling
It may seem like a basic assumption that there is no such thing as good quality upholstery without disassembling! And still, it isn’t.
A lot of newly upholstered furniture is brought to me for subsequent repair and reupholstery, just because the most basic process of upholstering, the disassembling, has been skipped.
It is particularly important to "rescue" and clean the springs inside the disassembled upholstered surfaces during the process, as they will be placed back to their original position when the furniture is refurbished.
Examining the furniture frame
For stability, it is very important to see what condition the structure of the furniture is in, whether it needs replacing, gluing or other repairs.
If this is not done, the structure of the furniture cannot be properly strengthened. Without this, the furniture may become unbalanced and unable to distribute the weight evenly.
Strapping
The linen straps, which form the basis and stability of the seat pan, are stretched over the checked furniture frame and secured with nails.
Spring tying
We train the cleaned springs. This refers to a manual shaping technique (twisting in opposite directions, top and bottom) to restore springs that have been distorted and flattened by previous use.
The two ends of the springs will be bent slightly for easy fastening and then sewn with a linen thread to the strap stretched on to the frame.
Then, using a special thickness of linen cord, the springs are tied to the frame at a given height – centimeters – depending on the intended use of the furniture.
This height is highly variable depending on the type of furniture. This is the basis for the shape of the future surface.
Spring canvas
Spring canvas is a tightly woven fabric used specifically for upholstery purposes. This is used to cover the formed spring, which is sewn on the canvas and fixed to the furniture frame with nails.
The filling material is placed on top of the spring canvas.
Base padding
We prepare the base for the seat pan of the furniture, known as the base padding: we spread the filling material (seagrass) over the spring canvas at a height of about 4 to 5 cm.
The resulting surface will be then covered with linen moulded canvas; it is sewn to the spring canvas with an iron spar and fixed to the frame with additional nails.
As a final step, the edges and corners are shaped by sewing to the shape of the furniture. This technique is called trimming.
Upper cushioning or priming
This means that, using horsehair and cotton wadding, an additional surface of about 2-3 cm thick is formed on the base cushion, which is covered with white canvas and sewn to the moulded canvas.
Upholstering and decoration
In the jargon, upholstering means applying the chosen fabric to the top cushion and fixing it to the furniture frame with nails or staples.
When using a patterned fabric, always pay attention to the proportion of the patterns and their symmetry on the seat pan of the furniture!
Align so that the edges of the fabric match. Especially for larger pieces of furniture, make sure that the patterns on the fabric are continuous on the upholstered part.
Welting will be placed then on the edges to decorate the furniture using trims (a decorative tape made of a wide range of materials and available in an infinite number of colours), stiches, decorative string.
Applying the dust cover
The final step in the process is to turn the furniture upside down and cover the open bottom of the seat with white canvas. The canvas can be used to cover any parts that are still visible and also to protect the furniture from dust and other dirt that may rise from the floor.
Modern upholstery
As with traditional techniques, the modern upholstery process starts with dismantling and checking the furniture frame.
The differences start with the design of the supporting frame of the seat pan.
The supporting frame can be prepared using the strapping method described above (nylon or rubber straps) or it can be made from wood, whereby a plywood panel is cut to the same shape and size as the seat pan.
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The spring suspension is placed on this. Unlike traditional upholstery, we do not use old springs.
In this case, we use new, cut-to-size, continuous springs, known as Bonnell springs, and fix them to the wooden panel with nails or sew them to the straps.
The spring body is completely covered with spiked felt, commonly known as felt. Its purpose is to prevent the next layer, the foam, from getting caught between the springs.
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Foam is glued on top of the spiked felt, taking care to follow the curve and shape of the furniture frame.
The type of foam always depends on the customer’s comfort requirements and the intended use of the furniture, and can be foam or foam rubber.
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The foam is topped with fleece. This coating is both a comfort and a practical aspect, as it ensures comfort and prevents the upholstery from sticking to the foam.
Subsequently, the rest of the modern upholstery process is identical to the traditional upholstery technique.
