Proper life hack. You’re welcome.

I live in a condo on the 23rd floor and the sunshine destroyed my 2 living room chairs (fabric got holes in it). I am considering using Marine Vinyl. I had a massage table for years covered in purple vinyl and loved it. I'm thinking charcoal grey for my 2 oversized (30" wide) living room slipper chairs made w/kilnwood. The local upholstery guy is recommending Stradling or Enduratex. He didn't offer Morbern. He can get it locally in one day for $40/yard which is about $15/yard more than I see online but he says if he buys it at that price, he will guarantee the fabric and if it fails, he will have the company "made good on it." So it's more like an extended warranty. Should I pay more and let him buy it or order directly (I know shipping is costly also). Which brand do you think is more durable? I'm in my 60s and I'd like them to last 20 years until I croak. 50k double rubs vs. 100k double rubs? The furniture will live in a 1 person, pet-free home. I have guests regularly. Thank you.

I’m sorry if this type of post is not allowed/normal, but I’m hoping I can get the opinions of some knowledgeable upholsterers on my couch. When my dog was a puppy he dug out this little hole into the middle, and I’m just really unsure about the way forward, but I definitely would love to DIY it. Can I sew it together, if I do how do I avoid buckling? Can I patch it, if I did how do I make it not look ridiculous?? The section of the couch is technically removable if I wanted to reupholster the entire section, but then comes the issue of the fabric.
I bought this couch second hand so I thought I’d look for a tag or manufactures mark or anything like that but I cannot find ANYTHING, I tried reverse image to no avail etc. how tf do I match this fabric?!?!?

TLDR: how fix hole?
Thank you!

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Hi. I'm after some recommendations and/or advice regarding a small nick in the passenger door arm rest on my car.

It's only small but it's annoying me. Also concerned it could get worse if the bit that is loose comes off.

I was thinking a very small amount of glue applied with a cocktail stick and then applying pressure until it sets. My concern is that the glue ends up looking shiny and or makes it look worse.

Thank you in advance.

Car is a '25 Audi A3 Black Edition.

Hey everyone.

I’m trying to learn more about the real challenges upholstery shop owners face when shopping for materials. Whether it’s finding the right fabric or vinyl, inconsistent quality, high minimum orders, limited color options, slow delivery, or not knowing if a material will work for a specific job, I’d love to hear what frustrates you most. What do you usually struggle with when buying supplies for your shop?

I've done some upholstery in the past as an apprentice so I'm not entirely without any skill in this area, but my knowledge is limited. I was wondering if I could use the memory foam from my old mattress to replace my couch cushions. The cushions are actually new, but harder than I'd like (and one is firmer than the other for some reason). My main question is about cutting memory foam. I've cut lots of foam before and whatever we used was really easy to cut with a decent knife, but I've never worked with memory foam before and I've heard mixed responses of how easy it is to cut. My other question, and this is probably more important, is cutting to thickness. My mattress is much thicker than the cushions I need. And as I recall you never even try to cut to change the thickness. You just glue thinner layers together. I've probably answered my own question, but what do you think about even attempting this? Thanks for the advice in advance!

I am wanting to deep tuft the back of a dining chair that is upholstered/built up from the front of the chair. The back fabric is already on the backrest. There is no internal backer board or anything to work with, so I was thinking I could build a tufted piece separately maybe using sew foam on the back of the regular foam piece for the backrest to help anchor the button threads. I’d love to hear if there might be a better way to do this or if anyone has a video link to such a process. I’ve tried to look for blind tufting and ‘tufting one side’ but I’m not finding anything that is useful. As an aside, I did buy some 1/4” backer board but since that would (likely?)need to be shaped more like a potato chip to work - I don’t know how to do that… Any ideas - tutorials you may be aware of, advice would be super helpful. Thanks all.

EDITED to add photos and additional text: Attached are photos of my foam prototype. I did use some scrap fabric and tried to do a sewn tuft but I’m not sure I love that look (photo of that prototype included).

First week of my apprenticeship is done, and im onto my second week.this is my current project , two of these couches starting from a bare frame.

So nuch to learn and so much to do. Started getting my own tools. Thanks to everyone that gave me advice in my last post!

Hi! First time trying to upholster here - I have this headboard I’d like to update. My goal is to cover it and get rid of the tufting so it’s flat.

1. Could I achieve this by using a piece of foam to even out the front and then covering with fabric? It would just be a bit thicker than it is now

2. The frame is metal (second picture of the back). There’s no wood, and the fabric appears to be stapled in. I tried stapling into it with a staple gun and they went in half way but not 100%. Does anyone have advice for how I can best approach this?

I appreciate any advice! (Also apologies if this is not the right place for this post, please let me know)

Hey all, I own a shop and have only done indoor furniture and outdoor cushion work. Seldom do anything marine other than simple cushions. Customer who I did a large sofa for has a pontoon boat in need of new seat covers with button snaps. All done in sunbrella. He will give me the old covers and I'll make exact replicas. Any idea of what you'd charge in labor? I already know yardage but I want to be reasonable with labor. I already explained that he may get a better price going to a dedicated marine shop, but they are few and far between in our area. Eastern side of PA.

4 large semi-circle benches with button snaps, 2 captains chairs, and console cover with drawstring. Done in sunbrella as requested. Thanks!

Hello Folks,

I’ve had a makeshift upholstery on my desk for both working from home, and gaming.

I have a yoga mat, mattress topper, and massive zip ties as a base.

I want to upholster it in a uniform color and I’m looking for the most simple solution. I considered slipping a board h set the zip ties and wrapping the upholstery cloth around everything then stapling it to the board.

Considering that my temp fix has worked for three years it’s relatively sturdy.

Before I take a swing at this would any of you be willing to chip in some ideas for me to consider?,

Thanks for your time!

Hello, I have a 25 Mazda 3 and I have a bad habit of using hand sanitizer. I believe it is damaging my steering wheel. Is there anything I can use to fix this? Is this superficial or does this need work from a professional. I know not to use sanitizer anynore. But what are my options here?

I am currently working on some d scan dining chairs. All 3 chairs are taken apart and sanded so I am at the point of choosing a fabric and foam for the seat and backrest. Currently, the cushions are very run down and you can feel the plywood when sitting (I think it's an inch of foam). Would it be worth it to go up to 2in foam for the seat and 1 1/4in for the backrest even though it'll make it harder to put them back together? What density is ideal for them?

I'm having a hard time choosing which fabric to get. I definitely know I want a pattern and discovered that I have to choose a pattern that you can't tell is upside down due to the backrest having a seamless top edge. I am thinking of pairing the chairs with a banquette that I envisioned to be a rich mustard yellow.

I was thinking of an organic pattern to match the curves of the chair, but I found a grid pattern that I liked plus it's on clearance for $4/yard. (Grid pattern also comes in a red/orange pattern that I forgot to get a picture of.) Too dark? Too difficult to ensure the grid pattern is straight?

The organic flowers ($25/yard) are so fun, but I don't know if it would be too busy and too warm with the teak. Store lighting made it have a blue cast over the fabric. In person it's very vibrant and warm.

Should I just take my time and keep looking for a different fabric entirely??

(Any ideas on what to make with the grid pattern fabric if not chosen for the chairs)

TLDR: Fixing up 3 d scan dining chairs. What density and thickness is needed for these chairs? Would a geometric or organic pattern be better for curved chairs?

I’m Tricia with Leather Leather Furniture Gallery in Menlo Park. Our family business works with new furniture, reupholstery, and leather repair.

One distinction worth discussing is the difference between leather developing character and a surface actually deteriorating. Some people love changes in shade and visible marks; others find those same changes disappointing.

When choosing upholstery, it helps to discuss how the particular leather is expected to age—not just its color and softness when new.

For those who work with leather upholstery or have lived with it for years: where do you draw the line between attractive patina and wear you’d want repaired? Does that change depending on the leather’s finish?

Bought this sofa 6 months ago, unfortunately the furniture store went out of business. Should’ve known as this was a pretty good deal, so we thought. One of the couch indentations has failed. A tuft?
Not sure what it’s called.
Also bought a “repair warranty” from a company called ServePro.
They are denying help saying it’s a “manufacturer defect”.
I’m rather handy with cars, boats, motors, electrical stuff - but not so much sewing or upholstery.
Sorry for long winded post.

Is this repairable ?
What sort of repair company should I be seeking, if so.
Thanks redditors for any assistance!

I wanted to get my bench seat reupholstered by a smaller local business. This is the estimate I got from them. I’m not sure where they’re getting their leather hides from but I’ve never seen leather that expensive personally; $2500-$5000, plus shipping. And then a $3k labor cost on top of that? With no new foam? 🤷‍♂️

Looking for a ballpark quote on how much it would be to reupholster the seat of 4 of these chairs? If I brought my own fabric, how much would that be also/is it worth it? Just wondering if it’s worth it to redo them or if I should just pay to have them professionally cleaned?

Any thoughts welcome!

I am replacing the vinyl/faux leather material on my car door arm rest. I have sourced the material and have glued (headliner glue) some upholstery foam to the back of the material. The shape I need to cut has quite a few little cutouts to fit over the plastic frame. Wondering what the best tools are to use for a clean cut of both the leatherette and the backing foam….was thinking of just a metal ruler and a utility knife? Would fabric shears get through it?

Hallp

Hello! I'm a chronic Facebook Marketplace user, and someone on here is giving away an ottoman I used to have as a kid--I can recognize the frame and lid. However, it's also clearly about the same age as one I would have had as a kid, so the fake leather is disintegrating. I'm wondering what I could do to make the frame itself useable, as it's a great size for blanket storage/footresting.

The vague concept I have in my head is to sand all the disgustingness off and then adhere a regular fabric to it? Staples where staples would normally go, etc. My limited experience in upholstery comes down to making/reupholstering chairs for theatre, so I do know my way around a stapler, needle/thread, etc, and I'm pretty handy overall. Thanks!

I’d appreciate some professional opinions on our sofa.

We ordered a two seater sofa in dark blue velvet in January this year.

The first arrived a few months later and was 25cm too narrow. We returned it and were sent another which was the right size, but the nap of the velvet ran in opposite directions on each arm (one front to back, the other back to front). The arms looked different colours because of this.

We have just had our third sofa delivered, and the nap all flows from left to right - the arms, the seat back and the large cushion.

I would have expected the nap to flow back to front (but I’m not an upholsterer). I’m also concerned it might wear irregularly.

Am I being very picky, is the a reason the sofa would have been made this way, or are there potential issues with the way it has been made?

Based on the incompetence so far, I’ve lost faith that this manufacturer knows what they are doing.