Reupholster Rocking Chair

Yesterday, I showed you how to repair and stain an antique rocking chair.

Today, I’m going to show you how to  reupholster rocking chair.

I used the seat to make a pattern to cut the foam.

Using a serrated knife is really the only way to cut foam. (a lot of people used electric knives, but I don’t own one)

This is where it gets a little funny. Jan and I both thought the front board should be covered up because it was in such bad shape.

I sent Jan these photos to see which way she’d prefer the front board to be covered.

We both agreed that it would look better to cover the skirt individually and then the cushion separate. You can see some cotton batting in the left corner. I don’t have pictures, but I put the cotton batting over the foam cushion.

This chair is huge, and it about whooped my behind! I was so sore from crawling around the living room floor.

I pulled and tugged on that leather so much. I don’t have any “in progress” pictures. If you’ve ever battled with something like this before, you know that you get so caught up in the “fight” that you forget to pick up your camera till it’s almost over.

Not pictured – To attach the seat to the skirt, I used 4 “L” brackets, one on each of the four sides.

This chair is so large and wide that it was nearly impossible for me to move it around by myself. It’s so wide, that it wouldn’t fit through the bedroom door without turning it over on it’s side. Jan and her husband really love their new chair.

EDITED TO ADD: (Jan’s comment from below)

Hubby loves, loves, loves this chair. A little story about the leather. Hubby had bought it to reupholster a Dukes of Hazard car he had purchased 25 years ago. Unfortunately, the car was stolen last year and all hubby had left of it was this leather.
So this rocker really means a lot to him.

gail