Library Chair

This library chair was to have a new cover. The new cover was very similar to the old. There were some mysteries – pieces of felt, an embossed number and a metal bracket.

Additionally, a new cushion was wanted in order to raise the seat height a little. During the work, it was clear that the legs had once had castors – so the chair was lower than originally designed.

With the chair on its back, the reference X726 – meaning unknown – was found on a leg.

The chair was turned around and the back fabric, support cloth and, curiously, some felt, was removed.

The side fabric – again with support cloth and the apparently needless felt – was removed from both sides.

A small metal bracket secured one of the arms which appeared have been cut rather than broken.

The fixings at the front of the seat were removed and a perished cover for the stuffings was discovered.

The remainder of the cover fabric was removed – first the inner arms, the back and finally the seat.

The seat stuffings were lifted up and separated from the spring cover. A new cover was added over the old, stitched to the tops of the springs, the stuffings replaced, the front edge stitched and a new calico cover added.

Before the new cover was attached, the legs were stained and French polished to reduce the signs of wear and tear.

The seat was covered first, leaving the front sides unfinished for now. Then the inner back fabric was attached.

The sides were covered next, including a support sheet and barrier cloth over the replaced, but still mysterious, felt.

The back fabric was added in a similar way.

The old undercloth was removed and a new hessian one tacked into place. This was not strictly necessary as none of the cover fabric overlapped the base.

Braid trim was now added around the back and arms and all around the base to finish the recovering work.

A cushion was made and placed on the seat, making up for the lost castors, before the chair was returned to it’s owner.

JBerryUpholstery has many examples of furniture Recovering and Restoration and also Soft Furnishings to add to or complement the finished items. You can see pictures of these in the Galleries – Recovering Gallery, Restoration Gallery, Soft Furnishings Gallery and Transformations.

If you have some upholstery that is in need of a bit of TLC or you are interested in Soft Furnishings then please contact us.