~ Dining Chair Upholstery How-To Part 2... The Top Front

There are two different ways that I did the front top of the chairs even though they were all cane backs. The ones that came from the thrift store in the last post were so cheap that it didn't matter if I stapled or glued the fabric and trim to them. On the other hand, I did not want to do anything that could damage the wood or cane of dining rooms chairs, or be too difficult to remove later on. So they did take a little longer to do.

For the black and antique white chairs, I made the template to the size of the back, cut the fabric, fit it to the back and used a staple gun to attach the fabric to the front of the chair. You will use the same wood on the inside of the cane that I showed you in the last post, and here.


After that you can hot glue or fabric glue the trim in place to cover the staples or brads holding the fabric. Really easy!

But for the dining room chairs I needed something different. These chairs have been changed over a dozen times through the years. Sometimes with splurge fabrics or just as often with a sale or bargain fabric. This time I found a fabric I loved that was already quilted. I knew it would stay for a longer period of time. But it still couldn't be permanent nor did I want to harm the wood of the chairs. My disclaimer is this, pros who do upholstery for a living probably do not do it this way. But it was perfect for me!

Since the fabric was quilted I did not need to add a layer of batting as I would have done with either method to give the fabric some cushion and body. After I cut and played with the fabric until it fit the inset area perfectly allowing an inch all around, I turned the edges and stitched around them.

The I taped the fabric gently to the front and I carefully sewed the piece on to the cane by taking tiny stitches to from the front which would not show to a more wide and probably messier look to the back. It was covered up with the fabric as I showed in the last post so it didn't matter what it looked like on the back. This is made easier by the fact that the cane has the holes in it of course.

Hope you all have a great weekend,
~ See Y'All Soon