J A Milton – Blog – How To Reupholster A Leather Sofa.

Having a leather sofa or chair is usually a great addition to any room. However, over time, these shiny, new sofas begin to look old and tired. Why spend money on a new one when you could breathe life into your old one by reupholstering it?

Follow our 17-step guide to reupholstering your leather sofa, and it’ll look as good as new!

Step 1- To remove the old leather from the sofa turn it upside down and remove the existing staples.

Step 2- Separate each piece of old leather, so that you can use these pieces as a template.

Step 3- Lay the new sheet of leather face down on a flat, level surface. Then, place the old pieces face down on top.

Step 4- Pin in place.

Step 5- Use an electric fabric cutter to cut out the new pieces, then remove the pins.

Step 6- Place piece of leather for the back of the sofa where you want it and staple into place along the back-top edge.

Step 7- Position the front piece into place by flipping the leather over face down draping it down the back.

Step 8- Staple on top of the back piece, across the top edge of the sofa.

Step 9- Flip leather back over front.

Step 10- Pull back leather tightly down and staple in place in the corners. Then, staple into place at the sides and on the inside of the bottom back piece.

Step 11- Place each arm piece onto the sofa and staple in place on the inside and outside of the back.

Step 12- Place the bottom front of the sofa piece onto the front and staple into place by flipping the leather over on top, stapling along the front edge. Flip it back over and staple underneath the front of the sofa.

Step 13- Attach the remaining open sides on the back piece to the sofa, covering the back of the arms.

Step 14- Staple underneath the sofa to fix the leather into place.

Step 15- Seat Cushions:

       >Cut the pieces for seat cushions and pin together with the faces facing in.

       >Sew a 5/8-inch seam along the front and sides, leaving the back of the cushion open.

       >Sew the zip onto both sides of the opening.

       >Turn the seat covers the right way around and place the foam inside.

       >Zip up the seat cushions.

Step 16- Finish by hammering tacks in a line along the bottom front edge and arms to give the sofa that classic look.

Step 17- Enjoy your newly upholstered leather sofa!

Now that you know how to do it, create the look you want with a reupholstered leather sofa.

If you would like further advice or information on reupholstery, please contact the team at JA Milton on 01691 624023.

J A Milton – Why Use Flanged Cord?

Flanged cord is decorative cord that is used to add a finishing touch to the seams of cushions, seats and headboards by giving a rolled trim, but why and how should you use flanged cord?

Nothing quite finishes off a pillow like a smooth clean edge and this can be achieved by sewing flanged cord into any seam.

The equipment you will need:

• Sewing machine,
• Sewing machine needles,
• Fabric,
• Flanged cord,
• Thread.

Find out below how to sew flanged cord into a pillow:

Step 1

Prepare all the pieces of your pillow by cutting them to size and adding any zips if required.

Step 2

Pin the flat fabric piece of the flanged cord to the outer edge of one pillow piece, placing the cord so that the stitching is in line with the project’s seam allowance and leaving a couple of extra inches at the start if the cord (leave this bit unpinned).

Step 3

When you reach the starting point leave the remaining flanged cord a few inches long (unpinned).

Step 4

The ends of the flanged cord overlap, so keep the end of the cord out of the way when you start to sew it to the pillow.

Tip: use a regular zipper foot and stitch on top of the stitching on the flanged cord, as this will enable you to sew against the round part of the flanged cord.

Step 5

When you have reached the end point, take the unpinned flanged cord and overlap it on top of the first, sewn down flanged cord. A small little “v” where the two meet is the desired effect.

Step 6

Trim excess flanged cord.

Step 7

Place the next layer of fabric for your pillow on top of the first, with the right sides facing together and line up the outer edges, pinning them in place around the pillow.

Step 8

Using the same zipper foot as before, stitch the pillow pieces together on the seam allowance.

Step 9

Once you are happy with the sewing and placement, turn your pillow case the right way around.

Step 10

Poke out the corners.

Finally

Enjoy your finished cushion.

Putting finishing touches onto a pillow case doesn’t need to be complicated with extravagant buttons, simply sewing some decorative flanged cord into the seam can give your cushion the luxury feel you’ve been looking for.

We hope these steps have provided you with the information you need! If you would further advice or information, please contact the team at JA Milton on 01691 624023.

What Is Jute Webbing?

Jute is the most common form of webbing material that is found in the suspension systems within furniture. The material is made up of a natural, vegetable fibre that is spun into extremely strong bands that are then used for furniture suspension.

Typically, the best jute webbing comes on a roll and is marked with a red stripe, on the other hand, lesser quality jute webbing is marked with a black stripe. The different qualities of jute webbing can influence its use within the upholstery industry.

High-Quality

This jute webbing is generally used to give support for the part of the furniture that is likely to be baring the most weight. For example; the seat.

Lesser-Quality

This type should be used on traditional furniture pieces and on sections of the furniture that will bear the least weight. For example; the back piece.

A Brief History

Jute has been used for furniture webbing for hundreds of years. Up until the 1950s jute was the only material that fit the purpose for suspension, it was only at this time in history that synthetic materials began to appear for this use.

How Is Jute Webbing Used?

Jute webbing is used to create a structural framework over coil springs within the furniture under the seat and are stretched as tightly as possible over this area of the furniture. It is often laid out in a woven style, before being fixed in place, to provide as much structural support and stability as possible. This type of webbing is usually fix in a traditional style, which involves pulling the webbing tight and as even as possible.

Tip: when upholstering a chair, flip it onto its back and work out how many strips it originally had. This will enable you restore it to it’s original state.

When it comes to repairing any upholstered furniture, it is important to know which webbing was used before, to ensure that you repair the chair to its original strength and reduce the risk of damaging it further due to the use of incorrect webbing or fitting. There are several other types of webbing:

• Industrial/commercial polyester webbing,
• Polypropylene webbing,
• Nylon webbing.

These all come with their advantages and disadvantages, but if you are unsure about what webbing your furniture had, using jute webbing is a safe bet. You can create the strength you want, with the most traditionally used form of webbing.

We hope that this has provided some insight into jute webbing for upholstery. If you would further advice or information, please contact the J A Milton team on 01691 624023.

How To Attach Clips To Pirelli Webbing 

Step 1 - When you use Pirelli webbing, there is a rough side and a smooth side. The rough side goes to the top to stop cushions from slipping, the smooth side to the bottom.

Step 2 - When you have a clip, it has got a little lip on one side and nothing on the other side. The clip needs to be placed with the lip facing the rough side of the webbing, as it is going to go across the chair. If you place the clip onto the webbing so that the webbing goes over the side without the lip, it will actually cut the webbing.

Step 3 - You can attach the clips with a vice. To do this, place the flat side of the clip towards the outside of the vice (towards the handle) and place the webbing in the bottom of the clip.

Step 4 - Tighten the vice onto the clip. However, don’t take it too hard because it is not meant to come all the way through. The teeth are just meant to grip into the webbing. When the webbing and clip goes into the groove across the chair, the rough side is to the top, the smooth side to the bottom. You want to take 10% up on that (the webbing) before you put the other side on to give you a stretch.

Step 5 - When placing your clip on the other side, the process is exactly the same. However, if you do not have a vice, then a pair of pliers can be used to squeeze the clip into place. A vice is much simpler, but the pliers are just as effective.

To watch our handy YouTube video, demonstrating how to attach clips to Pirelli webbing, click the 'play' button below:

In need of some Pirelli webbing or clips? Follow the link to purchase from our online shop:

https://www.jamiltonupholstery.co.uk/products/webbings-linings-platforms/webbings/pirelli-webbing

If you having difficulty with a certain tool or you would like to know if there is better way of doing something, please do not hesitate to send us an email: sales@jamiltonupholstery.co.uk
or call us:
01691 624023

If you are new to upholstery and are interested in making something relatively straight forward to get you started, why not try to make a bean bag? They can be made in varying sizes, so you could even make a small one first to make sure you understand the process, before going ahead and making a full size one! Beanbags can come in a vast range of colours and even have varying shapes, but the standard beanbag is a sphere that molds to user.

They are a lot simpler to make than they first appear, find out how below:

First things first, you will need to make sure that you have all the equipment you will need;

• A Sewing Machine,
• Thread,
• Needle,
• Marking Pencil,
• Fabric Scissors,
• Bean Bag Filling.

Helpful Tip: Ironing the fabric can make measuring and sewing easier.

Once you have all the equipment you need, you can begin to make your very own beanbag.

Step 1

For the beanbag you will need two equal sized pieces of fabric. Measure the fabric to the size you want, marking it with the pencil as you go, then cut the piece out.

Tip: leave an extra inch around where you have measured to allow for when you sew the pieces together.

Step 2

Lay one piece of fabric over the other, ensuring that the pattern is facing the inside, towards the other fabric piece. Tack the pieces together, making sure the edges are flush.

Step 3

Stitch your fabric together.

Place the edges of the fabric under the threaded needle of a sewing machine, make an inseam almost all the way round. You need to leave a space so that you can easily fill the beanbag up later on.

Then go back around the inseam leaving half an inch between the first inseam. Don’t sew up the space you left.

Once done, remove from the machine. Cut off excess fabric and thread.

Step 4

Reach through the space you left when sewing and grab the seam on the opposite side.

Pull the fabric through the space, flipping the beanbag the other way around, and make sure that the all the seams are correct.

Step 5

Fill the beanbag with your beanbag filling. We recommend using polystyrene beans.

Step 6

Sew up the hole you filled up the bag up through by hand using a small, sharp needle.

Step 7

Enjoy!

To make things even easier for our customers we have put together a Beanbag Kit that comes with a free tuition DVD. Making your own beanbag couldn’t be easier.

We hope these steps have provided you the information you need to make your very own beanbag chair! If you would further advice or information, please contact the team at JA Milton on 01691 624023.

The first few times you try to place a slider on a zip can be tricky, but once you have tried (and maybe not succeeded!) a few times, it will eventually become like second nature to you.

There is a certain knack to threading the zip onto the continuous zipping, which can be quite fiddly and annoying at times! However, by using a simple tool called a zip-jig, available on our online shop, the job can be made relatively effortless. Plus, it works for both number 3 and number 5 zips, so one size really does fit all!

The zip-jig can simply be attached to a solid surface, such as your work bench or a spare piece of flat wood you have lying around- Hey, it even makes use of pieces of scrap! There are two handy holes already made in the zip-jig, so it is solely a case of finding some screws and fixing it down.

  Step 1-  Once you have fixed down your zip-jig, the real work begins. You need to hold your zipper upside down with the large, rounded edge facing you, and the pull tab dangling down. The zipper then slides onto the zip-jig by the small section connecting the top of the zipper to the pull tab. Once your zipper is secure in the zip-jig, you can then move onto the zipping.

Step 2-  The zipping also needs to be held upside down (seems like a bit of an upside job by now!) with the smooth side facing upwards, not the teeth. The teeth then need to be separated at one end by approximately 7cm, with one side of the zipping in each hand. This then becomes the complicated step.

Step 3-  The movement of threading the zip onto the zipping is an inwards to outwards path. With the separated zipping, you need to approach the zip from the outside in, lining each side up either side of the partition in the zip. Ensure that the two sides are level, or else you will end up with a wonky zip that does not glide smoothly up and down your zipping!

Step 4-  Once you have managed to glide the zipping into the zip, the hand movements then needs to follow through with the zipping, causing the teeth on the zipping to meet again on the other side, hopefully level, with no gap underneath the zip. You can then move your zip freely to where by you would like it positioned on the zipping. If however it hasn’t quite gone to plan, you can always slide the zip off and try again until you are satisfied with the way the zip lies with the zipping.

We wish you luck and hope this blog post helps you out. From all of us at J A Milton Upholstery Supplies, happy upholstering!

Link to our handy zip-jig:

 https://www.jamiltonupholstery.co.uk/products/haberdashery/zipping/zip-jigs/zip-jig-easy-way-to-attach-slides-to-zipping-fits-no-5-or-no-3

Our Open Workshop Week at J.A.Milton Upholstery School Of Excellence, Ellesmere. Monday 10 June to Friday 14 June 2019 -  9 am to 4 pm

Its FREE, come along and have a look at our facilities, courses, Workshop and range of Upholstery Products. Our courses include

Traditional Upholstery

Furniture Restoration

Wood Finishing/French Polishing

Meet our Tutor Tony Dickin. He will be happy to answer any questions you may have and discuss the courses on offer at the School.

Book a Taster Day or Days,  during the week and try your hand at any of the course’s and see if its suits your needs before having to commit to a longer course.

So, if you have ever wanted to learn a new craft, why not come along?

Any Questions just call us on 01691 624023
E mail Sales@jamiltonupholstery.co.uk

There are several ways to breathe life back into an old cushion or to add the finishing touches to a cushion you have made, but surface buttoning is by far the most classic way to add a simple but charming finish to your cushion.

This finish can be achieved with one button in the centre on each side or with several strategically placed for effect by you.

Before you begin adding your button to a cushion you will need to choose which buttons you want to add and make sure you have all the equipment you need to do this. You will need:

Buttons

Pins

Upholstery twine

Needle

Scissors

A Tip Before You Start: Whilst thread can be used to button a cushion, twine is better as it is less likely to break due to wear and tear.

Once you have all the equipment you need and have chosen your button, all you need to do is follow the below steps to add finish to your cushion:

Step 1 - Mark the position of where you want to place your button with an ordinary pin on both sides of the cushion.

Step 2 - Then cut a piece of upholstery twine (linen or nylon) about 5 to 12 inches long and thread it singularly through the loop on the back of your button. The length you cut can depend on the depth of your cushion.

Step 3 - Thread both ends of the twine through the eye of your needle.

Step 4 - Push the needle through the cushion on the opposite side to where you marked the cushion with a pin, ensuring that you keep it straight as it goes through.

Step 5 - Pull the needle all the way through and unthread the twine.

Step 6 - Insert the twine though the loop on the next button for the other side of your cushion and tie in place with a simple knot.

Step 7 - Then apply pressure to the button, pull one of the twines until the button pulls down to the depth you would like, and tie another knot to fix the buttons in place.

Step 8 - Tidy up by cutting off the ends of the twine and tucking them under the button.

We hope these steps have provided the help you require in order to surface button your cushions! If you would further advice or information, please contact our team on 01691 624023.

Do you have a favourite chair that has recently lost the support under its cushion? Replacing the webbing on your chair is a great way to bring it back to life when it’s unable to be used, as well as ensuring it continues to provide support and comfort to the user.

There’s no need to throw away your old, loved chair when you can mend it!

Finding Your Webbing

Before you start mending the webbing of your chair, you’ll need to remove the cushions to get a clear idea of how the chair has been webbed previously and what the best webbing to use is. Once you know what sort of webbing you’ll need why not peruse through our selection of webbing and tools to find the best for you?

Top Tip: Don’t forget to order tacks to hold the webbing in place!

The First Step

When you come to re-web your chair, make sure to take a picture of what the webbing looks like before you remove it. You don’t want to do all that hard work just to find that its not how it should be!

Once the old webbing has been removed you can finally begin to bring new life to your beloved chair.

Let The Webbing Begin

Step 1 - Fix the webbing to the first side of the frame, ensuring that your tacks are not fixed in a straight line otherwise this may cause the wood to split.

Step 2 - Try using an M or W formation. When fixing the two tacks on the outer edges try to get them as close to the edge as possible as this will make sure that the webbing is as taught at the edges as it is in the middle.

Step 3 - Now bring the webbing across to the other side of your chair frame, securing good, even tension. To keep this tension, fix your first tack in the middle, before placing the next two tacks on the very edges. Maintain the tension whilst doing this.

Step 4 - To finish off your first piece of webbing, cut the webbing from your roll allowing a turn over of about 30 to 40mm and place the last two tacks as if finishing off the M or W pattern you began with the first three.

Then repeat over the rest of your chair until all your webbing has been done.

A simple but effective way to rescue your favourite chair, eliminating the need to throw it away! If you would like further advice, please contact our team on 01691 624023.

Reupholstering your headboard is an easy and effective way to give your bedroom a  refresh. Perhaps you have recently redecorated and would like your headboard to complement the new décor or you would like to make the headboard the focal point of the room. If this sounds like you, follow our steps below to learn how to reupholster a headboard.

Step 1 - Choose your fabric

There’s a lot to think about when choosing the perfect fabric for your headboard. You want to go for a fabric that reflects the décor of your bedroom such as matching your curtain fabric or an upholstered chair. You should also choose a soft fabric that is durable and easy to clean (especially if you have little ones in the house). Fabrics that look great on a headboard include leather, suede, cotton or polyester.

We have a large selection of fabric in a variety of colours and textures, take a look at our fabrics page for inspiration.

Step 2 - Remove headboard fabric 

Remove the headboard from your bed or wall - the headboard should be easy to remove by undoing the screws. Once removed, you will need to take off the current fabric using a staple remover.

Step 3 - Measure, cut and attach padding to headboard

Next, measure the padding for the headboard. Our furniture foam can be cut to any size, shape and thickness, making it ideal for padding your headboard. Once measured to size, cut and attach using a staple gun.

Step 4 - Measure, cut and attach fabric to headboard

An easy way to measure your new fabric is to use the previous material as a pattern. Simply lay the original fabric onto the new fabric and cut around it using fabric scissors, making sure you leave enough room for the fabric to be pulled behind the board and stapled.

If you damaged the original fabric when removing it from the headboard, don’t worry, you can still measure your new fabric to fit. Just measure the size of the headboard, leaving around six inches to overlap onto the back. Mark the fabric with tailors chalk or fabric markers to ensure you cut straight lines.

Attach the cut fabric to the headboard using a staple gun. The easiest way to do this is to lay the headboard on top of the fabric and pull the fabric tight and staple the fabric into place at the back of the headboard.

Step 5 - Refasten headboard back on the wall or bed

 When you are happy with look of your headboard attach it back onto the wall or bed using the same screws as before.

Ta-da! You now have a reupholstered headboard!

Tools you

Fabric

Staple remover

Furniture foam

Staple gun

Staples

Fabric scissors

Tailors chalk or fabric marker

Measuring tape

We hope these steps have helped you reupholster your headboard. If you would further advice, please contact our team on 01691 624023.