I decided to have a go at an upholstered piece of furniture. I always find these a challenge as it involves glue and fabric which generally don't mix. The design I have gone for is actually based on a modern interpretation of a mid-century piece. I always recommend buying extra fabric and if you get glue anywhere that shows on the outside, remove that piece and start again. I also recommend that you use a glue especially for fabrics and use it sparingly so that it doesn't seep through the weave.
Materials
Mat board
Foam board
Card stock
Fabric glue
Wood glue
4 x wooden chopsticks
Quilters batting
Cotton fabric
Step 1 - Making the base.
Start by making the front and back pieces of the base. On your mat board draw the following shape twice. The dimensions are W180mm x H38mm. The thickness of the base is 12mm. I used a small circular object to get a nice curve at each corner (inside and out).
Cut two rectangles from mat board, 68mm x 150mm.
Apply glue to both long edges of one rectangle and lay on a flat surface. Add the front and back pieces so they sit centrally and at a 90 degree angle. Use a square to make sure the front and back are parallel to each other. Allow a few minutes to dry.
Apply glue to the long edges of the second rectangle. Place between the top edge as in the picture below, making sure the edges are level and square. Allow a few minutes to dry.
Cut two rectangles from mat board, 68mm x 12mm.
Apply glue to the short ends on the first rectangle and apply to the top of the left arm as in the picture below. It should sit between the front and the back piece. Repeat with the second rectangle on the right arm. Allow a few minutes to dry.
Cut two rectangles from mat board, 68mm x 25mm.
Apply glue to one long edge and two short edges of one rectangle. Attach on the outside of the left arm, sitting underneath the piece you just added as in the picture below. Again it will sit between the front and back pieces. Repeat on the right arm. Allow a few minutes to dry.
Cut two rectangles from mat board, 68mm x 20mm.
Apply glue to one long edge and the two smaller edges and attach to the inside of the left arm as in the picture below. Repeat on the right hand side. Allow a few minutes to dry.
To make the curves we are going to glue a skin of card stock. Measure the outside width of your base. Using that measurement cut a strip from card stock, along the long edge of your sheet. Add glue to the outside edges and surfaces of your base and starting at the top of one arm slowly glue along the base length, keeping the card stock parallel to the edges. Leave to dry and then trim the top edges.
Do the same with the inside of the base.
Your base should look like this:-
Step 2 - Making the back
Cut two rhombuses dimensions shown below:-
Cut two rectangles, one 52mm x 150mm and one 10mm x 153mm. Take the first rectangle and apply glue to the two shorter edges and lay on a flat surface. Apply your two rhombuses with the 52mm side along the glued edge. Allow to dry for a few minutes.
Apply glue to the two rhombuses at the 10mm edge and also along the rectangle's long edge and add your second rectangle as in the picture below making sure all the edges line up. Allow to dry for a few minutes.
Cut another rectangle from mat board, 52mm x 153mm. Glue to the slopped edges of the rhombuses and the long edge of the second rectangle. Allow to dry for a few minutes.
Cut a final rectangle to cover the top edge, 6mm x 153mm. Glue in place and allow to dry.
Test your back in the base. Your back should sit inside your base with the right angle at the back and a slope at the front. Do not glue yet.
Step 3 - Seat and back cushions
Cut 4 rectangles from foam board, 75mm x 58mm.
Glue two rectangles together. This is a seat cushion. Glue a piece of batting to the top and trim around the edge. Glue a second piece of batting to the first and trim. Finally glue a third piece to the second but also cover the front edge of the cushion. This will give you a nice curve. Do the same for the second seat cushion.
Cut 4 rectangles from foam board, 75mm x 40mm.
Again glue two rectangles together. This is a back cushion. Glue a piece of batting to the top and trim around the edge. Glue a second piece of batting to the first but also cover the top edge of the cushion. Do the same for the second back cushion.
Step 4 - Upholstery
On the back of each cushion, draw a line vertically across the centre. Mark the centre of the line and also mark 19mm to the left and right of this mark. Make a hole through the foam with a skewer. This is where your cushion 'dimples' will be on the other side. If you want more you can measure and place them wherever you like or you can decide to skip this bit and not have dimples.
To upholster the cushions, cut a rectangle of fabric big enough to cover the front of the cushion, all edges and with a little extra for glueing to the back. Glue the fabric to the long edges of the cushion, keeping the fabric taut. Use fabric glue for all the upholstery.
The next step is like wrapping a parcel. Add a bit of glue to the corners of the foam board edges and push the fabric on to the glue as in the photo below.
The bottom two flaps (ears) can be glued to the bottom of the cushion. Then glue the top flap to the bottom of the cushion neatly covering the edge of the cushion.
To make the dimples, thread a needle with strong thread. I used upholstery thread. From the bottom, push the needle through one of the holes, passing through the fabric at the top of the cushion. Catching a few mm of fabric, pass the needle through the hole to the back.
Tie the two ends in a double knot. I used a toothpick to stop the thread from damaging the foam board but you could also use card or another medium. Repeat for all three holes on each cushion.
To cover the corners of the base, cut a piece of fabric that is big enough to cover the front of the arm and part way along the base. Cut the curves.
Glue, carefully curving the edges. It should look like the pictures below.
Repeat with remaining three corners (front and back).
Measure along the length of the base from the point where the curve ends on the left side to the point where the curve begins on the right side. Add a little extra for a hem. This is the length of your fabric. the width needs to be enough to cover the front edge (12mm) plus some extra to glue to the top and bottom. This is your width. Glue hems to the two shorter ends.
Glue the fabric to the top and bottom of the base making sure it is as central as possible for symmetry.
Repeat on the back.
Measure the width of the base. The next piece that you need to cover is the arm. You will need to have a hemmed strip the width of the base. Glue to the base starting at the bottom next to the seam you produced in the last step, going around the curved corner, up the outside of the arm, across the top of the arm, down the inside of the arm and finishing at the seam.
Keep the edges of the fabric following neatly along the edges of the base. Repeat with the second arm.
In the picture above you may see that I didn't go right up to the seams and visually I regretted that. The next picture will show you why. Going seam to seam gives a much tidier, symmetrical front view.
To cover the back, glue a piece of fabric to each end using the parcel method.
Again you are going to use a hemmed strip of fabric the width of the back which will be glued to the bottom, going up the back, over the top and glueing to the front. We don't need to cover the front as the cushions will be glued to this area. Remember that the front of the back piece is slopped while the back is straight at a 90 degree angle.
Glue back to the base, making sure the back of the back piece lines up with the back of the base. Hold in place for several minutes while the glue dries or use masking tape.
Glue your seat cushions, followed by your back cushions in place.
For the feet, cut 4 chopsticks at the tapered end on a 60 degree angle using either a mitre saw or mitre cutter like the one below. I made my feet about 20mm long but you can chose the length that suits you.
Mark on the bottom where you want your feet and glue so that they point out to each corner. If you choose to paint the feet or stain them, do this prior to glueing.
If you try this tutorial, please give me feedback in the comments in order for me to make improvements. If you enjoy this tutorial, don't forget to follow me for future tutorials.
Happy Modelling.
