How to drag a sofa with your own hands: step-by-step instructions

The upholstery of the sofa, like any other upholstered furniture, wears out over time and fade in the sun. With careless maintenance, the fabric absorbs spilled drinks and food odors. Children and pets make their contribution by damaging the material with their claws. If your furniture has lost its original appearance and began to smell unpleasant, do not rush to throw it away and buy a new piece of furniture. You can replace the upholstery of your sofa with your own hands and give it a new lease of life. We will tell you in detail what is needed for this and will describe step by step the process of repairing upholstered furniture.

How to start hauling a sofa at home?

Repair begins with disassembly. First of all, you need to disconnect the legs. Next, the elements with visible fasteners are removed. Usually, the side parts of the structure are fixed in this way. Then remove the seat and back. Dismantle the elements carefully and place the fasteners in a drawer or on an oilcloth. Be especially careful with parts connected by grooves and protrusions. You don't need to pull them out.
To disassemble the sofa, you will need two tools:

• A large screwdriver for loosening the visible bolts, if any;
• Small flat screwdriver or staple remover for removing metal staples.

Removing the upholstery

To remove the old upholstery, pry the staples with a flat screwdriver to remove them. The material must be separated with extreme care, as it will be required for sewing a new cover. There is a lining and soft filling under the main fabric. If it sags, remove it. Before that, it is better to lay an oilcloth, since the old filler can crumble into small particles.

Assessment of the state of the "insides"

The interior of the furniture requires special attention if the sofa has irregularities, bulges, pits, elastic elements that have flown out from below or from above. Upon visual inspection of the interior, the following defects can be found:

• Stretched or burst springs;
• Broken belts;
• Wear of stretch marks made of nylon or metal;
• Cracked wooden beams.

It is better to replace problem parts with new ones.
Do-it-yourself hassle is the most troublesome. If the presence of springs is not essential, replace them with foam rubber or silicone. Otherwise, you will have to repair the elastic elements yourself.
In some cases, the springs protrude from the bottom of the frame. This happens due to damage to the wooden base. To solve the problem, it is necessary to disassemble the lower part of the furniture, remove the springs and install the plywood.
Before overtightening the sofa with springs, take into account the condition of the fasteners, fittings and other products. If they are damaged or out of order, replace with new materials.

Filler replacement

In 95% of cases, along with the upholstery, the filler also deteriorates. It is exposed to high loads, collapses and sags, especially in the center of the sofa. Instead of the old material, you need to install a new, dense product of medium or high rigidity. Replacing the soft filling allows you to give the seat and other parts of the furniture elasticity and return an attractive shape. In addition, the new "filling" will protect the internal parts of the structure from damage.
The optimal filler height is 60 mm, but you can choose the parameter for the least worn part of the old product.
The best option for the filler is foam rubber, on top of which a synthetic winterizer is laid. The latter contributes to uniform tension of the web, and also minimizes contact with the lower layer during operation.

Cut out the new upholstery

Before you update the sofa with your own hands, you need to sew the upholstery. To save time, it is best to use the old material as a reference. The cutting process is carried out in the following order:

1. Spread the new fabric on the floor or other large horizontal surface.
2. Lay the old upholstery on top of the new linen.
3. You can secure both layers of fabric with a pin to prevent them from moving.
4. Trace the chalk around the worn fabric, but leave a 3-inch (3-4 cm) seam allowance on each side.
5. Cut the blade exactly along the marked contours, taking into account the gap.
6. Start sewing new upholstery for all structural parts of the sofa. You can make the material yourself on a sewing machine or go to a tailor shop. In the second case, ask the tailor to overlock the edges. This technique will help to avoid tousling the fabric.

Stages of hauling an old sofa with your own hands

The final stage of pulling the sofa with your own hands at home is the installation of new upholstery. This stage largely determines the future appearance of the furniture. All work must be performed without haste and with maximum concentration.

The process of fixing the fabric consists of the following stages:

1. Try on patterns on the details of the sofa to eliminate the shortcomings. You may need to trim the fabric or sew it in some places. It is better that the material is close together, not loose. Otherwise, wrinkles may form during fixation.
2. Put new fabric on upholstered furniture, stretch the fabric evenly and level it with smooth smoothing movements. But you do not need to pull until it stops, otherwise the material will warp. Don't forget to choose the edges to make the fabric look neat and decent.
3. Secure the canvas with the first metal staples with a furniture stapler. It is better to start upholstery with the visible part of the furniture, gradually moving to the corners or the end to hide imperfections.
4. Make holes in the fabric at the fastening points, and fasten the edges of the material around them with staples.
5. Continue to secure the fabric with staples at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. Ideally, the length of the product is 1.4 cm. With a high density of wood or fabric, you can lightly tap the brackets so that they go to the end.

When pulling the sofa with your hands, use a pad to close the reverse side. In this case, the fabric is not cut. Simply apply the lining fabric to the desired area and cut a piece with a gap on the sides of 3-4 cm. Allowance is necessary for rotation and ease of operation. The substrate is first fixed at the corners and with a tight tension.

What do you need to remember about upholstering the sofa with your own hands?

Different fabrics are suitable for upholstering furniture: velor, jacquard, chenille, flock and many others. But the biggest hassle can be caused by the upholstery of the sofa with leather hands or genuine leather. Therefore, when repairing furniture, consider the following points:

• The thickness of the fabric should not exceed 1.5 mm. The relatively thin material adheres better to the surface, is well leveled and easily fixed. Dense fabric does not allow to create beautiful folds or will cause difficulties with tension;
• Do not wet the fabric before fixing. In the wet state, the material stretches better and acquires the desired shape, but after drying it will sit down and wrinkles will appear on the furniture;
• Do not use pins when cutting fabric, as they will leave puncture marks. For preliminary gluing of segments it is better to apply an adhesive tape;
• When sewing the cover on a sewing machine, pre-lubricate the seam with Vaseline. This will protect the canvas from scratches;
• A piece of fabric left for the gap inside out may form bumps on the front. To prevent the defect, it is better to spread the fabric on both sides of the seam and iron through gauze.

It is recommended to record the repair and upholstery of the sofa with your own hands on video or take a photo of each action. Your vigilance will avoid difficulties and speed up the process of assembling furniture.

How much is a sofa banner?

The price for replacing the sofa upholstery depends on various factors: the type and amount of material, the shape of the furniture, the need to replace the filler and its variety. A wide selection of fabrics allows you to choose the optimal solution for any wallet. Thus a banner of a sofa at home will manage times cheaper purchase of a new product.

When you buy furniture at the Amers factory, you save yourself the worries associated with upholstery. In the production of sofas, our company uses high quality smart fabrics. They are easy to care for, have good strength, resistance to fading, moisture and dirt. Therefore, furniture from the manufacturer Amers retains its original appearance for many years.

If the sofa has lost its original and aesthetic appearance, you can replace the upholstery with your own hands and give the furniture a second life.