Antique Sofa
This is the first project of the "Step by Step" amateur tutorial pilot project, which is just starting.The project is an antique sofa with a solid seat and 3 individual button tufted backrests. The owner is a woodworker who has done a few other upholstered pieces of furniture. He wants to recover this sofa himself.
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Request for help:
As to my upholstering interest I have just started and am a real amateur. My main interest is furniture refinishing but have done a few pieces requiring recovering. Don't intend to get into sewing but will attempt most anything that can be stapled or tacked. My current challenge is an old Victorian sofa and have been looking on the internet for ideas. I have attached a few pictures showing my challenge. I have already refinished the wood and have rebuilt the seat, Now the dreaded fluting and tucking. If you can provide any assistance on how to do that please let me know.
Thanks again for letting me join and look forward to viewing your pieces to get a better understanding of how to...
Wayne
Hi Wayne,
Hi Wayne,
Good luck on reupholsterying your antique. I have a few questions. I no Do you still have the old cover, springs, etc.? If so, could you lay them out and take pictures so that I could see what materials were used, what condition and how intack they are?
Now for the guiding Questions:
2.) do you want to make the job easier by using modern materials and methods?
I just started writing an article on Antique Upholstery, see here: http://winterssewing.com/node/32 Also, look at the pictures and slideshows on this page: http://winterssewing.com/node/22
2.) Did the old upholstery have springs in the seat?
3.) Did you put the springs back in the seat?
4.) What did you use for padding?
I have to run now, A couple other questions: Are you very computer savy? Do you have a digital camera?
Best Wishes,
Stephen
Administrator of
Winters Sewing: Upholstery Information Website
www.winterssewing.com/drupal
Stripping the Sofa and Doing the Seat
I still have all the (old) materials (that were) removed.
The fluted and tucked backs were removed in tact and remain that way. I didn't want to rip them apart until I found out how there were made. There are three different sections. A larger middle piece and two end sections.
The (new) seat springs were all retied to an 8 way tie. The old tyeing was only 4 way and some on the strings were broken. Re-tying them firmed them up considerably. Sorry neglected to take a photo on the new tie job. I restretched the bottom webbing as it was in good condition. Also added some additional webbing which strengthened it further. I then covered the bottom.
See photos.
In answer to your other questions.
#1. I would say yes if I can accomplish it. Would this keep the value higher than modern methods?
#2. Saying easier works for me also if it is real simple. Sorry to give a yes for both questions but I guess it depends on how difficult #1 is.
The padded seat was stuffed with a black moss. It was totally disintegrated. I replaced it with 2" Nu-Foam and covered it with the original padding removed from the sofa. I them topped it with a medium weight padding material.
My computer skills are fair but have children who are experts. I do have a digital camera. . . . . . Will attach a few additional photos which should give you a feel for what I have.
Wayne
About the Tutorial
Hi Wayne,
I just wanted to tell you what I'm doing about this step by step tutorial. I still have some kinks to work out, to figure out what is the best way to do this. For the time being, my thought is to have our ongoing conversation down in the comments section, and as we go to write out the tutorial above (where the picture is.) Depending on how long it goes, the tutorial may span several pages, with the appropriate comments beneath each page.
Of course, after experimenting, may do the layout differently, but this is my thought at present. What do you think.
Don't worry, I'll walk you through anything you need to know how to do. But more about that later.
Best Wishes,
Stephen
Hi Wayne,
I can see that you are an
I can see that you are an expert at what you do and hope you don't mind that I ask you a few questions about the sofa I am refinishing. Some of the face wood is worn down to bare wood, it is deeply carved wood, I sent it to a furniture restorer to be completely stripped, is this a mistake?
Should I only have the exposed wood refinished? Also the springs are all intact and seem to be the original, none are broken. I worry that there isn't much spring left in them. Should I replace them? Lastly, as I posted on your comments, I wanted to know where I source the information on how to properly tie down the springs since I have never done this before. I thank you for any information that you could give me.
Pam
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Spring Tying
Pam,
Now to get to your question about tying springs.
Here is an article on Carrscorner, on another website, about Spring Tying.
Here are some pictures showing springs that were tied (You can click on any of the picture to enlarge them). The springs were tied with a variation of the "English Double Return Tie", which is shown in the above mentioned article on Spring Tying. This method is used when the sofa has cushions that sit on top of the springs. The main difference between these springs and the spring shown below, is that these springs have a front spring edge.
Here are more pictures of tying springs that were tied with a variation of the "Modified Crown tie"which is also shown in the above mentioned article on Spring Tying. The main difference is that the instruction show a rounding of the top of the springs, while the pictures show tying the springs flat on top..
Best Wishes,
Stephen
Hi Pamela,
Hi Pamela,
I'm not an expert on furniture refinishing. However, Keith, see message below, is a refinishing professional.
However, I'll give you my opinion. Since you mentioned that you are having the piece stripped, I thought that I'd answer that first. I can give you some things I've learned. Part of whether or not to have an antique stripped depends upon if the condition of the finish and if the current finish is the original finish. I've heard that, if the furniture finish is in good condition, retaining the original finish might make an antique more valuable than having it refinished. I think there is a special way to clean/restore the original without removing the finish. I would recommend talking to a refinishing expert about this. With that said, if the finish is the original and in good shape, then you might want to consider just having it cleaned, as retaining the original finish may protect the value of the piece. But, if the finish is not the original, or if the finish is not in good condition, then having it completely stripped may help the new finish be put on more thoroughly.
I'll answer your questions about the springs later.
More Later,
Best Wishes,
Stephen
Refinishing
Refinishing itself is neither bad nor good -- it depends a great deal on the piece and its condition. In a very small percentage of pieces that are still in excellent shape, refinishing will diminish the value. About the only time you and I are likely to see these pieces are in museums or if we happen to have wealthy friends that are knowledgeable collectors. This is despite what Antiques Roadshow always seems to say. If a finish is degraded, not repairing it will hasten its demise. After all, a finish is designed to protect and beautify. If it's doing neither, how valuable can it be? See this article: Antiques Roadshow
Short of complete stripping there's cleaning and "freshening up." Read this article about Saving the Finish Pay particular attention to the discussion of (re-)sealing the wood with shellac. That and cleaning may get you a nice piece. Read the discussion, too, about "finishes that cannot be saved," to determine if stripping is needed.
Now it depends on what type of "restorer" you've sent it to. If he's going going to dump it in a vat of hot stripper, maybe you should stop him. It will degrade the joints. What I use is a "flow-over system" that pumps stripper through a brush and onto the piece, then recycles the stripper. The brush strips out the finish in the crevices and carvings without having it soaking.
removing buttons on seat back
I have lovely antique sofa which I am starting to upholster. I don't like the tufted button look on the seat backs and was wondering the best way to remove them. Should I just clip the string, remove the button, and fill in any indentations with padding, for a smooth back? Will this work?
Thank you for your help.
Judy
Changing Padding from Button Tufted
Hi Judy,
By the term "seat back", I'm not sure if you are referring to the "backrest" or "seat".
One problem you have with changing from the tufted to not tufted is the padding is very uneven. During the tuft process, after the buttons are put in, additional padding is often stuffed under the cover to fill out the tufting sections. This makes the tufting look better, but makes for a very lumpy bumpy padding when you want to make the new cover plain.
My first choice when making a previously tufted project plain is (depending upon what type of padding was used, and the client's wishes and budget) to replace all the padding. The kind of new padding you use to replace it would depend upon your budget, you knowledge and experience as an upholsterer or Do-It-Yourselfer.
Stephen
removing buttons
Stephen, Thanks so much for the lengthy information. I think I'll try your latter suggestion as it seems to be the easiest. If it doesn't work I'll remove everything and replace with foam. Will keep you posted and thanks again.
Pissenlit
getting started on my project
Hi Stephen,
I'm about to get started and would like to make this as easy as possible for myself. Should I simply remove the old fabric, add new padding where necessary, then cover the padding with a layer of cotton, then a layer of burlap, and finally my new fabric? Or is that too many layers? Do I staple each layer, or add the cotton and burlap and staple them in one go?
Another question about the tufted seat back. What kind of padding should I use to cover the buttoned section: foam? cotton? Which would give the smoothest look? I should tell you that this is a loveseat with three separate round seat back sections, each one delineated by carved wood. It resembles the one in your pictures, but is quite a bit smaller. Therefore, since the seat back is not one solid piece of padding, but rather three smaller pieces, does this mean that getting a smooth look over the button-tufts should be easier than if it were one long padded section?
Final question: When doing the complete back of the sofa (not the seat back, but the rear of the sofa), Do I pad right over the vertical wooden pieces on the frame? Or do I fill in between the wooden verticals, and not pad the wood itself? (The padding on this back section had been removed when I bought the sofa, but I still have the original padding).
I hope my questions are clear, and I'm grateful for any information you can give me.
Many thanks,
Judy (Pissenlit)
Got your message
Hi Judy,
Just wanted to acknowledge that I received your reply, but haven't had time to reply to it yet. Will get back to you soon.
Stephen
A Few Guiding Principles
I have not finished writing this, but wanted to post this for you in a timely manner.
Since you decided to choose my last option, I felt it necessary to go over some things that I had not mentioned in my prior response. There is more to consider about recovering an antique than just putting the fabric on it. The thing that I have to consider, when responding to you, is to realize that I not only writing this for you, but am also writing for all those who read this in the future. When a person chooses what "seems to be" the easiest route, he/she needs to realize what else is involved. .... and.... before I possibly give advice aboaut that route, I need to consider what type of advice I'm willing to give....
In the meantime, first, read this article on recovering antiques.... Antique Reupholstery
Also, read this article on Quality Standards.
Even though I mentioned it as a possibility, I have some real concerns about telling someone to cover over the old cover, especially on the seat of an antique. Button tufted antiques are even harder to recover, or to "cover over". In addition, because to the lumpiness of the padding, a new cover is frequently put over the old padding with disturbing it. What this means is that all the support structures get older and weaker, until someday they just give way. I've had many old chairs and sofas come into me with the springs hanging out the bottom.
From personal experience, I've seen the results of covering over the old covers.
Laying A Good Foundation
One of the primary guiding premises of upholstery is that you want the stuff under the cover to outlast the new cover. The last thing you want to happen is that after you have recovered a piece of furniture, then a few month or years down the road, the springs give out and collapse. As a normal consequence of use and aging, all upholstered furniture deteriorates. It’s easy to see the deterioration of the cover, but it’s harder to see the decay of the inner portions of the furniture.
When something has a new fabric cover on it people assume that the innards of the furniture is also in good shape. Unintentionally, putting the new cover on the furniture may cause it to get harder use and thereby decrease it’s life. The seat is the most important section of the whole piece of furniture, it must carry the weight of the people who sit on it. It is very important that the seat section remain firm and strong without fail. If the seat section is old, then I recommend closely inspecting it before covering over it.
Some thing things, such as the wood frame and the metal springs, last longer:
.... the seat using generally consists of two types of .... the long-lasting section is the wood frame and the metal springs. These will last almost indefinitely. The other part consists of webbing, burlap, and spring twine. Even if the furniture is "rarely used", these supporting elements become weaker and weaker with age. If these are not replaced they will eventually fail.
Our Responsibility and Obligations:
some random unfinished thoughts .....
We too often can only focus on what will make it cheaper, quicker, and easier for us in this moment. We forget that we are not alone. We have obligations to those who came before us, to those who are in our lives now and to those who will come after us.
To the inheritors of the antique(s)
To the historical value of the piece
Hi Stephen, Thanks for your
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for your very useful information re: my antique sofa. The innards are secured, the job is done, and now I just need a little information about glueing gimp. Do you use a hot glue gun? If so, do you apply glue to both the upholstery fabric and the reverse side of the gimp, or just on the gimp? Is there another adhesive that you prefer? Many thanks. I'll send you a before and after photo in a couple of days as soon as the gimp has been applied.
Judy (Pissenlit)
Applying the gimp
When using white glue, I generally start by laying out a length (3-5 ft) out face down on a work table and put the glue on the back side of the gimp. Then I put that gimp on the furniture, as shown in the picture. When I come to the end of the glued section, I put a staple lightly into the gimp to hold it in place while I glue the next section of gimp. Of course, since the first section of gimp is now on the chair, I glue the back of the gimp in the air while I pull the gimp tight with the other hand.
I've also used hot glue to apply gimp. In all cases, you only need to apply the glue to one surface. While it doesn't really matter whether you apply the glue to the gimp or to the fabric, on hot glue I generally apply the glue to the fabric on the furniture, then press the gimp into the glue. In applying the glue, put it on thick enough to cover most of the back of the gimp, to give good coverage, but not thick enough to come through the gimp. A word of caution. If you are using hot glue, don't use your fingers to press the gimp in place after gluing. The glue is HOT!!!! and will burn your fingers. After applying the hot-glue, use a tool or a small block of wood, etc. to press the gimp in place.
Stephen
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