Victorian Chair Seat Restoration
I’ve been re-upholstering a Victorian sprung chair seat. Here are some pictures to show how it went.
Click the slider arrows to progress through.
Just taken the bottom cover off the seat. It’s a total mess. The hessian had decayed and burst. None of the stuffing you can see should be in this part of the seat, never mind visible.
Cleaned out most of the burst-through stuffing so now I can see the springs and the original calico inner cover. This stuff is well over 100 years old and it’s very dusty and musty.
Closer look at the springs shows where the stuffing and hessian should have been but even here it has come through.
Top cover (dark blue) off. You can see the white(-ish) calico at the edges. Time to turn it over and look inside the top.
OK, wish I hadn’t done that. Someone has nailed on a bit of red cloth to re-inforce the cover. Bit of a bodge, but no problem. More tacks to take out.
Now down to the final calico layer. It’s the original one. How do I know? Well, for one, it’s wearing through at the edges of the springs (hence the ‘Red Bodge’), and for another…
…It looks like this on the other side. It’s probably worth mentioning that no-one has actually seen this since well before Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered 99 years ago. You can see the edges of the rotted-through hessian on the inner edges of the seat frame.
With the bit sticking to the springs pulled off and laid down. It really does feel a bit like unwrapping a mummy. Smells like it too. I’m trying not to think about the 10,000 or so backsides which have sat on it throughout the last century and a bit. I mean…, no. Stop thinking about it, Chris.
I did a rough calculation. We think the chair was made about 1880, making it 140 years old. Even if it was only used twice a week, that’s still 14,560 times it’s had a bum on it.
The bags on the left are steadily being filled with this stuff. I think it needs to be out of the house ASAP.
OK. Frame and springs cleaned and ready to go. All tacks lifted and removed. Time to start upholstering.
Oh, did I mention the tacks? Here they are (well, most of them). About a hundred. In there also you can see lots of little fibres which have been making my lungs itch ever since.
The new upholstery materials. From the top:
– Jute webbing;
– Fine grade Calico;
– Wool/natural fibre wadding
(None of your polyeurethane foam here!);
– Close-weave hessian.
Tying the springs back in each corner…
… to produce a slight ‘domed’ profile. This gives better shape to the chair and stops me from having to struggle later on. Also stops you getting a bumful of springs every time you sit down.
Webbing in place. It wasn’t there before but I put it in to help keep the shape and stop the springs wearing through the upper fabric so easily. All of this is happening on the ‘top’ of the seat now.
The view from below. If the frame looks a bit ‘wonky’ it’s just me holding the camera at the wrong angle. This is why they won’t let me do weddings anymore. The bride was not happy…
Top of the seat again with the hessian laid over the webbing.
The folded hem isn’t really necessary but I did it to match the piece which came off. It will never be seen, but I know it’s been done. The seat frame is oak and really hard to get some of the staples in. Using a staple gun is my only real break with tradition.
Under the seat again, just checking everything’s where it should be. Look at all those sodding tack holes. No wonder my arm hurts after getting them all out.
Wadding in place. It’s been stitched into the springs underneath, and the edge has been rolled and stitched into place to keep the shape of the rim of the seat.
Calico going on.
Calico finished and no springs poking through. Hurrah! Let joy be unconfined, etc! This is the final layer before the decorative cover goes on. I think we’ll go for a William Morris design to fit the character of the chair.
Corner shot.
From the top. The slight uneven-ness on the edges will be taken care of when the cover goes on.
And this is what it should look like underneath. No wadding or torn hessian pouring out of it. Nice and clean. Ready for the next 10,000 bums.
