Bit Off More Than I Can Chew

[Neon]

Hello Everyone,
I was finishing up a leather office chair today, got cocky and decided to begin the leather office chair that my sewing room inherited two years ago after the cats used it as a scratching post.

By golly, this thing was made incredibly well.  When I got all of the staples out and the stiff rubber support-thingy, I found that there were at least six zippers on the inside of the back of the chair that created pockets for foam and batting/stuffing.  This is WELL beyond my amateur abilities.

Can I just separate the pieces, use them as a pattern and cut two large pieces of foam the size of the back, and seat, and go from there?

Also, how do any of you make any money?  It took me two long days to tear apart and reupholster the first office chair.  It looks pretty good for my skill level, but even if it was perfect, no one would want to pay me $12 an hour for 16 hours.....for an office chair.  And that doesn't even include fabric, foam, etc. 

Thanks for any help you can give me,
NEON

[sofadoc]

Also, how do any of you make any money?  It took me two long days to tear apart and reupholster the first office chair.  It looks pretty good for my skill level, but even if it was perfect, no one would want to pay me $12 an hour for 16 hours.....for an office chair.  And that doesn't even include fabric, foam, etc.

There ARE many mass-produced office chairs that simply aren't worth re-covering.
It would have to be an expensive chair to begin with to justify the cost.

This is WELL beyond my amateur abilities.
Can I just separate the pieces, use them as a pattern and cut two large pieces of foam the size of the back, and seat, and go from there?

Hard to say without seeing some pics, but it sounds like a good option if you want to simplify things a bit. Good luck.

[gene]

I"m not sure either about what exactly you are asking.

However, it may be that those zippers are causing you some consternation. If that's the problem, you may be able to use the old leather as a template, like you mentioned, put the stuffing in the new leather, and hand sew where the zippers are. A good 2" curved leather needle would work well for your sewing.

Good luck with it.

gene

[Neon]

Thank you both for your replies.  This chair will remain in the sewing room and be made of cloth as our three cats still have thier claws.  If it is in any way presentable when I'm finished, I'll post a picture.  Should be interesting. 
Neon

[kodydog]

Also, how do any of you make any money?  It took me two long days to tear apart and reupholster the first office chair.  It looks pretty good for my skill level, but even if it was perfect, no one would want to pay me $12 an hour for 16 hours.....for an office chair.  And that doesn't even include fabric, foam, etc. 

Thanks for any help you can give me,
NEON

$192 doesn't sound bad for labor on some office chairs I've done. The more you do the faster you get. You do have to hustle to make any money in this business.

[Neon]

Here are before and after photos of the office chair I felt 'okay' about doing.  The original was naugahyde or pleather.  I used leather and got a very different result.  It was quite thick in spots and difficult to get smooth around corners.  On the back there are puckers I need to fix.

The other photos are of the top/back of the office chair my cats destroyed.  It should be easier to manipulate the fabric as I'm not using leather this time.  What has me stymied are the many different pieces and involved way of attaching foam/batting.  I'm not sure I'm up to this.  Those white ties were fed through holes in the wooden back support and stapled.  It may be hard to see, but there are also 5 or 6 metal rods that act as additional support. 

I have a feeling the finished product will end up looking NOTHING like this.   :(

Has anyone worked on a similar chair?  Any recommendations you could send my way?  Maybe chuck this stuff and find a different/easier pattern to follow?

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[kodydog]

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa414/15251513/IMAG0072.jpg
Some chairs, even seasoned upholsterers cringe when we see them. Like sofadoc said its hard to compete with mass produced chairs. I've seen chairs like that at Office Max for under $200. I couldn't touch it for that. I'm not saying yours is a cheep chair. Hard to tell without looking at it. One thing, make sure before you put a lot of time into it. Check to see that the mechanism is still in good shape. Does it wobble from side to side or does it lean back a little too much or too easy when you sit in it.

Good luck and Happy Upholstering.

[sofadoc]

The first chair isn't a particularly tough one to do.
That second one is a "Ringed-tailed tooter"!
I don't see any shortcuts there. Unless it's a $500 chair, I'd pass on it. Especially if, like Kody said, it has some wobbly mech. parts.

[kodydog]

What do you think about this Sofa? Take all that fancy dancy chamber stuff and toss them in the garbage. Get some new foam and put a tight seat and back on it. He could be siting in it in a day or two.

[sofadoc]

What do you think about this Sofa? Take all that fancy dancy chamber stuff and toss them in the garbage. Get some new foam and put a tight seat and back on it. He could be siting in it in a day or two.

Yup! I believe that's what I'd do if I were just fixing one up to have around the house. 
But if it were for a customer, I would remove the first staple, slide the chair out of the way, and slide a new one from Office Max into it's place, and replace the staple. ;)

[christwo]

Ha Ha, but be sure to replace that staple! I like that.

[hdflame]

Neon,

Did you get my email about your picture posting question?  Did you get it figured out?

[Neon]

Yes, I got the email.  Thank you very much.  I'm trying to finish up the chair, which, as I thought, looks NOTHING like the original.  When I'm done, I'll try to post a picture of it using your instructions.  Thanks for your help!

[Steve at Silverstone Fabrics]

The chair "from hell" is an example of what I call "a chair in a bag".....related to "a sofa in a bag, "an ottoman in a bag" and " a love seat in a bag".

The leather parts  are cut and sewn in some 3rd world country, placed in a bag and shipped to a furniture plant in the USA.

Once it is here, a chair like that can be stuffed and stapled to a frame and ready to ship in about 30 minutes.

The first time I saw an example of this was an Italian sofa from Natuzzi.......the entire sofa came in a plastic bag that was 34" x 34" x 8" .

I agree with the others......this chair is not worth the investment of time or effort to get it back to the point that it started it's life.  Steve

[sofadoc]

It makes sense what Steve says about it being a "Chair in a bag". They obviously have a template to produce  a couple million of 'em at once. It's just not worth it for an upholsterer to try to replicate just one. If I couldn't do Kody's simplified version, I'd just replace it.
No sense trying to compete with a 3rd world sweatshop.