Sunday, November 21, 2010

Recovering an Ottoman

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This was originally posted at Remodelaholic earlier this month.
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This summer, my sister and I each received a chair from our grandparents house and had the chairs reupholstered.  We wanted ottomans to go with the chairs and didn't want to spend a lot.  We found these ottomans online @ Sears on clearance for only $50 each!  When we had our chairs reupholstered, we had the upholster order extra yardage of the fabric we selected so that we would be able to recover the ottomans.  I recovered the ottomans using a no-sew method.  It was so simple and easy and I love how they turned out.  The key to this project if finding an ottoman with separate legs.  The one we bought is no longer available but here is a similar ottoman I found at online at Target.
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Supplies Needed:
- ottoman
- upholstery fabric
- staple gun & staples
- button covering kit
- upholstery needle
- tape measure
- upholstery thread
- buttons
- water soluble marking pen
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The ottoman arrived needing assembly which was perfect for what I wanted to do.
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See that leopard print?  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but I liked the style and I especially liked the button tufting.
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You can find the upholstery I used here.
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After deciding on fabric, you will need to cut it to size.  Make sure to leave enough overlap on each side to staple securely to the back of your ottoman.
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If you are using a geometric pattern like I did, make sure you are careful about how the pattern will lay on the ottoman.  With my pattern, I thought it would be best to center the pattern.
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Now, use a staple gun to attach the fabric. 
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When doing this, I start with one staple on each of the four sides and then continue around.
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Continue stapling all around but don't staple near the corners.
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Here's my trick for clean, neat, corners. 
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Pull fabric up tight to corner and staple as shown in photo above.
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Then, fold fabric in until a straight edge is created. 
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Pull tight and staple.  I know that sounds confusing, but I promise that it's not!
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Once you are finished with all four corners, your ottoman will look like this:
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You will want to trim the fabric so that it doesn't hang down when your ottoman is finished.
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Here's how the front will look:
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See, that was easy!
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Now it's time to use the fabric button kit and cover the buttons.
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Button kits like this are such an easy way to add a professional detail to a project.
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 Now it's time to attach the buttons to the ottoman.  The first step is to determine where you want your buttons to be.  Use a tape measure and a water soluble marking pen to marl the locations.
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Cut a long length of upholstery thread and tie to button.  Thread both ends through upholstery needle.
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Push needle through from the front to the back.  Pull tightly.  At the back of the ottoman use a button to thread through.  Using a button allows you to secure the thread.  There is probably a better way to do this, but I sort of figured it out as I went along!
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Sorry for the poor picture, but here's the button on the back side:
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Continue until all buttons have been secured.
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I think the buttons really make this project!
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Attach the legs and you are finished!
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Here's the finished product:
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I used the same method to recover my sister's ottoman.  She selected a different upholstery and will be posting about it on her blog, A Little Ditty, sometime soon!
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24 comments:

  1. I love how you got the corners so neat and tight! Great work!

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  2. This is just gorgeous! Love the fabric you used and the shape of the legs. So pretty!

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  3. Beautiful! Your fabric choice is perfect. I've always wondered about how to do those buttons- thanks for the tutorial- I'm bookmarking this page!

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  4. Love the pattern you picked for your ottoman.

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  5. Beautiful, You are amazing.

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  6. Hi Alissa,
    This looks so good. I was hoping you would show us the matching chair? I Bet they look really sharp together. I
    love the fabric you chose. Are you sure you don't have a deep desire to see the north? Let's say for a week or so? just long enough to help me with several projects. You might see moose.
    Dana : )

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  7. This looks great. I LOVE the fabric you used!

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  8. What a great project to share! Love everything about it!

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  9. This is absolutely stunning! Thahk you so much for the tutorial!! The stools are perfect!

    xoxo
    Karena

    Art by Karena

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  10. Thanks for the suggestions for getting a finished look for the corners. It usually takes me a long time to get the corners right when I recover a seat cushion.

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  11. WOW, you did a wonderful job! Looks BEAUTIFUL! I love the pattern you chose! Thanks for the tips!

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  12. It's beautiful and I want to eat IT and those cinammon rolls. YUM!

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  13. Am still loving that fabric! Would love to see the ottoman with the chair! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  14. That is great! I am about to recover my nursery glider because I have 8 weeks and counting til baby boy #3 arrives! Totally gonna use your button idea! Fab!!!

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  15. this is awesome alissa! love that fabric, and yes, the buttons really do make it look really amazing. :)

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  16. This has turned out stunning! You're quite clever aren't you? I have just today covered an old ottoman I found at the markets for $2. On looking at it I think it would look great with a buttons, but I have no idea how to start. Thanks for the tutorial. I might give it a go.
    Megs :)

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  17. Wow, love this Alissa! Maybe one day I'll get brave and try redoing furniture!

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  18. You are doing a wonderful job! I love this. I have a website about http://www.royalbambino.com/ A leading baby store in Murrieta, CA offers free shipping on little castle nursery gliders & angel song nursery gliders along with custom nursery
    gliders. You can select the best nursery glider & nursery ottoman from Little Castle gliders.


    Visit for more information on nursery gliders,
    nursery glider

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  19. I have questions for you on this project. Did you remove the button tufting from the original ottoman before you recovered it and re-did the tufting? Also, do you think this is possible to do with a thicker ottoman? Maybe with a longer needle? Or would you suggest sticking with the thinner one like you did?

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