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petdave -> RE: upholstering a spanking bench (5/29/2008 5:17:42 AM)
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Are you anywhere near Mooresville? There's a company there called Ritchie Foam & Mattress that i've done business with before... seemed like they had fair prices, and a much larger selection than any craft store.
What kind of design are you using? That will have a major impact on how you upholster it.
Some people like upholstery tacks; personally i prefer to staple-gun the material to the underside of the piece wherever possible; sometimes this requires using captive bolts to put it together.
Short version is that you never want to see the edge of the material- it should always be folded back on itself, or folded over the piece and hidden on the backside. Don't cut your fabric until after the foam is in place.
i usually secure one whole edge, moving from the center out, holding tension on it as i go. Stop about an inch (half-inch for smaller pieces) from the edge) Pull it tight across to the opposite edge, and fasten that at the center, then tension it towards both corners (clamps help... i assume you have some clamps [:D]) and fasten from the center out. Then do each side in the same way. Always work from the center out, because the only place you can really hide extra material is in the corners. Corners are usually folded over on to one side, rather than being compressed in the middle... easy to demonstrate, hard to explain [&:]
Couple other thoughts-
If you can scrounge up a cheap mattress, they're usually a solid block of foam. Same with couch cushions, and large upholstered chairs. These can often be obtained dirt cheap off of Craigslist as long as you have a pickup truck and a friend to help carry it. Unzip or cut open the cushion, Febreze the foam, leave it out in the sun for a couple afternoons.
If you think foam is expensive, you'd better be sitting down if you start looking for leather to upholster with! i use vinyl (pleather!) for furniture, but there is a huge variation in quality, so make sure you see it in person. i think i paid $9/yard for the stuff i used on my bench, and that was 5 or 6 years ago... very pleased with it, though.
And... there was something else, but i'm impressed i even got that much down at 8 am. Ah well. Have fun!
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