Hello all! Things are progressing well in my office these past few days. I recently…
How to Reupolster an Ottoman
A few weeks ago I took a walk on the wild side by reupholstering an ottoman in a zebra fabric. That plus my zebra rug have added up to a risky spring for me! But I’m loving the visual interest these patterns have created in my home and I’m quite proud of myself for trying out something I normally wouldn’t.
- An ottoman
- Fabric of your choice to cover it
- Piping, also known as cording if your piece requires it, or you just want it on there
- Foam
- Batting
- Sewing machine and thread
- Paint, if needed
- Staple gun; Flathead screwdriver; Pliers; Band aids if you get stabbed by a staple 🙂
- Muscles to pull the fabric on!
1. First, start with a ottoman that’s seen better days. I got this one for $10 at a thrift store.
There will be lots of staple pulling here. Don’t hesitate, just pull them all out.
5. To make the top I just cut a piece with a one inch allowance for sewing it together. My piece had a top piece, a strip of piping and then a strip of fabric which is the part that got stapled to the bottom of the piece.
6. To make the cording, I cut some pieces about 2 inches wide on the bias, meaning diagonally,
9. Now, back to the fabric. Once you cut the sizes of the pieces you need for your piece and have made any cording you need, you’ll pin the pieces together to sew them.
Lay the correct sides together and line them up.
12. After that comes the need for muscles. Grab a friend if you must, don’t be shy. Just put that fabric on, wrap it around the back and pull! And staple of course 🙂
For more how to on that, read up at Pretty Handy Girl, ModCloth Blog, or Just a Girl.
To finish off the underneath of the piece, you can put on a piece of inexpensive fabric, sometimes a thicker blend. I measured this one out and stapled it on around the entire underside of the ottoman.
Flip her over and now you know how to reupholster an ottoman!
See more of the ottoman here. Thanks for reading, I hope this helped you out. If you have reupholstered something or plan to, let me see it!
You make it look so easy! I love it 🙂
WOW! That looks fantastic! Cording frightens me 😉 You really do make it look manageable though! Love how yours turned out. The animal print is so fun!
I love this! I’ve been too chicken to try my hand at reupholstering, but I think I could handle starting with something small like this. Great tutorial!
I am sooooo excited! I have one in the garage that is just waiting for me. Kind of scared to tackle it.
I’ve been a chicken, too, but now I want my own ten-dollar ottoman for overcoming that fear!
I love it! I have an ottoman different than yours. All fabric with wood legs. It has seen different days. I look forward to attacking it. Worse case. I will buy a new one. lOl
Another upholstery chicken here! But this seems totally do-able.
Hi Amy,
An ottoman is the easiest project to do! It’s just a square. First do the opposite sides then the remaining two. Have fun, I’m sure it will come out great!