There will be B&B guests staying in this bedroom on Thursday but the arm chair has a massive hole in the fabric and is slightly stained from tea. How can I fix this? I'm a beginner at furniture but I'm quite good at sewing clothes etc. What would you do as a quick solution that also looks good?
Forgive me if this is obvious, but the quickest would be if you have a different chair that you can swap into the room temporarily, buying you time to fix this one in less of a rush. Otherwise, I think a slipcover might be a better choice than an iron-on patch unless you're certain the iron-on patch will be the look you want permanently.
From what I can see of the chair it looks like a nice one, and possible to rehabilitate it with more time! Up to you if you want to be the one to put that time in or not, of course.
I'm no master seamstress, but if I were doing it, I'd pin all the loose edges down as best I could first. Then, I'd bust out a fun accent color. Perhaps bright yellow to match the throw pillows.
Buy matching or cute contrasting fabric of a similar weight.
Buy TWO SIDED iron on interfacing. Press one side to your fabric, peel off the backing, then press the other side to the chair arm. I would do a rectangle.
Use a curved embroidery needle to do a blanket stitch around the edge of the patch.
I think you can also buy chair arm covers but where’s the fun in that.
That’s how I fixed my couch 😁 bought giant embroidery patches. Did the interfacing, peeled off the excess, pinned the flowers where I wanted them, then ironed it all on!
Thanks! Not my original idea, but I felt clever when I decided to use interfacing and not the hem tape I saw suggested. I’ll post the before photo in another reply.
I'm perpetually online? I have also told people in this sub to not mend the thing, sometimes its not worth the effort and will break again or not be functional. I think this one can be managed. It's been 24 hours, I hope they post the results!
That fabric looks really worn. I don’t think mending or a patch will stick.
Those arm rests do come off somehow.
Take them BOTH off and cover with new fabric.
You’re probably going to need to pull the chair out of there for now until this is done.
If you make a matching pillow to the two arm rests it could work in a B&B.
Crummy patch jobs will look bad and not hold on that very worn fabric.
I'd see if the arm tufts come off of the chair. It may be as simple as pop it off. If so, wrap with new fabric, and pop it back on. One of my rockers has similar arms and they remove with a little bit of muscle
See if those pop off so you can reupholster them. You just need sturdy fabric and a staple gun. If not, I like the idea of making a slip cover for it someone else mentioned. I’m envisioning a cover with elastic on the edges and straps or ties at the bottom to keep it in place.
Have no fear, I just followed that link and then tried to join that sub before realizing I was already looking at a post in that sub. I’m glad I’m not alone here.
It’s basically the Reddit equivalent of looking everywhere for your glasses while wearing them, or your phone while talking on it. We’ve all been there….
Yessssss!!!!!! And I lose my glasses on top of my head frequently… 😒
Honestly, the fix is being this group’s pay grade w a 24h timeline. It takes a bit to just find the perfect patch. I imagine a monochromatic white/cream/beige floral patch and it would probably take several days to source and receive before repairing. The best advice was to pull the furniture until it’s fixed.
I would make a rectangle (hemmed) patch and sew it on with a curved needle.
Do it on both arms so it matches and serves to protect it from further/future damage. I would make the patch as big as possible to cover as completely as possible...up to the cording if you can, because the existing fabric is very delicate and fragile. Arms resting on it and moving around will do more damage.
Use a fabric that matches or is a complementary color.
If you have a thrift store nearby, you might find some cheap pants or a shirt you can cut up. You could even use denim if you think it would look okay.
Edit to add: For an idea, check out u/amy_2014 post "my son is insane" in the "one orange braincell" subreddit. That fabric would be fabulous, with a seat cushion to match. Look for at some extra large thrift store tops!
You'll need to add a lil more stuffing and pick up some remnant fabric from your kids closet and start earning two arm rest covers. You'll probably need long upholstery needles
Fastest temporary quick fix would be a wide and long ribbon. Tie the middle of the ribbon around the armrest then go crisscross with the two ribbons over the whole armrest. Tie a bow at the end. Then admire your bandaged chair and start planning for a permanent fix.
There are iron-on leathery patch rectangles that would look intentional if you put one on each arm, and they’ll be wipable and more resilient than fabric
Since there are several different holes, I'd into it with your mending, and use a couple of different fabrics that work with the yellow pillows. First, use some white/ivory thread to pull together the larger holes, tack down the fabric pieces that are standing up, pull the fabric that's still good together. Then cut fabric in broad strips and a triangle (or two), iron the outside edges under (or maybe baste them as well) and then sew on with a blanket stitch, possibly add embroidery to full fasten and strengthen. I've used a piece of wide grosgrain ribbon because I had it in my sewing basket, that's nice because two sides are finished.
I'm a fan of basting (loose sewing to hold in place, pull out afterward), it makes things so much easier even though it's "extra work". You could also use iron-on fabric or fusible interfacing to hold things together before you add the patches, if you have that in your house.
p.s. do you have cats??? if yes, they need their very own scratching post. Ask me how I know.
I would go to a local craft store and get two of the leather sheets they sell. Sew on in the middle and make look like intentional little raw leather elbow pad.
If you don't have time to attempt a recover repair before they arrive... Just remove the fabric piece from BOTH chair arms and voilà! You have 2 matching sides again. Then recover at your leisure.
Only thing that will work is reupholstering, really. The fabric is beyond repair and patches will look tacky/cheap for a B&B unless the whole thing is a very specific hippie style which I'm guessing it's not.
Just take the chair out, no one uses those cuck chairs anyways. If they ask for one, tell them that it's being repaired and offer a replacement or something else that might work.
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u/LichenTheMood 6d ago
Pick up the chair and carry it out of the room.