8 Easy Upholstery Projects Anyone Can Do

To get you started in upholstery work, we’ve rounded up our eight favorite upholstery projects. Ranging from quick DIYs to weekend projects, there’s something in this blog for everyone. We’ve organized the projects into no-sew upholstery projects and DIYs that require a sewing machine. Not only that, the sewing projects all teach different and important skills in upholstery work: piping, topstitching, pattern matching and more. Whatever your skill level, you’re sure to find a project in this blog that interests you.

Beginner No-Sew Upholstery Projects

The easiest way to get started in upholstery work is to pick a project that does not require sewing. This way there are only a handful of materials and tools you need to invest in. Below are four easy no-sew upholstery projects. With a nice mix of outdoor seating, a decorative footstool, an easy bedroom update and a dining room refresh, there’s a DIY for everyone.

How to Reupholster Metal Folding Chairs

It’s easy to give an old metal folding chair new life! In this no-sew tutorial, we'll show you how to replace the foam and fabric to create new chair cushions. This project only requires a handful of tools and supplies. You’ll have a new set of comfortable, stylish folding chairs in just a couple of hours!

DIY Woven Leather Footstool

Did you know upholster work can involve leather? You bet! In this quick and easy video, we rehabbed an old wooden footstool and gave it a charming, distressed look using woven leather strips. In this no-sew project, you’ll learn how to cut and dye leather, as well as how to use an upholstery staple gun.

How to Re-Cover a Chair Seat

Ready to give your dining room an easy makeover? It’s easy to replace the fabric and foam on your dining room chairs. This is another no-sew chair project that will only take an afternoon. In our video tutorial, we’re replacing our dining room chairs with a quality vinyl fabric. But the same steps apply to a woven upholstery fabric.

How to Make a Fabric Headboard

Add a chic, expensive look to your bedroom without breaking the bank! DIYing your own headboard means you can use high-quality materials for a luxe look on a DIY budget. This tutorial will teach you how to measure and cut foam panels accurately, how to use a spray adhesive to glue the foam to the wooden board, and how to work with velvet fabric.

Beginner Sewing Upholstery Projects

If you fall in love with upholstery work and want to tackle some more challenging projects, then you can order a sewing machine and take your upholstery skills to the next level. These four upholstery projects will all teach you a new upholstery technique. From simple sewing and stapling to topstitching and pattern matching, your upholstery skills will take off when you make these projects.

Easy Bench Cushion Reupholstery

This is a great first sewing project for a new upholsterer because it requires very little sewing. In fact, the only sewing is at the four cushion corners — that’s it! If you’ve got a wooden bench frame but you don’t like the fabric on the cushion, it’s incredibly easy to replace it. And if your foam is in good shape, you can just update the fabric and keep the existing foam — saving you time and money. 

How to Reupholster a Dining Chair With Piping

If your dining room chairs have piping, it’s easy to reupholster them with new fabric. This DIY requires a bit more sewing than the bench cushion. Plus, you’ll learn a valuable upholstery skill: how to make piping. This is a great practice project because it doesn’t take much time or many materials to reupholster a dining chair with piping. Grow more confident in your upholstery work skills when you tackle this simple DIY.

How to Reupholster a Barstool — No Wrinkles

Dress up a plain wooden stool with a layer of comfortable seating foam and quality vinyl fabric. In this barstool project, you’ll learn a new skill: how to add a decorative topstitch. Topstitching adds a clean, professional look to your upholstery projects and it’s a technique worth knowing. You’ll also learn our clever trick for eliminating the wrinkles that appear on the underside of a stool when stapling the fabric in place.

How to Reupholster an Armless Chair

This is a bit more advanced than the other projects in this blog, but it’s still a fairly easy upholstery project. An armless chair like this has a simple shape and construction, so it’s still considered a beginner upholstery project. The skill you’ll learn in this video is how to pattern match. This technique is useful with striped or patterned fabric. You’ll learn how to arrange your fabric panels during patterning so that the pattern transitions seamlessly from the front of the chair to the sides for a professional look.

We hope you enjoyed this upholstery project roundup post! What was your favorite upholstery DIY? Did you learn any new or useful skills in these videos? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section. We’re always looking for project ideas. If you have other upholstery ideas leave your requests in the comments and you might see your request as a future DIY video. Happy upholstering!