In the past few weeks, like the rest of New Zealand I have been at home with a lot of time on my hands… I have put down my tools and have been thinking of ways to make it easier to get those upholstery projects up and running from the comfort of your own home.

One thing you can do easily from home is to measure your own piece of furniture so we can give you a comprehensive quote with the right amount of fabric. There is a particular way to do this to ensure we order the right amount.

Follow this handy guide below (I always start with the inside back ‘A’ and work from there).

Write down the measurements of each surface of the chair in both directions, as shown in the diagram, taking the widest point of that surface. For example, in the chair shown, the widest part of the arm is around the scroll at the front of the arm, while that of the inner back is just above the arms. Measure round the frame and down inside the chair where appropriate. That might mean sticking your hands down the back of a sofa, you might even find some treasures if you're lucky. 

If you end up choosing a fabric with a pattern you may need more so I have enough to do pattern matching. A well-matched pattern really brings a chair together. As a rough guide, you may need an extra metre to match up an armchair but it really depends on the repeat. 

It’s also important to bear in mind that stuffings, webbings and framework might need attention so have a really good feel for saggy seats and wobbly legs to give us a better idea of what needs to be done.

Once you have measured your piece like a professional you can send us your measurements along with some photographs and we can quote for you.

I’m looking forward to getting stuck into some exciting projects when we get back to work, have you got a sad piece of furniture that we can transform for you?

Hopefully catch you all soon in our workshop,

Sophie the upholsterer x