Tropical Leopard | How to Upholster a Foot Stool | Mini Room Makeover

If you would like to learn how to upholster furniture but want to start out small, a foot stool is a perfect beginner project! Either re-cover an old stool you already have or find one second hand that needs some love. It’s so satisfying to see your stool go from looking dreary to looking brand new. This no-sew project is great for any crafter!

What you’ll need:

Footstool

Fabric measuring 6” bigger than the stools cushion

Staple gun

Pilers

Upholstery tacks and a hammer

Sanding block and white chalk paint (if you are painting the legs)

Curved scissors

Textile glue

Pins

Trimming

1. Start by stripping the old fabric off the stool. A lot of upholstered furniture will have a trim around the edge to cover the staples, so pull this off and use the pliers to remove the old staples. If your stool has tacks in the top, use pliers to pull these out too until you have a bare cushion pad.

2. If you want to paint the rest of your stool, do this now. Sand down the legs and base so you have a rough surface to paint on. Give the stool as many coats as it needs. I chose to slightly sand down the paint once it had dried to give the stool a worn look.

3. Once the paint is dry, place your fabric over the top of the stool.

4. Pinch and pleat the fabric slightly over the hole where the tacks are going to go. Replace the tacks with new ones by hammering them into the same hole through the fabric. Repeat this with all the tack holes.

TIP - start from the middle hole and work your way out.

If your stool has not got tacks in, skip this step.

5. Trim the fabric back slightly if you need to.

6. Pull the fabric taught over the edge of the stool. Use your staple gun to start attaching the fabric to the stools edge. Start from one side then go to opposite side so that the fabric stays taught and even. Once you have a staple on all four sides of the stool, add more staples in between until you are happy that every bit of fabric is attached. Your staples should all be in a line around the stool.

7. Trim back any excess fabric using curved scissors.

8. Using a textile glue, attach the trim around the edge of the stool covering you staples. Use pins to keep the trim in place while the glue dries.

Your stool is finished!

Video tutorial coming soon x