Making upholstered furniture make look difficult, but with a bit of practice you’ll be turning out your own custom designs with ease!

This two piece outfit is a good place to start:

For the couch or divan, take a board approximately 3/4″ thick, 10″ long, by 4″ wide—vary the measurements according to what you have available. Pad the top and sides of the board lightly with old cotton batting—or a scrap of foam rubber if you have it. A dab of glue here and there will hold the padding securely as you work. Be sure some padding covers the corners of the board so the sharp edges will not cut through the material.

Cut a piece of heavy-textured upholstery material large enough to fit over the top and sides and extend about 1″ underneath the padded board. (You can use plastic material if it is thin enough and pliable enough to finish neatly on this size furniture.) Determine on the cloth exactly where the corners of the sofa will be, then cut away a square beyond each corner of the material, leaving enough for a small seam. With right sides of material facing, sew together from the wrong side the two cut edges at each corner. This miters the corners to fit exactly over the padded board. Pull the sewed-up top snugly over the padded board and fasten the raw edges of the material on the under side with sufficient tacks (carpet or thumb) to hold it securely.

Now, anyone knows expensive furniture is finished in a workmanlike manner—even the portions not in open sight. So if you want (and of course you do) to finish your sofa like a craftsman, cut a piece of cardboard (preferably painted black before attaching) about 1/4″ smaller than the under side of the sofa and fasten the cardboard with a tack in each corner and one on each side, if necessary. This hides the raw edges of the upholstery material and the unpainted bottom of the board.

The legs are four 1 1/4″ long staples, previously painted black. Nail them on the under side at angles to the corners, about 3/4″ from the edges.

You can really let yourself go on what you will use for the back of the sofa. Do you recall seeing the flat plastic bobbinlike holders on which laces and braids are wound at the notion counter? They come in all sorts of sizes and patterns, and are relegated to the trash can when empty. A friendly salesperson will be glad to save you some.

Either the end or the side of the plastic piece can be made to serve as the back of your sofa. Most plastics cut easily with a warm knife, heated over a candle or a stove burner (be careful not to get it too hot). Always use a steel ruler or a firm, true edge of some kind to guide your cutting lines. Or you can break off with a pair of pliers the plastic you do not want to use. For this particular need for a sofa back, if the piece is broken off the rough edges will not be visible.

About 4″ is a good height for this back piece, and after it is cut to correct size to fit the back of the sofa, it should be painted black and dried thoroughly. Then fasten it to the back of the sofa bottom with tacks or small staples with a staple (not the large kind used for legs). Dabs of glue will help hold it in place.

To finish the back of the sofa neatly, cover the rough edges and the tacks or staples used to affix it with a strip of masking or electrical tape.

Another interesting back is made from small flower-pot trellises. One large one might be sufficient; or if they are small, say about 5″ across, use two for a back. Then you could use one trellis for a chair back.

Whatever kind of sofa you make, it is expected you will have a matching chair. Make the chair according to the directions for the sofa, say 4″ wide by 3/4″deep.

You will be able to dream up many kinds of other backs from your box of castaways.

Now let’s proceed to make a sofa and chair with the back and arms also upholstered. A wooden box 11″ or 12″ long and 4″ deep is excellent for this. Pad the box on the bottom (which will be the seat of the sofa) and four sides, then upholster with mitered corners, as explained above. Large headed thumbtacks are practical to fasten the edges of the upholstery on the inside of a wooden box.

The back rest of the sofa is made from a heavy cardboard core that held paper towels, or a mailing tube—2″ or 2 1/4″ in diameter. Cut this length of tube about 3 1/2″ shorter than the length of your sofa. To do this, measure off the length you need and mark in a continuous circle around the core where you want to cut. If a pair of scissors is not satisfactory for cutting, use a razor blade.

Cut your piece of upholstery material 1″ longer than the tube back and wide enough to go around it, plus a small seam allowance. With right sides of material together, stitch your seam allowance the length of the material. Turn right side out and press the seam flat—with some materials, the fingers will be sufficient. Use an iron if necessary. Insert the tube into the sewed-up material. The tube should fit snugly. Work the extra 1/2″ upholstery material on each end down inside the tube and fasten securely with glue. You will want to keep the glue off the rest of the upholstery, and this is easy to do if you work with a damp cloth close at hand.

Cut two circles of cardboard a fraction smaller than the diameter of the tube—these are for the ends, and of course with the cloth inside the tube some of the diameter space has already been used; how much depends on the thickness of the upholstery material. Cut two circles of upholstery material about 1/4″ larger all around than the cardboard circles or discs.

Pad the discs lightly with cotton, cover with the upholstery material, work the edge down smoothly on the underneath side of the disc, and glue well. Or sew the material together with needle and thread back and forth across the wrong side of the disc.

(You will be able to determine how long to let pieces set to dry well-glued or painted-depending on the medium you are using and the materials with which you are working.)

While the discs are drying (if glued), you can affix the larger back tube to the sofa, placing it equidistant from each end. Large-headed thumbtacks (about 5/8″ diameter) are ideal for this. If the place inside the tube is a little difficult to reach with your fingers, use the flat side of a screwdriver or knife to push down the tacks securely.

When the padded discs are ready, insert them into the ends of the tube. If they do not fit perfectly snugly and there is a possibility of their coming out, glue lightly on the edges of the discs (neatly), then insert into tube end.

You can make arms for the sofa (as we shall for the matching chair), but I prefer the modern look without arms on the sofa. Also, think of the work saved!

For the under side of the sofa, cut a piece of cardboard (you might have some black cardboard which won’t need painting) that will fit in the open box just snugly enough so that it needs no fastening, except to be pushed up a little against the upholstery edges. You can even put gliders on your sofa—a thumbtack in each corner.

Your matching chair could be 5″ wide and the same depth as the sofa. It is made in exactly the same manner as the sofa.

The back rest is from the same size core or tube, and you will know how long to cut this piece after you have made the arms.

The arm rests are smaller than the back tube—made from a smaller core (like that from a toilet tissue roll) about 1 1/4″ diameter. The length of the arm rest is the depth of the chair —or a bit shorter if you prefer.
Let the arms extend slightly over the seat bottom sides of the chair, and the distance between the two arm rests will be the length of your larger back rest tube. Fasten this back tube on with tacks (after it has been upholstered, of course, as explained above), then fill in the two ends with the finished discs, as previously described. Fit the arm rests on the chair next, completing the piece with the four small discs in the back and front of each arm tube.

Now, aren’t this sofa and chair handsome enough for any doll to sit on? Indeed they are!

If you use a heavy cardboard box for a sofa or chair (the lid being as deep as the box), you might put the bottom of the box inside the lid and use the double thickness for a stronger piece of furniture. Put dabs of glue here and there to hold the two pieces together. Clamp the edges with clothespins and dry thoroughly before applying upholstery.

The upholstery can be fastened to the inside of the cardboard box with glue instead of tacks, as when a wooden box is used. The core or tube for the back rest can be glued on.

Or, to fasten it more securely, punch holes with a large needle in the back rest and in the seat, then insert pieces of pliable wire through the holes and twist the ends together tightly on the under side. Or use a needle with heavy thread pulled through to the under side and tied.

Put the finishing cardboard for the bottom in place last after the back is attached. Naturally!

Tags : how to make doll chair, how to make doll sofa, how to make upholstered dollhouse furniture
Categories : Dollhouses and Doll Furniture