Upholstery Sources and Info

[rchampagne]

I am nearing completion on a pair of southeastern Connecticut chippendale side chairs.  The original, which is at the Conn Historical Society, has a leather seat that is upholstered over the front and side rails.  I haven't done any upholstery and am wondering if anyone has a source for supplies and or leather that they can recommend. 
Thanks,
Rob

[millcrek]

For general supplies I use this co. http://www.rochfordsupply.com/ . If you want period correct materials you need to search for each item on line. I have not found any place that has every thing. As far as books go, again I have not found any single book that is great and affordable. I have bought a lot of old used upholstery books on line, none have been great.  The best I have found is this http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300071351 but it is mostly about history and it is not cheap. Any of the old upholstery technique book will show you the basics. I like to see leather before I buy it, look for a local outlet if you can. The best way to learn is to carefully take apart old pieces and redo them. I hope some of this helps.

[Tom M]

Several years ago the Woodwrtight's Shop had an episode on upholstery - method, not supplies. You can watch it at:

http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/video/2600/2611.html

[ttalma]

You might want to contact Mike Mascelli, a SAPFM member, from albany. He's one of a handful of upholsterers who actually has worked on and understands period pieces. I've found him to be very helpful and excited about his craft.

If you need his contact info send me an email and I'll send it to you, I don't like to post email addresses and phone numbers online.

[rchampagne]

Thanks everybody.  This is a first for me, so it is kind of an interesting adventure.  I'll be looking into the suggestions once my day job quiets down a bit!
Rob

[Steve Branam]

That Woodright episode is nice, I wish I had seen it earlier! I made a similar slip seat for my Queen Anne foot stool. You can see the upholstering process here: http://www.closegrain.com/2011/10/building-queen-anne-foot-stool-part-6.html.

I got my supplies and tools from http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/, and I used Don Taylor's article from Fine Woodworking Dec 1989 as my instruction. I used rubberized horse hair, not real hair.

[John Cashman]

Rubberized horse hair must really cut down on those painful horse racing collisions.

[rchampagne]

A friend of mine used to be an upholsterer, so she gave me some webbing, burlap, and cotton batting.  I ended up using spanish moss as a stuffing, rather than horsehair, which it seems is hard to find and expensive.  Spanish moss was used as a stuffing in the South, and then was used by Ford in their early cars.  I got some of the spanish moss from an old easy chair my cat destroyed, and the rest from a local upholsterer, who had bought a large amount of it years ago.  They use it so infrequently that it took them a few days to getting around to literally digging it out of the back of the shop.  After doing some internet searches, there are very few suppliers for good quality, traditional supplies.  Luckily a sewing shop nearby carries leather that can be purchased by the ounce.  I've done two of these seats, and am finishing up a third.  Its definitely another skill to learn, but is pretty enjoyable. 
Rob

[John Cashman]

What kind of leather works for chair seats? Is there a particular type, or weight, or something else to ask/look for?

[rchampagne]

John,
I'm no expert and I'm sure the stuff I got wasn't premium, but it was sold as upholstery leather.  It was in full hide form, and had been dyed and conditioned already.  There seems to be all sorts of leather available, but this was the closest stuff on hand.  Someone told me to always pick the leather out in person, which I agree with--each piece is different.  Also, the hide has irregular edges, and people tell you to avoid the area around the spine, which is typically thinner.  The leather I got was priced at about $200 a hide, I think, and they sold it for something like $2.50 an ounce, which worked out to about $15-$20 per seat.  They cut out the piece I needed, so the waste was no excessive, which I was thankful for.  It ended up being less expensive than I had thought it would be. My leather was fairly thick, which was fine, but made it so that the pleat in the front corner was somewhat tricky. 
Rob

[rfrancis]

You might like to check out Patrick Edward's blog - he has several informative recent entries on upholstery
http://wpatrickedwards.blogspot.com/