Upholstery for beginners

These are pictures of my first upholstery project - and yet another good use for old curtain fabric. (Maybe I ought to be working for some kind of curtain marketing board, if such a thing exists...?)

This 1960s dressing table stool had been covered in off-white vinyl when we found it in a market. It cost the princely sum of £5.

Firstly, I prised off the dome-headed tacks holding the vinyl in place on the underside of the stool using the claw (forked) end of a hammer, with an few extra tugs with the pliers for some rusted ones. The foam padding covering the wooden seat was in very good condition, so I didn't need to replace it.

The fabric I wanted to use was the offcut from the bottom of a pair of 1970s curtains my friend Ali had me shorten for her. Because it was a lighter weight than upholstery fabric, I covered the stool with a layer of canvas first, to strengthen it. The vinyl I had taken off served as a pattern to cut out the canvas and the outer fabric. I used a staple gun to attach both layers of fabric to the underside of the stool - because it is a bowed shape (I never choose anything too easy for a first go at anything!) I started from the middle of each side, pulling the fabric taught, rather than at the corners.

Having secured the sides, the corners of the canvas were folded over squarely and tucked in, like "hospital corners" on a bed sheet. To avoid extra bulk, the corners of the outer fabric were turned in the opposite direction to the ones on the canvas layer.

The stool turned out really well, which is always very encouraging for a first attempt. And it cost the equivalent of two lattes at my cafe of choice, plus an hour of my time. I'll probably do an entire couch next, knowing me.