Supplies of the Trade
Much has changed over the relatively recent 100 years of furniture upholstery. Synthetics like foam has replaced natural fibres and animal hair, staples have replaced tacks, the availability of synthetic fabric options has exploded & styles have drifted away from monarch-aligned to trend based.
This fast-fashion appetite & cost competitiveness has resulted in a throw-away society for home furnishings.
We are advocates for sharing the skills of traditional upholstery, with the use of mostly natural materials & purveyors of upholstery supplies for the home-upholsterer.
Our Traditional Upholstery Courses offer our students a chance to learn how to use the tools and the supplies to strip & rebuild a chair from scratch, with a quality that will ensure the chairs will outlast the majority of modern furnishings.
We also offer an Upholstery Club, where-by our students can continue their upholstery journey in our humble warehouse & help us on our mission to save the world, one chair at a time.
Below is our run-down of the commonly used materials for traditional upholstery.
Jute Webbing
10 lb Jute Webbing is used in traditional upholstery, particularly when using coil springs, due to being very strong, with little stretch. Made from natural fibres, jute webbing has been used for centuries to provide the support in upholstered seating. This jute webbing is the same as used in our workshop and upholstery courses.
Blue-cut tacks
Blue Cut Tacks are used in traditional upholstery, prior to the popularity of staples.
The 12mm tacks are used for fixing the hessian, calico & fabric to the chair frame. Our 15mm tacks are used for fixing the webbing to the chair frame, as well as hessian & thick layers of fabric.
The old-school upholsterers still keep a mouthful of these, paired with their magnetic hammers, keeping one hand free for adjusting the fabrics.
Coil Springs
Coil Springs (also known as Hourglass Springs) are used in traditional upholstery to form the foundation of the chair or lounge. Coil Springs are tied to the webbing using hank twine & lashed together with butchers’ twine.
They come in a variety sizes and gauges, ranging from 4”-6” and larger sizes from 7”-9”.
Butcher’s Twine
Our All Purpose Butchers’ Twine is used for tying down springs in traditional upholstery. We use this twine in all of our Upholstery Classes, and is a stronger and quieter than jute twine. Due to it’s superior strength, Butchers’ Twine is the twine of choice for the lashing down of coil springs to the frame.
Hessian
Our natural coloured 18 oz Hessian (183 cm width) is a woven jute. Hessian is a very versatile fabric used in many industries and for many uses. In upholstery, we use hessian to provide the initial layer above the springs of traditional upholstery & as an initial covering of many chair backs. It is also used to create a stitched edge, which we teach in our masterclasses.
Coconut Fibre
100% natural teased Coconut Fibre. Coconut fibre forms a strong & durable layer in traditionally upholstered chairs & sofas. A great natural option for building up your chairs. Prior to coconut fibre, and still often found in antique chairs, you’ll find horse hair or perhaps even straw. We try to retain and reuse horse hair where possible when restoring antique.
Flock
Flock (multicoloured) is used to provide comfort to upholstered furniture, bringing the softness to the feel & ensuring the coarse underfill such as the coconut fibres remain covered.
Cotton Wadding
White Cotton/Lofted Wadding can be used as a replacement to, or as a top layer to flock to provide a luxurious comfort to upholstered furniture, bringing the softness to the feel & ensuring the coarse underfill such as the coconut fibres remain covered.
Calico
Heavy weighted unbleached cotton Calico in 36 inch (approx. 90cm) width. Calico is used prior to covering the show-fabric, but is also versatile enough to be able to used as a dust cover underneath the chair base.
Hit up our Upholstery Supplies page to find out more on our range of Upholstery Supplies for sale, or our courses if you’d like to know how to use them!
If you are ever in need of advice, we are happy to help!
Join us on our mission to save the world, one chair at a time!