Oct 14
Ikea Tullsta Chair: Reupholstered
featured on Apartment Therapy!
my roommate has had an Ikea Tullsta chair since our freshman year (we were roommates then too). Since it’s last move, we never could find the slipcover or the legs, which we had unscrewed. instead of buying a new slipcover for it, i decided to do something more creative. i also bought an ottoman for $5 at my favorite thrift store and decided to do it to match. so i bought 4 yards of Inger fabric and 2 sets of 6″ Capita legs. i’m still working on the ottoman, but here’s the chair:
click read more for all the details:
the basic technique that i used for the upholstery was to put the fabric on the chair inside out and trace over the seams with a pencil. i started with the back of the chair, which is one solid piece of fabric. then i did the middle panel of the inside, then the 2 sides, and finally the 3 pieces of the front. for each piece, after i traced it out, i cut a 1/4″ seam allowance around the lines, then i put it back over the chair inside out and pinned it to what i was sewing it to. i zig-zag serged all of the seams, which is probably unnecessary since fraying is usually only an issue when you’re washing things, and the cover is not detachable.
once all my sewing was done, i put on the fabric, pulled it tight, and stapled it all along the bottom of the chair. i could have done it as a slipcover which would have made it washable, but stapling it on was easier and more fun. as long as the cats don’t pee on it, it shouldn’t really make a difference.
for the seat cushion, i wanted to place my seams differently than Ikea did, so i had to go about it differently. i wrapped one pice of fabric around the front of the cushion and pinned it together on the flat sides. the seam is on the middle of the sides, so it’s not visible from the top. at the front corners, instead of doing a vertical seam, i did diagonal seams from the corner to the center seam on the sides at a 45-degree angle. along the curved back, i used a rectangle with the zipped up the middle as on the Ikea cover.
i didn’t use piping because i don’t really like piping that much. i think it looks cleaner without it.
placing the legs was a bit of pain on the curved back, but i just felt where the holes were from the old legs and tried to center the new legs over them.
this is the biggest upholstery project i’ve tackled so far, and i’m really happy with how it turned out. it was tedious, but there was nothing that was above my head. my math skills have made me really good at understanding 3-dimensional geometry and visualizing it in my head. up next: our wing sofa which is ok now, but has so much potential to be badass with the right fabric.
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Wow, that is very impressive! It turned out great!
I really wish I had to sewing skills to do this to my Ikea chairs.
BEAUTIFUL ! !
You are an inspiration!!!!
I’m getting busy.
This is great! I love my Tullsta Chairs however I don’t love the fabric they came in. I’m totally inspired to reupholster my own now. Did you really need 4 yards?
no, i had plenty of fabric left over. 3 yards would have been enough.
Thanks so much… love the help and your chair looks awesome :)
This is awesome! I have a tullsta chair and I totally want to do this..
How long did it take and how much sewing is involved?
I have never reupholstered anything before..
Love the chair. It looks great. Love the blog to.
Super cool. I’ve been trying to think it through so I can cover my own Tullsta chair and I think you’ve inspired me to just go for it. 3 yards is all it took? Sweet!
wow – this looks amazing. I have the same chairs and have never found slipcovers for them at a good price. This is a great project.