Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design

Absolutely love this book! I had seen so many and even had bought the "Professional Upholstering: All the Trade Secrets" and disliked it so much I had to return it. This one is the opposite of the other: the photos, print, paper are all of great quality and the images are very explanatory. The writer gives information in a clear manner and almost nothing is left to desire. Basically, she shows 5 different reupholstery projects, and because these are so different, one can refer to mix and match pieces of each project to cater for his/her own project. There is a color diagram in the beginning of the book that shows drawings of different pieces of furniture with a variety of arms, seats, wings, etc and then one can go to the pages that show how to reupholster each of these pieces. I am reupholstering my couch for the first time and this book has been absolutely indispensable to my project. Because my couch has round arms like one of the chairs she works with, I referred to the arms of the chair to reupholster the arms of my couch, but then used other references for other parts of my couch. In addition, the book has a comprehensive appendix also with great images and explanation about tools needed, how to strip furniture (of course, because this is the first step!), sewing tips and a wonderful glossary. Finally, someone who really desires to share knowledge in a clear manner! Worth every penny.

We have a 60+ overstuffed chair that has some sentimental value but it is as ugly as sin. Even when it was reupholstered years ago, the fabric choice was pretty hideous. It's comfortable and has a hard wood frame, so it would be a shame to send it to landfill hell. A comparable chair in a decent fabric might cost a lot more than the cost of re-doing this myself and I have the satisfaction of knowing that a family treasure-turned-eyesore can have a new life and some dignity. The author has tried to cover the variations in chairs and couches by covering the basics-- arms, wings, wood and the long form, or couches. What I really appreciate is the tone of a person who explains everything as thoroughly as possible in book form and who tries to show enough variety so that you don't feel blindsided or helpless because you're trying to resuscitate Aunt Mildred's Queen Anne from being the cat's scratching tree. I've watched YouTube videos and read things online, but having a book that tries to demystify the process and doesn't skip steps is a great help. I read Amazon reviews and checked out the paltry offerings at the local bookstore and even found a few old copies of various upholstery texts. While the processes haven't really changed a great deal over the years, it's nice to see step-by-step explanations with the intention of trying to show everything by breaking down the things you might encounter. No, our 60+ year-old-chair will probably never win any beauty awards, but it looks a whole lot different now and I feel pretty confident tackling other jobs. In fact, I'm eyeing that old Mission-style chair sitting on the curb. . . .

Who doesn’t like do it yourself (DIY) books? Well over the years I have purchased dozens of them. Many of them attempt to show how to accomplish anything. Well this book actually does it. From the “Mix ‘n’ Match Upholstery” pages, there is every kind of chair or couch shown and what chapter covers the repair or reupholstering technique. The author covers the basics first, like what kind of chair this is; to what kind of fabric is needed to the tools you will need to complete the job at hand. Estimating fabric yardage is covered. I have used this book to reupholster several chairs already and every time I open the book I learn something new. If you want to learn to reupholster or just some tips on how to repair some furniture you have, this is the book for it. The book is hard covered and full of excellent illustrations and photos, to walk you thru the complete project. I would recommend this book and definitely would purchase this book again if they release another version. Happy reupholstering everyone, Thank you.

This is a great book. I am an experienced upholsterer but I learned quite a few tips from this book. I will say, if you want to recover a piece of furniture, you don't have to tear it down to the bones. If the structure is good and all the stuffing and foam is good, just take all the staples and tacks out first. Don't pull off the cover yet. Take off the dust cover, then the back and then the sides. Keep each piece for a pattern. Do the seat cover first, then the arms and then the inside back. Note how everything is put on. It makes sense when you can see the insides. Do the outside arms next, then the back. Dust cover is last. Supplies can be found online or in local stores. This book tells you how to use the tools to get the job done. Have fun with it!!

A wonderfully comprehensive book of photographs, information and instruction. Easy to understand guide with step by step instructions with projects for all stages of upholstering. I bought this book to help me reupholster a vintage wing back chair. It is not the fault of this superb guidebook that I backed away from the project after purchasing all the tools and material and visiting YouTube so often that my husband thought I had left town. Together these You Tube and this book are all you need to tackle the job. But when I went to disassemble the chair, the immensity of the project got to me. It was the fear of utterly running the beautiful chair that led me to returning the book to Amazon. I am too much a beginner to tackle a project with sentimental value. So I will work on gathering up my courage, then buy a chair meant for the scrap heap and repurchase this book another day.

I was looking for an "all-around how to" book about upholstering for a beginner. There are more than a few books available about the subject matter so I decided to rely upon reviews to make a choice. I am so glad that that I headed the reviews about this book, and picked it up. I just received it today, and spent the afternoon browsing through it - and couldn't be happier with my purchase. Not only is the book well organized, easy to navigate and excellently illustrated with photos - it includes projects for the newcomer as well as the more experienced or adventurous! As a motivated beginner - I can't wait to get started. If for nothing else, the book opened up possibilities I may have not otherwise thought about - as well as the idea that I might just might be able to pull some of them off!

Fantastic book with detailed illustration and easy to follow instructions

Very informative if you would like to get into furniture remodeling!

Interessant zu erfahren wie die Amerikanischen Kollegen ihre Arbeit verrichten. Die Techniken unterscheiden sich zwar aber nicht im Übermaß .

Me encanta lo entendible que es..

Excellent book and I am trying to implement it.

Ok

Informative read.