How to Match Stripes on Furniture Upholstery
- 1). Measure and Mark. Use a cloth measuring tape to pinpoint the top center of the furniture piece. Mark this point with a sewing pin or fine felt-tip marker. Lay fabric across the longest span you will upholster. In this example -- a loveseat -- the inside back is the longest span. Select the stripe design that appeals most as your center stripe. Match the stripes outward from the center and align them straight. Mark the fabric's reverse side inconspicuously with pins or pencil at the center top and center bottom, aligned with where the bottom of the seat cushion will rest.
- 2). Design a stripe template piece. Lay the corresponding inside back pattern piece on the marked fabric. Match the pattern center top and bottom to the fabric top and bottom lines you marked. Check for stripe alignment. One way to check for alignment is folding the pattern in half along the center of its shorter dimension, lay a ruler along the fold line, and draw a line along it with a felt-tip marker. When the pattern is opened and laid flat, the mark should lie parallel to the stripe nearest it. Pin the pattern piece securely to the fabric.
- 3). Create the layout. Lay out the remaining pattern pieces on the length of the fabric, making sure that each center point falls on the same stripe configuration as the inside back center. Pin pattern pieces to fabric, being careful to maintain the alignment. Before cutting, make sure to leave ample seam edges. If installing zippers in cushions, accommodate for zipper seams in the pattern. Cut the fabric to match the pattern pieces. Mark cut fabric pieces with pencil on the reverse side for identification during assembly.
- 4). Sew. With a regular presser foot and matching upholstery thread, assemble any non-stripe-matched, non-welted pieces. Set aside.
- 5). Insert welting. Hand-baste welting in a contrasting color to the outside of the larger of two pieces that will adjoin. With their right sides together, hand baste the adjoining piece -- in this case the presewn cushion sides and front -- to the welted cushion top. Match stripes from the center front, which is the most visible location, and move outward. Turn the cushion cover right-side out and examine it. If the stripes have shifted, cut the loose hand stitches in the area, realign the stripes and rebaste.
- 6). Machine sew the pieces with matching upholstery thread and a zipper foot, as close to the welting as possible. Complete the process with all upholstery pieces that have welting. Remove the contrasting basting stitches, using the seam ripper.
- 7). Lay the partially assembled upholstery over the furniture piece. If stripe adjustments are needed, rip seams with seam ripper, reposition the fabric and restitch.
- 8). Pull the inside back fabric piece through the frame. Tack it in place with upholstery staples. Fit the arm covers over the arms, and pull the inside back of the arm cover through the frame. If further fine-tuning for stripe alignment is needed, remove the staples that hold the inside back fabric in place, using a staple puller or pliers. Adjust for a tight fit and stripes that align well. Insert the cushion into the assembled cushion cover, and position it for seating.
- 9). Attach the top center-inside back. Regardless of the method chosen for attaching the upholstery pieces to the frame, once the stripe template piece is secured, the stripes align.
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