The Upholstery Forum

On my way to work yesterday out of the corner of my eye I saw that a neighbor had put two chairs out at the curb. I didn't pay much attention but when I was less an a kilometer away I kicked myself for not stopping to take a better look. But I was already running late so didn't go back. I told myself that if they were still there when I went home I'd take a look and probably take them.

Well, they were still there! And other than for a small repair, it looked like all they were missing was cushions. Well, I have a.... SEWING MACHINE! :)

One of the webbings has come off and another is a bit chewed up, and I have no experience with that kind of thing. The strap that has come off has an arrow-shaped end that is supposed to fit into a slot in the frame, but the strap is old and a bit brittle and seems to have no stretch anymore. I might have to replace all the webbing. What should I use?

To attach the webbing, I'm thinking of drilling two holes in the frame at each end of the webbing and with a piece of aluminum strip (with another two holes) sandwich the webbing between the frame and my aluminum strip and fix it with maybe sheet metal screws. I have canvas pliers that I'm sure I could use to get the webbing strap tight enough before tightening it down.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks!

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Instead of drilling webbing I use an old soldering iron to burn the holes. That way is seals itself with no fraying down the road. Sounds like you have a pretty good plan already.

The existing "webbing" is a sort of plastic material which seems to have no stretch at all. I'll probably replace it all, but don't know what I should use. Webbing for sure, but should it be polypro or nylon? Or something else?

Leather straps like for belts would look sharp! Makes it an expensive free chair though

@Adam12 - Yes, leather would look sharp, but... since there will be cushions that go on top someone would have to remove the cushions to see the leather. Also the plan is to leave these outside all year around and leather isn't going to be the best choice.

Still haven't decided what would make the best straps for this use... Polypropylene, nylon or polyester, or even something else, some kind of plastic like a garden lawn chair.

Oh gotcha,i wouldn't want to cover up leather with a cushion either. Nylon and polypropylene aren't good if exposed to direct sunlight polyester would hold up. Maybe polyester seat belt material? Not going to stretch though.