My home computer chair is old and going “flat,” and I’d like to re-pad the seat. I really don’t want or need to have it done professionally (re-upholstery is often more expensive than the original furniture). So what is my best option? I know how to do a little sewing, but I really don’t know anything about re-upholstery. Ideally I would like to, say, slit open the back of the chair, stuff some padding in there, and then tack a few anchor-stitches just to make sure it doesn’t come back out. Or maybe I should slit three sides, peel it back, put the padding down, and sew the three sides back together? I don’t really care if it ends up looking like a chop job, as long as it feels more comfortable.
I also don’t really know what kind of padding to look for. That cotton batting stuff? That thick foamy stuff they cut for you at Joann’s? If so, how thick?
This is my exact chair, color and everything. It has a zoom feature, so you can get a good idea of what the seat looks like. I have no idea if the separate sections in the seat would need to be re-padded separately.
Is it the chair back, or the seat, or both that you want to pad? It looks tricky in any case, since the back has those separate bumps and the seat seems to have an attached cushion. Might be more trouble to reupholster than the chair’s worth. What about getting one of those massage things you put over the driver’s seat of a car, or maybe cushions for a deck chair?
If you do restuff, I’d use chopped foam. It won’t bunch up and get flat like batting, but unlike a foam block, you can stuff it in through a small hole.
I wonder where the padding went in the first place. That type of seat padding usually stays for the life.
I would not chop holes in the cover if it is intact now. I would remove the seat, which probably has screws holding it from the bottom. You should then see how it is assembled. You usually have to remove staples to lift the cover off. Replace the padding and re-staple with a staple gun, either manual or electric. I think I would use pillow stuffing from a fabric store.
I was thinking about just getting a tie-on cushion, that’s the cheap alternative solution which I might just do, if the job looks too hard. I can’t afford to replace the entire chair right now.
The seat padding has just been compressed down from a couple years of being sat on for 4+ hours a day. It used to be soft and squishy and buoyant, but it’s quite flat now. The back is fine, it’s just the seat portion. I’ve had this chair model before, and the same thing happened. Last time I just bought a new chair, but if I can re-pad the seat for cheaper, that makes more sense.
Al, that’s a good point about the staples. I assembled the chair myself, and I know there are staples underneath the seat. If the cushion cover is peelable-backable, then it would be a relative breeze to refill whatever material is underneath and staple it back down. Do you know how best to remove heavy metal staples? Obviously a normal staple remover isn’t going to be strong enough.
And thanks for the idea about the foam batting. I know what you mean, the little triangular looking foam stuff.