Philadelphia Side Chair Seat

L

Lee

New member
Now that the first ever chair project is close to being finished - what about the seat frame and upholstery?  They forgot to show me how to do that in the $60 set of plans I bought last December.  I have one photo of a poplar frame mortise, tennon and pegs, and built one to match the picture.  How is it covered?  Are there web straps and horsehair, then cotton or wool stuffing then fabric?  How was the fabric fastened to the frame?  How much clearance to allow for the thickness of the fabric, etc?  Any informed thoughts or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated.
/Lee Ransom
 
There was a good article in FWW on making a slip seat.  Not sure when that was.  Also, there are some good references online and in books.  Another great source is to visit your local fabric shop and ask for help.  I make my frames using poplar, half laps, then stretch webbing, then foam, batting, and fabric. 

Tony
 
Thanks, Tony.  I have my poplar m&T plus pegs to upholsterer here in Weimar TX.  He does older pieces and thinks he knows how to proceed.  We've decided to go with the webbing you mentioned and 2 inch foam then cotton/polyester damsk fabric.  If all goes well I'll take a few pictures and share./Lee
 
If you're interested in how it was done in the 18th century, the last episode of "The Woodwright's Shop" that aired last Saturday covered how they upholster slip-seat frames at Colonial Williamsburg (i.e., linen webbing, coarse linen support fabric, and horsehair followed by the "show fabric").  You might be able to catch a re-run on the satellite PBS station, or failing that, purchase a video copy from pbs.org.
 
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