Planning An Upholstery Project? The Supplies You’ll Need

If you’ve decided you want to start an upholstery project but don’t have much experience in the crafty world of upholstery, you might be wondering what equipment you’re going to need. In this article, we’re going to look at exactly what tools will kickstart your upholstery journey.

Magnetic Hammer

You’re going to need a hammer for all the nails and tacks you’ll be using to attach your fabric. A magnetic hammer is recommended because it’ll prevent you from dropping any small tacks which you could potentially step on later. 

Magnetic hammers are commonly used for jobs like roofing, allowing you to magnetically attach a nail to the head and pound it in place one handed. This allows you to have the other hand free for holding something else, like materials. A good magnetic hammer can cost you upwards of £50.

Alternatively, you can always use a wooden mallet. They are lightweight and there’s less risk of damaging any fabric.

Upholstery Tacks, Pins, Staples and Nails

These are what will hold it all together, so it’s very important to have a collection. Upholstery nails especially come in lots of different shapes and sizes and are usually used to add a finishing touch to a design. They are not only functional in holding fabric together but can be decorative too.

Tack and Staple Removing Tool

Whether you are a beginner or an expert, everyone is prone to making a mistake. With a nifty tool that can remove staples or tacks, you’ll be able to retrace your steps and correct any placement if you find you’ve put them in the wrong place.

Tack and staple removers are also used for removing the old fabric from the furniture you are planning to reupholster. So they are an essential tool for beginning a project. 

You can get a few different types of tack and staple remover; some do both while others are designed especially for one or the other. You can also get a staple and tack claw that will be made to remove things more comfortably and intuitively. 

Curved Needles

Curved needles are on the list of essential upholstery supplies. They come in a range of different sizes, including 3 inches, 6 inches and 10 inches, and are great for getting to those hard to reach places. The curved shape makes a task that requires accuracy much easier. 

These needles are used for sewing springs and coils to either webbing or burlap material, so that your upholstery project is as comfortable as it is pretty.

Straight Needles

As well using curved needles, you’ll still find straight ones handy too. Straight needles can be as big as 19 inches as generally, the heavier the fabric, the larger the needle you’ll require. Straight needles are also known as button needles because they are mostly used to fasten buttons to cushions and other parts of furniture with stuffing. They can be single or double ended, with double ended needles making it easy to push back through material without having to turn it around.

Fabric Scissors

Using regular scissors for an upholstery project will be difficult. So make sure to invest in a good quality pair of fabric scissors for the task. Doing so will give you the ability to easily cut through tough fabrics quickly and accurately.

You can even get a pair of cordless electric scissors, a device that is able to cut through textiles, leather, cardboard, wallpaper, fabric and more. Thanks to its narrow blade it can reach places where normal scissors wouldn’t be able to. So consider electric scissors if you want an even easier upholstering experience.

Regulator

A regulator is used to push and rearrange stuffing from the outside, it’s a handy tool to have for making sure your furniture is evenly cushioned.

Staple Gun

A staple gun will make light work of attaching fabric. It can also be used for woodwork and carpentry so it’s an incredibly versatile investment that will stay useful for other DIY projects. Just make sure you follow safety procedures like gloves and eye protection.

Beginner’s Upholstery Kit

Using the list above, you should be good to go. You can either go searching for each tool individually or you can look into buying a beginner’s upholstery kit for the essentials.