Damaged, stained, or torn upholstery fabric can make even the best furniture appear old and scruffy. With some help from furniture repair experts, you can easily get your torn upholstery fixed. However, with some easy DIY tips, you can fix your upholstery on your own without having to pay for the repairs. The methods of mending your damaged upholstery vary, depending upon the magnitude and location of the damage. Damages to upholstery can be fixed either by patching or by sewing them with a thread and a needle.

Let’s take a look at two methods of repairing torn upholstery.

Patching Method

• Get hold of a high-quality repair fabric and cut it in the shape of the square patch to cover the torn area. The size of the repair path must be bigger than the tear itself.
• Pull the torn upholstery and place the repair patch underneath it. Use your fingers or a spoon to make the patch lay flat and wrinkle-free.
• While holding the upholstery flap back, use an upholstery pin to attach it to a particular place.
• Apply a slight amount of upholstery fabric glue to the patch. Apply a small amount of the same glue to the edges of the torn upholstery.
• Remove the pins and very gently press the flap over the patch with your hand. To make it straight and smooth, pat is gently with your hands.
• To hold the fabric, place ore pins around the edges of the flap, and let them stay until the glue dries.  Remove the pins an hour or two after the glue has dried.
• Examine the tear for any fraying. Apply a thin layer of liquid seam sealant. Such a sealant prevents the frays from worsening.
• Fold the edges of the tear inwards and press tightly with your fingers. If an edge is frayed, try to fold it inwards as much as possible. Swinging close to the frayed ends can cause more trouble in the future.
• Thread a sewing needle or pin with high-quality nylon thread.  Nylon threads are much stronger than normal threads and can hold the fabric tight.
• Enter the threaded needle through the right-hand edge of the tear.
• Pull the dread all the way through to ensure firm and tight stitching.
• Make sure the edges do not unfold as you stitch.
• Continue to still until you reach the end. If puckering occurs in the fabric, stitch some more to make the puckering go away.
• Once the stitching is complete, pull the thread through to form a loop. Stitch through the loop couple of times, until the job is complete.

Sewing Method

The aforementioned methods are easy to apply and save you from paying heavy repair costs to professional repairers. Make sure, not to use a vacuum cleaner over the stitched upholstery. The vacuum cleaner might pull out the stitches, therefore a cloth or a soft-bristle brush must be used for dusting.