Dolls House Upholstery in Miniature Final Part -

In the final part of our upholstery series, Jane Harrop will show us how to use leatherette cloth to upholster a Retro faux leather chair.

The Retro era is generally considered to be between the 1950s and 1970s, however, it is difficult to be absolutely precise. The biggest changes in upholstery methods and techniques are generally associated with technological advances. The biggest influences being the mechanical developments that took place during the industrial revolution and then the production of man-made materials at the beginning of the 20th century.

After WWII, by the early '50s, manufacturing restrictions had finally been lifted. Modern and contemporary furniture designs using synthetic fabrics and materials like tubular steel became extremely popular. The wealthy were keen to furnish their homes in up-to-the-minute style, and the less well off went for small and portable pieces of furniture like this chair to bring a touch of panache to their homes.

Leatherette or faux leather is made from a plastic PVC covered fabric, and was a fashionable upholstery covering this time being much cheaper than leather and requiring less maintenance. It was also produced in a wide range of colours and embossed styles. Prompted by the success of my Art Deco three piece suite using leatherette paper, I delved into my bookbinding box and came up with the leatherette cloth to furnish this retro armless chair.

Galvanised tubular steel was a revolutionary material and I am using aluminium rod to re-create this effect. I originally tried this project with tubing, but it easily distorted and broke, so I used the rod instead.

Materials Required

• From 1/2" diameter hardwood dowel cut 5 x 2" lengths
• From 3/32" thick wood cut a piece 3" x 2" for back
• From 3/32" thick wood cut a piece 2-1/2" x 2" for seat
• Approx. 12" x 12" piece of leatherette cloth
• 2 x 12" lengths of 1/16" diameter aluminium rod
• Pewter sheet cut 8 x 3/8" x 3/16" lengths for brackets
• Shoe polish in colour of the cloth
• Tacky Glue
• Super Glue Gel
• Double Sided tape
• Masking tape

Tools Required

• Sand paper
• Craft knife
• Small saw/junior hacksaw
• Small file
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Clean cloth
• Nail clippers (optional)

Step 1

• Split the pieces of dowl in half length ways.
• Ensure that they are all the same size - if not, cut some more.
• Retain the best 9 rolls of cushion

Step 2

• Cut a small piece of leatherette cloth approx. 3/4" x 1/2".
• Glue to the end of the wooden half-roll.
• Leave the glue to dry.
• Carefully cut away the excess cloth with small sharp scissors. Make sure you cut it flat and not at an angle.
• Repeat at the other end of the piece.
• Repeat this process with all 9 rolls.  

Step 3

• Cut a piece of leatherette cloth 2-1/4" x 1-3/16".
• Apply tacky glue to the rounded top part of the cushion roll.
• Align one short end of the cloth with the end of the roll.
• It should hide the outside edges of the end piece.
• Then trim the opposite end to the same length as the roll ensuring it is covering the outside edges of the end piece.