A low-slung upholstered ottoman is an easy, budget-friendly and high-impact DIY upholstery job. And because you create it yourself, it is completely customizable.
The first thing you’ll need for this job is really a frame. Retrofitting a shipping pallet works perfectly. When you’re delighted with your selection of a pallet, it is time to get to work creating your one-of-a-kind upholstered ottoman. It’s simpler than it seems — all you’ll need are a couple of supplies and a very basic knowledge of sewing and woodworking.
Watch out! If your friends find out the way you made it, then they will want to purchase yours or have you create one for them.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
You would never think this was a shipping pallet, right? A mixture of textured chartreuse fabric, dressmaker detailed gray velvet buttons and silver-tipped contemporary legs signifies this ottoman will take centre stage in almost any home or studio.
Materials required:
A secure pallet (read for hints on choosing a single)Enough 1-by-4 Parts of straight boards to attach to the bottom borders of your palletDrill (pieces and Phillips head chuck)11/2 -inch wood screwsStaple gun (preferably electrical)Electric knife (to cut foam)ScissorsBurlap or scrap fabric2-inch-thick foamDacron batting2 yards of fabricCovered buttonsNeedle and thread (optional)Legs and attaching hardware
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
First, let us address some concerns you might have about utilizing flashlights. Not all pallets are made equally. I’d suggest using non-chemically treated, new, dry, un-weathered pallets for this frame. If you still have concerns of using a pallet, it is possible to easily construct the exact same simple frame from scrap wood.
If you do choose to use a pallet, steer clear of anything with an HT or MB stamp. These indicate heat treatment (possibly with compounds) or methyl bromide treatment. The pallet I used here has no marks, so it appears like new wood and it is a smaller dictionary, occasionally called a quarter-pallet. I got mine from a kitchen cabinet distributor beside my shop, but it is possible to find new pallets on the internet for under $20.
Pallets can have powerful threaded nails in them, too. Make sure you’re aware of all nails before cutting into a pallet.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Measure, cut and attach 1-by-4 parts of wood to the underside edge of the pallet.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Quantify and attach leg hardware. You are able to add a dust cap to the bottom of the ottoman after it is upholstered; it’s no problem to find the holes in the leg plates.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Put the frame in addition to a piece of 2-inch-thick foam. Trace across the top edge with a marker and use an electric knife to cut out the piece of foam.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Measure and cut burlap or scrap fabric to shut in the frame. Safe with shovel or spray adhesive.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
When the frame is wrapped in burlap, add spray adhesive to ensure the centered foam to the top of the frame.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Here’s the foam connected to the burlap-covered frame.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Measure and cut cotton Dacron to cover the top and sides of this ottoman frame. Don’t wrap the Dacron below the frame. Use spray adhesive or staples to secure the Dacron set up, but stop at the bottom edge. Again, do not wrap the Dacron below the frame!
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Measure, cut and attach top fabric to the ottoman frame. It’s important to keep the fabric grain straight here. Secure 1 side of the fabric below the frame at the center, then move out toward the corners. Staple a bit at a time, then move to the other hand, pulling firmly and evenly and out toward the corners. (This pulls out lumps and bumps.) Secure each side with a line of basics, moving out toward the corners but stopping at 6 inches brief of every corner.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
Here’s where you want to be kind of convenient. The corners are completed like tidy hospital corners, except you are able to cut and eliminate a number of those tight fabric under the corner folds. Be careful not to cut out any top fabric. Pull 1 side across the corner edge, pulling slightly down and on the diagonal. Secure with principles.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
To fill in the staple dimples, put a small bit of poly fill on the principles.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
See? A perfectly smooth finish. It’s possible to screw the legs into the plates or wait till the dust cap is on the bottom. I used a few of my custom-designed thighs, but it is possible to find unique styles elsewhere on the internet.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
If you would like to sew the corner closed, then utilize an upholsterer’s sew (ladder) or an invisible stitch. Another choice is carefully running a small bead of hot glue within the fold and then pressing on the fold right into position.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
It can be difficult to put buttons evenly, so I cheated. Instead of attaching the buttons with a nail back or hand stitching them into position, I used a template, then marked the button placement with chalk and subsequently made an “X” with two principles where the coated buttons will be glued into position.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
This dressmaker detail about the corners adds a bulge of sophistication to this dressed-up wooden pallet.
Upholstery Club’s Shelly Leer
That is it! Isn’t she lovely? The completed upholstered ottoman adds softness to an industrial studio area, and can be completed by anyone with a couple added bucks plus a basic knowledge of sewing and woodworking (and I mean basic).
More: Build Your Own Wooden Deck Chair From a Pallet for $10