Reupholstering My Ottoman

Hello again!

So, I'm sure a lot of you have run into this problem if you have purchased a bonded leather couch. I owned mine for about six years before it started cracking and peeling, which, I hear is a very good run compared to some of my friends that only had theirs for about a year. I also purchased a matching ottoman at the same time as the couch. A couple months ago I was going crazy being cooped up during the winter with a 7 month old and decided to flex my sewing muscles. I feel the need to emphasize that this is the first time I have reupholstered anything ever!

Before and after

My husband, who is usually very supportive of my random endeavors, was slightly on the skeptical side. However, he approached it with a "the ottoman already looks like crap, whats the worst that can happen" attitude. So we set of to the fabric store, my husband's favorite place (please read that with as my sarcasm as possible) and I dragged him up and down the upholstery fabric looking at and touching every fabric. I finally settled on a nice cream fabric with a postage style print. 

Under side on the cushion after removal.

Please note that there are little straps with a plastic piece on the end that go through the cushion to secure the tufting, I reused those but I unfortunately didn't take a picture.

Bottom section with cushion removed.

The first thing I did was separate the top cushion and using a seem ripped I took each section apart. Luckily I wanted to keep the style, I used the old fabric as a template. I also decided to make it a storage ottoman (that required a piece of thick plywood to support the cushion and make a lid.

The pieces that made up the top tufted section.

As I separated each piece of fabric I labeled it and used arrows to indicate which side was up. Next I laid out each square for the tufted section in order 1-16 and traced the outline onto the new fabric, I traced along the seem edge so I would knew where to sew, when I cut out the pieces I left a half inch seem allowance.

the original stitching for the button pockets

I the started sewing the pieces together (sorry for the lack of pictures, I was juggling a baby and sewing haha!) I sewed the squares together at a point like the original stitching to allow the buttons space to be pulled for the tufted look.

Before attaching the buttons and pulling the fabric tight.

I then attached the buttons and straps and pulled them tight through the precut holes in the cushion. Next I used my handy dandy staple gun to line the inside and the plywood we added to the cushion with black fabric. I then stapled the upholstery fabric to the plywood under the cushion.

After pulling the fabric tight and securing it to the wood.

The inside 

The only sewing I did for the bottom was the corners. I pinned the fabric together inside out against the bottom, sewed the corners and put it around the base, I then stapled it to the wood. The black fabric hid the edges.

The finished product!

I reused the feet and the only thing I had a buy for this project was the fabric, thread, wood, and metal snap buttons. I think I ended up spending about $75 after all was said and done. I am happy to report that I am currently resting my feet on my ottoman as I write this and it has held up beautifully! I am also waiting on fabric to come for my couch, I went with a darkish gray that compliments the print on the ottoman. When I post that one I will be sure to take more and better pictures!

Thanks for stopping by!