
How to Use this Website
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2007-10-30 13:08.How this website works.
This website is set up to have both anonymous visitors and registered users.

Start Here
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Mon, 2005-12-19 08:29.The authors of messages and articles can be shown on each article, as demonstrated by my "countless" picture(s) on this front page.
This website contains:

What's Going On Here?
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2005-10-25 09:05.First, (after registering) to be able to participate in the ongoing discussions all over this website, you need to know what's going and and where. Below is a list of menus that tell you what messages are being posted and where. You may go to any page and leave messages (or, if you have permission, write articles).

Requesting Help or Advice?
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Thu, 2005-09-29 22:28.I’m happy to give advice or help you with your projects, when I have time. The Contact or Feedback forms of my main website, www.wintersewing.com, are primarily for the use of my potential upholstery clients. The Contact/Feedback form on this website is for people just need a quick answer about something, or who have questions about how to register, login, or use this website. For most questions, use the following method to request help.

Substitution Theory - Finding Replacement Parts
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Wed, 2009-06-24 06:54.
Seam Binding
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2009-06-23 11:23.What do you do when you picked out a fabric that easily frays at the edge?
Seam binding: Most upholstery fabrics don't need anything done to the edge. Many upholstery fabrics have a special backing the minimized seam unraveling. However, there are a few fabrics that easily unravel.
In these cases

Seam Binding
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2009-06-23 11:23.What do you do when you picked out a fabric that easily frays at the edge?
Seam binding: Most upholstery fabrics don't need anything done to
the edge. Many upholstery fabrics have a special backing the minimized
seam unraveling. However, there are a few fabrics that easily unravel.
In these cases

Buying Used Upholstered Furniture
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2009-01-27 18:43.Are you thinking about purchasing a used upholstered sofa or chair? How much should pay for it? Will you have it reupholstered, or will you be using it as it is?
Each Piece of Furniture Has 3 Values
When going out to buy used furniture, the buyer should keep the following three values in mind. This knowledge will help to negotiate for your used furniture.

Comment Submission Guidelines
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Thu, 2009-01-22 16:28.All Content is Monitored

Upholstery Trims
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Thu, 2008-05-29 15:57.
(first rough draft)
When you are reupholstering furniture with a trim between the fabric and the wood, What type of trim should you use. This article will give the pros and cons of each type of trim.
Gimp Trim
When I worked with my dad years ago we stocked many colors of gimp. In that case, it was always there ready to go.

Upholstery Cutting Table
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Sun, 2008-05-25 17:11.One of the most important tools of any upholstery shop is a cutting table. A cutting table is used for many things beside just cutting fabric. Here we will look at some of the ideas behind the sizes and how it is used. Because the tables for upholstery is very specific, and it's not very easy to find one the right size, most upholsterers build their own tables. But, how big should you make it?

Your Shop
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Sun, 2008-05-25 16:54.Upholstery is one of the trades that can be operated from many types of buildings;
- a retail store building
- A commercial type garage
- your home
- your garage
- from an outside shed
- a temporary building
- a mobile home
In this section we will discuss the layout of the shop and the fixtures and machines that are used in an upholstery shop.

Finding An Upholsterer
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Thu, 2008-05-22 07:45.(First Draft of this Article)
How do you find a good upholsterer? What is a good upholsterer?
It takes work to find a good tradesman in any profession. Upholstery is no different.
If an upholsterer has been in business for many years, there must be a reason why he is still in business. That is one good sign.

Choosing a Business Name
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Wed, 2008-05-14 10:04.
When trying to decide upon a name, I'd like to give my thoughts about how names fit on signs and domain names. If you are putting a name on a sign, the more words you have in the main part of the name, the smaller the letters will have to be. I'm going to be a little bit overly rediculous, just do show a point. And, so that we don't get distracted by the name, for this example, I'm going use a
completely different name.
First Example:

Focusing Your Business
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Fri, 2008-05-09 22:40.
If you are starting or refocusing your upholstery or sewing business, you may be trying to decide exactly what you will be doing. For example, will you only be sewing cushions, or only making slipcovers, or will you be doing all phases of upholstery. This is important to decide because it affects what you will be writing in your advertising.

Making Upholstery Prototypes
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Mon, 2008-04-28 10:19.
Upholstery is a very specialized trade. We often take on a wide variety of projects. Sometimes those are one-of -kind projects that we are creating from scratch, or we might be making a number of the same type of furniture items, such as cushions, church pews, or restaurant booths. Other times we may be altering the frame, the style, or the cushions on a piece of furniture.

Writing Messages And Articles
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Wed, 2008-04-23 08:29.Creating Text
First, you must register and log in. Once logged in, You have several ways to enter text.

Doing Mail-Order Jobs
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Mon, 2008-02-11 09:47.Recently I had a client vist the RV Cushions page of my upholstery business website.
She said that she had some RV cushions that she wanted me to make. Since I've never done any work mail order before, I'm trying to work out the details. I'm wondering, is mail order too much trouble, or does it have great potential to add to my business.
Getting Correct sizes
1. Client to measure the cushions
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Taking the Back Off a Lazyboy Recliner
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Sat, 2007-12-29 14:56.(note: you can click on any picture to enlarge it.)
The situation, you have a lazyboy recliner and you need to move it. Because of their unique recliner mechanism, this proceedure will only work on Lazyboy recliners. Lazyboys are built to come apart easily. Turn the recliner around so that you are at the back of the recliner.
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Quality Standards
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2007-11-13 11:44.Quality Standards and Expectations vary according to skill level.
When we pay someone to do a job, we expect a high level of qualilty. When we pay for a professional, we expect professional results.
Beginners are not held to the same standard as experienced processionals. The stand level of a professional would be impossible for a beginner to achieve on the first effort. If all beginning upholsterers had to do it perfectly the first time, no one would ever succeed.
Braided Rope Trim
Submitted by luv2sew on Sun, 2007-10-21 21:31.When sewwing a braided rope trim on to a cushion/or pillow - I would like to know how to finish the ends so that it looks like one continual piece???
I have sse it done - but, do not know how??
I would appreciate your help...
Pam Lawrence
Slipcover Sensations & Custom Window Creations
A Wingchair's Life
Submitted by Enter Your Name Here on Wed, 2007-10-17 16:29.Winnie; the Life of a Wing Chair
by Faith Winters

Referral Fees
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2007-10-16 13:20.Should An Upholsterer Pay Referal Fees?
Should an upholsterer pay a referral fee from a decorator or another business? When an upholsterer is first starting out, or low on work, he may desperate and be willing to accept almost any conditions, just to have work to pay the bills.
Look at it from the client's point of view. Is a paid referral really unbiased? If a decorator or other business is getting a kickback from a particular upholsterer, will the client get the best service?

Antique Reupholstery
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Wed, 2007-10-03 08:20.When you are considering having a antique reupholstered, there are a number of factors that need to be considered. What is most important to you? Preserving the frame, restoring to original, just making it usable, keeping the cost down, etc.?
Recovery -vs- Reupholstery -vs- Restoration?
Some people who bring in antiques to recover just want the cover changed, they say everything else (under the cover) is just fine.

Using Leather
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2007-09-25 12:36.Using Leather in Upholstery
This drawing* shows how the different parts of a leather hide are used in upholstery. The A Section of

Getting Started in Upholstery
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Sun, 2007-09-23 07:25.This article was started because someone asked me a question of, as he approaches retirement, how he would get started in upholstery as a second career. I'll be adding to this bit by bit as I have time and remember. For anyone reading this, feel free to post questions in comment section below. That will help keep me motivated to continue working on this article.

Ways and Reasons to Avoid Freebies
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2007-09-04 08:50.Being in any type of business, you may occassionally get "suggestions" from friends and aquaintances to do free work. When these requests come, it is helpful to think it out in advance and have a ready response waiting. Here are some suggestions.

Upholstery Paddings
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Tue, 2007-09-04 00:04.Note, we do sell this paddings. This page is merely here to give you a picture and a description of these items.
Modern Upholstery Paddings

Cording on Oval Pillow
Submitted by Stephen Winters on Fri, 2007-03-16 09:56.Smoothing Out Cording on Curved Pillows
The solution can be fairly simple, however you may need to experiment a little with some scrap fabric.
Others may have different solutions. This is my suggestion. The solution has several parts. Read all the instructions before beginning.
1. Summary.