Emil Aldren Johnson

“ When cloth is desired between the stuffing and cover, unbleached muslin should be used. In cheaper work this is eliminated. In our work we will find it advantageous, for it gives to the seat the proper shape, and permits better and smoother work on the final covering. After the application of the muslin, if it is found that the seat is not of the desired shape, more stuffing may be added or the stuffing may be distributed by the regulator. Muslin 36 inches wide may be obtained for 7 cents a yard from any local dry-goods store.
Wadding is a kind of stuffing arranged in sheets. ”

“ However, care must be exercised that the springs are not drawn down lower with successive strands of twine, or an uneven strain and wear will result. The last twine should be tied to all others crossing at the spring centers, to prevent twine wearing at these points. A study of Fig. 34 should make clear any doubtful point.
Tack a piece of 10 or 12-oz. burlap on the top edge of the frame with 4-oz. tacks, folding the edges over as they are being tacked. Fasten it just tight enough to insure smoothness, avoiding pulling the springs down lower. ”

“ Nailing a piece of leather or strips of leather across a frame cannot be dignified by the term upholstery. Therefore, such work is not to be considered under this head. The structure, in addition to the simple upholstery processes involved, requires but elementary bench work in wood in its construction.
After staining the stool take a small amount of tow, pull it out thoroly with the hands until all uneven bunches are eliminated; then spread it out evenly on the top of the stool as illustrated in Fig. 6. Then place a piece of muslin over this, tacking it with 4-oz. ”

“ Burlap is the best material to use over webbing and over springs. It will not rip and tear as readily as most textiles and it is therefore a preferred material. Burlap comes in three weights: light (8 oz.) , medium (10 oz.) , and heavy (12 oz.) . The medium weight is best adapted for our work. This may be purchased for 9 cents a yard. It is 40 inches wide. Used burlap may ordinarily be purchased at local dry-goods stores for about 5 cents per pound. Even considering waste, this is much cheaper and quite as good as new burlap for the work intended.
FIG. 5 ”

“ Tapestry may run into prohibitive costs. Some of the best textiles are tapestries, brocades, [Pg 15] velvets, plushes, satins and hair cloth; cheaper ones are velours, chintz, reps, and denims.
Gimp is a narrow edging used for covering raw edges of the cover and heads of common tacks which secure the cover. It comes in rolls of 25 to 36 yards. Black imitation leather gimp costs 20 cents a roll of 25 yards, and brown or Spanish, 35 cents. Cloth gimp costs from 2 to 3 cents a yard.
Three kinds of nails may be used in the work outlined: solid leather, Perfection and Metalene. ”

“ The seat is built up with webbing, canvas and stuffing, and covered with a needlework tapestry. It is finished with a fringed gimp with brass headed nails.
[Pg 10]
Not only does upholstery add comfort to furniture, but it reflects the conditions in the life of a people. Alice F. Schmall said recently: “With the accession of James I to the throne of England the style of dress changed to trunk hose and padded doublet, and the carven forms of furniture gave place to upholstery. There is a sense of dignity and refinement about a really fine chair ”

“ Leather substitutes, or so-called artificial leather, is well adapted for beginners in upholstery, and is inexpensive. It is manufactured in 50 and 54-inch widths, and costs from 60 cents to $1.75 per yard. Trade names of leather substitute are Marokene, Chase Leather, Hercules, Victor Leather, Pantasote, Mole Skin, Mule Skin, etc. The better varieties are very durable and very closely resemble leather. Genuine leather costs from 16 to 36 cents per square foot in the whole hide or full skin, and up to 75 cents per foot cut to size. ”

“ Tapestry may be defined as printing in colored threads. The most perfect work in tapestry is produced on vertical looms, but one-third more work may be accomplished on horizontal looms in the same length of time. A Gobelin workman on a vertical loom produces on an average, one square yard of tapestry in 300 working days. ”

“ Then, using the best of webbing, take one end and tack with 10-oz. tacks. If hard wood is used in the structure and it tends to split, use smaller tacks, say 8-oz. or 6-oz. Stretch the strand of webbing with the webbing stretcher, and tack as illustrated in Fig. 23.
When four tacks have been driven in cut the webbing off 1 inch beyond the row of tacks; fold over, and tack down with three tacks placed between the four previous ones. Folding the ends over rather than under is better practice, for the fold protects the webbing at the points of greatest strain. ”

“ Upon the permanency of the webbing and spring twine depend the lasting qualities of the seat. The twine generally deteriorates or breaks first, and then the webbing. To insure a relatively permanent seat tie the springs eight times, that is, place four strands across each spring, one from front to back, one from [Pg 40] side to side, and two diagonals. Multiply the dimension of the frame by one and two-thirds to determine the lengths of twine required.
FIG. 33
FIG. 34
THE PROCESS.—Tie a simple knot in one end of a length of twine. ”

“ Stitching twine is also needed for spring and stitched edge work. For this purpose No. 252 elm flax stitching is used. This costs 30 cents per half-pound ball.
The prices quoted are wholesale. Retail prices vary so much in different communities, and even in different places in the same community that they cannot be given with any fair degree of accuracy. The wholesale prices quoted will, however, give some idea of the cost of materials to the workman. At present, however, even wholesale prices are very unstable. All prices above are pre-war prices. ”

“ Inside arrises of the rails should be rounded with a rasp to prevent the webbing from eventually being cut thru. The framework of such a structure is shown in Fig. 21. Attach the corner blocks as shown in Fig. 22; then properly stretch the webbing and tack it in place. The webbing is the ground work of upholstering, and the durability of the work depends to a considerable degree upon its quality and proper application. Use the original roll of webbing. This enables the worker to use the webbing stretcher without waste. ”

“ The rich carpets of Persia and the muslins of India were in use for ages before the Romans set foot in Britain, and there can be little doubt but that the Oriental people raised the art to a very high standard, and long before the trade was known in Europe. ”

“ The rocker in its entirety is the product of a young woman, a student in the author’s class.
A QUEEN ANNE STOOL.—This stool also has a hard-edge seat but the method followed is a modification of the one just described. In the former the upholstered seat was built over a box or frame, and fitted snugly into the cricket base. In this project the upholstery is fastened permanently to the rails; it becomes an integral part of the structure. The edge is blind stitched. The webbing cannot be tacked directly to the rails ”

“ This edge is made by tacking strips of burlap on in such a manner that tow may be rolled in them. They are then retacked behind the roll. The first row of tacks should be placed so that the heads run flush with the outer edge of the rail. The strip of burlap on the farther side of the stool shown in Fig. 26 is fastened in this way. The roll on the near side is complete. On the left end the burlap is shown partly rolled back to reveal the tow in place. The tow must be thoroly worked in with the finger to produce an even, smooth edge, and the burlap drawn tight to make it firm.
FIG. 24
Fig. ”

“ This is called double stuffing, and work of this kind is termed double stuffed work. Hair is extremely resilient, and used for this purpose adds life to the seat. Moss will answer the purpose. Place a layer of cotton batting over this. Then a piece of muslin is finally tacked over all. Fig. 37 shows the muslin partly tacked, and the two layers of material rolled back. Keep the muslin smooth, especially at the corners, cutting away all surplus material.
FIG. 39
Use a cover of soft material rather than one of leather or substitutes. ”

“ The edging is a fabric gimp with fringed edge.
The arm chair illustrated in Fig. 3 is Italian, from the sixteenth century. It has carved finials but no turned work. The leather back is tooled, and gilded with an elaborate design. The leather seat has been blocked up from below to maintain the original appearance, and the leather is not the same grade as used on the back. Round headed nails, of two sizes, and the fringed gimp, complete the ornamentation.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
The chair shown in Fig. ”

“ This usually prevents the chair from squeaking, due to a loose seat.
In constructing the wood frame for this kind of seat allow at least 3/16 inch for the thickness of materials. More allowance should be made for thick material and genuine leather.
Attach webbing and burlap in the usual manner; then form the hard edge as described previously. The hard edge is shown in Fig. 17 together with tow, wadding, and muslin, and Fig. 18 shows the seat ready for the covering after the trimming of the raw edges. The finished seat placed in a rocker is illustrated in Fig. 19. ”