How to Upholster a Stool with Repurposed Materials

Reuse, Repurpose and Relove

Repurposed materials are budget friendly, good for the environment, and a fun way to challenge your creativity. This easy DIY project is a great way to use repurposed materials. For this project, I am giving new life to an old stool by upholstering it and using it as an accent table.

My daughter has a faux fur stool that is a few years old. Consequently, it has seen better days. Therefore, I gave it a quick update by using an old t-shirt to cover it. But it got me thinking… what other items could be repurposed to upholster a stool or chair.

Repurposed materials to Upholster a Stool

1. bath mat
2. hand woven rug
3. crocheted blanket
4. patchwork quilt
5. chunky sweater
6. flannel shirt
7. textured pillow sham
8. velvet skirt
9. Turkish towel
10. patterned curtain

What You Need:

• Stool
• Scissors
• Staple gun
• repurposed materials – like an old t-shirt

What You Do:

This is assuming that the stool already has batting.  If not, hot glue thick batting in the shape of the seat to the stool. In addition, you can either remove the previous upholstery fabric or recover directly over the top. I usually reupholster directly over the top of any material.

1. First, center the fabric on the stool. Avoid any seams. Then, measure and cut the material to fit over the top of the stool. You can do this by laying the material onto the floor and placing the top of the stool on it.  Then, pull the fabric over the edges and at least one inch over the bottom of the stool seat. For a circular stool, cut the fabric in a large circle.
2. Next, use a staple gun to staple each side of the fabric to the stool, pulling tight as you go.  Begin with the four opposite corners. Keep the fabric pulled tight and always staple across from the previous staple.
3. Then, staple in between by pulling the fabric and folding it over. Cut off any excess fabric.

The more simple style has a modern feel to fit in with my daughters ever changing style.  Plus, the stool now serves as an accent table in her reading nook.

I hope that you are encouraged to create something in your home with repurposed materials. If so, please save this to your DIY Pinterest board, or follow mine, here. And if you are looking for more home decor and DIY ideas, you can follow me on instagram at @cutertudor.

Amy Williams

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