For Arkansans hoping to spruce up an old wing-back chair or do something new with those old dining chair cushions, there is local help for the novice upholsterer.
Terry Dilday, owner of Cynthia East Fabrics, 1523 Rebsamen Park Road, says she frequently gets customers planning do-it-yourself upholstery jobs and the staff there is happy to give advice. The No. 1 easy, small project?
"Dining chair seats. Everybody can do their own dining room chair seats. It's an easy project. It's fun. You feel very accomplished. It doesn't require much yardage. Even if you err, it's not an expensive deal."
While Dilday says her staff is happy to give advice on fabrics and smaller jobs, "We don't teach it our very own selves," Dilday says.
For more official, intensive supervision, there are courses. For instance, the Arkansas Extended Learning Center offers basic upholstery classes quarterly, led by Debbie Warren of Warren Upholstery in Alexander.
It's a two-session class, running 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on consecutive Saturdays. Students provide a piece they want to work on, from simple chairs or footstools to more complex easy chairs.
Participants generally cover a range of abilities and experience, and Warren says some knowledge of sewing machines is helpful, but not necessary.
Regardless of experience or ability, the classroom environment and variety of pieces give students a pretty good overview, Warren says.
"Everybody kind of sees what everyone's working on."
The next course starts Oct. 18.
There's even more in-depth instruction at Arkansas State University-Beebe's Little Rock Air Force Base campus, where Eugene Moseley has taught upholstery classes for 26 years.
The course, which is open to the public, has been on hiatus the last couple of semesters while a new classroom was prepared, but they expect to be back up and running Oct. 15.
The program is 10 eight-week semesters, starting with basic upholstery, in which students learn how to upholster a wing-back chair, then more specialized courses in automotive and specific furniture upholstery.
"I don't have podium-type lectures," Moseley explains. "I have students that are in different phases of upholstery in the same classroom. I keep circulating around and taking care of them on an individual basis. It's learning by doing."
Moseley also adds that the more experienced sewing students actually have a more difficult time.
"The less they know about sewing, the better."
Students with home economics training usually try to adapt their skills to upholstery and it's not an easy transition.
"Some of them can't even sew a straight line," he says. "The more experience they get on our sewing machines, the faster they'll learn."
For more information:
• Cynthia East Fabrics: (501) 663-0460 or cynthiaeastfabrics.com
• ASU-Beebe: 6-9:15 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 15-Dec. 9, $422. A certificate of proficiency in household upholstery requires six classes. Registration deadline is Oct. 16. (501) 988-4151 or asub.edu/lrafb
• Arkansas Extended Learning Center: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 18 and 25, $189. There is no deadline, but the October class was almost full at press time. (501) 666-0759 or extendedlearning.org.
HomeStyle on 09/27/2014