Monday, January 10, 2011

Trade Tips 5: Upholstery Trim

Hope 2011 is of to a great start for you! Here is the second video clip in our 3-part series on upholstery. This short video covers the basic methods of upholstery trim. Enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. I know you were only presenting the various types of upholstery trims at the frame and not making recommendations, but I was horrified at the presentation of the double welt -- the sign of mediocre upholstery across America. While your example with contrasting fabric was successful in emphasizing the form of the frame, a good gimp or tape would have been infinitely better. (I would not have done nail heads with damask, as they look much better with leather, tapestry and velvet, but that is more of a personal issue). __ The Devoted Classicist

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  2. Thank you for your comment John. Yes, as you said, we were trying to present the wide range of trim options commonly used today. I would much rather all chairs had more detailed and considered trim like the shaped leather tape with spaced nail-heads example we showed at the end. Sadly this is not the case with all chairs, as you no doubt well know. But thank you very much for watching and your thoughts!

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  3. great looking gimp and nailhead combinations. and sometimes a gimp or nailhead just does not work and If a double welt is done well it is Well done. I just recovered some french chairs with a patent silver vinyl for a breakfast room and was amazed that the upholsterer could carry it off. pgt

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  4. Thank you PGT. Those chairs you did sound great! I know what you mean about being surprised by what a good upholsterer can pull off. Whether its knowing how to work successfully with a material that is too thick or too thin and fragile, or being able to apply trim cleanly - good upholsterers who find a way to make it work are a treasure! I hope to cover this, at least in part, in our next video covering upholstery construction at one of our long time upholsterer's studio. Hope all is well.

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