Furniture upholstery for schools

by Emil Aldren Johnson

FIG. 5

Several kinds of material may be employed for stuffing. The very best material available is curled horse hair. It is also the most expensive, costing from 30 to 65 cents per pound depending upon quality. The stuffing recommended for such work as ours is tow. This may be purchased by the 100-pound bale at a cost of 2 cents per pound. There are three grades of tow: fine, medium and coarse. The fine variety should be used, for the coarser kinds are hard to manipulate and result in uneven surfaces after a period of use. Even with the medium grade of tow it is necessary to use a layer of wadding over it to prevent ridges showing thru the cover. Other stuffing materials are moss, kapok, alva, and excelsior. Cork shavings are generally used for boat cushions.

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. It is used over other stuffing. Its function is to give a smooth, even appearance to the seat or cushion. Wadding is invariably used over curled hair to prevent the ends of the hair from penetrating the cover. It may be purchased in sheets 30 × 36 inches; the one pound quality at 35 cents per dozen sheets.

It is generally desirable to place cloth under the seat to prevent dust from falling to the floor from the seat, and to exclude moths from the stuffing. Cambric is desirable for this purpose. It has a finish which makes it dust-proof, but it tears easily and cannot supplant the muslin used over stuffing. Cambric comes in a 24-inch width and costs about 5½ cents per yard.

There are innumerable varieties of fabrics adapted for outside coverings, and good taste and judgment must be used in selecting proper kinds for certain jobs. It is obvious that office and library furniture require coverings of a different quality and kind from that of the living room; and dining room furniture from that of the bedroom. A footstool may properly be given a covering of different character from a chair seat. In the selection of figured goods great discretion is necessary. The figures on fabrics for a chair seat or back should manifestly be smaller and more subdued than those for a sofa or davenport. A sense of good design needs to be developed here, for proper selection is essential, both as regards color, figure, and adaptability to the particular structure, and its placement.

The first piece of tapestry woven in this country was completed in 1893. It was for a chair seat. The second was a counterpart of the first and is now in the Field Museum of Chicago.

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. The art in this work is the graduation of shades. In the best days of tapestry weaving, between 1450 and 1550, but twenty to sixty shades were known, while today we have knowledge of over 14,000.

“Brocade” is the term applied to any material having a raised pattern. Formerly the name referred to materials with embroidered patterns upon colored fabrics. “Chintz” is the term applied to cotton cloth printed with a floral or bird design. “Denim” is a strong, twilled cotton fabric. “Gunny” is jute-cloth. “Burlap” is a substitute for gunny cloth.

There are three classes of coverings in upholstery: genuine leather, textiles, and leather substitutes. 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. Cloth or textiles cost from $1.00 to $3.00 per yard in the general run of grades. They may cost as high as $10.00 per yard. Tapestry may run into prohibitive costs. Some of the best textiles are tapestries, brocades, velvets, plushes, satins and hair cloth; cheaper ones are velours, chintz, reps, and denims.