26 
House 
& Garden 
THE IMPORTANCE of GOOD UPHOLS T E R Y 
It Is Again Not the Cost but the Upkeep that Matters, and 
Cheap Furniture Proves Unprofitable in the Long Run 
E. F. LEWIS 
C HEAP upholstered furniture is never a 
good bargain. A piece of upholster}' that 
is thoroughly comfortable and will remain so 
for years requires the best of materials and 
quite a space of time for making. Unfortu¬ 
nately the apparent difference between the real 
and the imitation is very slight in the eyes of 
the purchaser of an over-stuffed chair, while 
the difference in price remains considerable. It 
is a valuable aid to know all about the con¬ 
struction of a chair that is being purchased as 
a first class piece of upholstery. 
Good and Bad Springs 
A strong wooden frame cut along straight 
lines is the foundation, and to this is fastened 
the closely interwoven webbing which forms 
the bottom of the chair. To this webbing are 
sewn the best of 
spiral springs which 
are then fastened to 
each other by heavy 
twine and intricate 
interlacing, so there 
can be no slipping, 
and at the same time 
they are forced down 
to the desired height. 
The cords are firmly 
tacked to the frame 
with galvanized 
tacks so there can 
be no rusting. Bur¬ 
lap is sewn to the 
top of the springs 
and over it a layer 
of hair, and the fin¬ 
ishing muslin cover 
is stretched over all. 
Many of the 
cheaper chairs use instead of webbing slats 
to which the springs are nailed. There is sel¬ 
dom anything to hold them in place or at even 
height, and the result is seen in sagging chairs 
with one comer up and the other comer down. 
Some are even made with neither webbing nor 
slats, but springs of the patented type that rest 
only on the frame, and can sag down to the 
floor in the center with only the cambric or 
sateen finishing to hold them up. 
The process of making the back of a chair 
is very similar to that of the seat, except that 
the spiral springs are finer so as to respond 
more readily to pressure. The burlap holds 
them all in place. Some cheap chairs have no 
springs in the back but a thin pad of hair is 
put over a curved back cut from wood which 
allows no flexibility aside from that in the 
hair or moss filling. 
The curved edges of the chair take the 
greatest amount of work. Here they use what 
is called a “stitched edge,” which is made of 
burlap stuffed with hair and then stitched back 
and forth by hand until the desired roundness 
is acquired. In this way the edges are pli¬ 
able, but firm enough to hold their shape per¬ 
fectly and there is no possibility of a hard 
wooden edge. The edge of the arm is made 
the same way and the arm itself is built up to 
the required height and circumference by vari¬ 
ous layers of hair over which is stretched the 
muslin cover underlying the outer fabric. 
The arms and the nicely rounded edges ac- , 
quired in the good chair by arduous stitching 
are usually turned out of wood in the case of 
a cheap chair and covered with a thin layer 
of moss—not hair—which is very cheap and 
makes a great saving of material and labor. 
The first requisite is 
a well-made frame. 
On this are placed the 
springs fastened in 
with webbing 
The second stage 
includes the back 
springs and the layers 
of burlap stuffed with 
hair and sewn in place 
!K2 
The finished upholstered chair with 
loose cushion. The life of the chair 
does not depend upon the cover which 
one sees, but upon the quality of work¬ 
manship and materials beneath the cov¬ 
ering fabric 
Down the Distinction 
The last great distinction between the good 
and the bad is in the down cushions. There 
may be ways of gaining the other effects of a 
well-made chair, but there is no substitute for 
good down. There are two cushions, one for 
the back and one for the seat. The down is 
put in a cushion with compartments so that it 
cannot slip about too much, for down is de¬ 
cidedly elusive. The back cushion is fastened 
on the burlap muslin-covered back, and the 
entire thing upholstered, although the line be¬ 
tween the main part of the chair and the down 
cushion is shown in the finished product. The 
down seat cushions are usually upholstered 
separately so that they can be removed and by 
shaking up fall back into original shape no 
matter how matted they may seem. Down 
cushions are never 
used in a cheap 
chair, the usual 
method being a seat 
rounded up in the 
center and made of 
moss or poor hair. 
When there is a sep¬ 
arate cushion it is 
sometimes of silk 
floss, the same as is 
used in cheap sofa 
pillows. This soon 
lumps up and grows 
thin and flat with 
continued use. 
The Test of Wear 
The cheap chair 
may look all right 
when you buy it, but 
at the end of a year 
some of the springs 
sag beneath the 
frame or the seat 
tips forward or back 
or to one side, forc¬ 
ing you to sit in a 
certain position in order to be comfortable. 
The back grows hard and the arms harder and 
the edge of the seat cuts in. The really good 
chair with down back and seat will outwear 
numerous coverings and will always give the 
same amount of comfort; and when you want 
to pull it to pieces you will find the inner ma¬ 
terials still good. If you are going to buy up¬ 
holstered furniture buy only the best! And if 
you have any doubt about your ability to select 
good upholstery, then take along a decorator 
or insist on a complete explanation at the shop. 
Perhaps the best advice, after all, is to purchase 
only from those shops that have established 
reputations. The best goods are usually found 
in the best shops. The extra price will justify 
itself in the end. 
The third process 
finds the arms cov¬ 
ered with a layer 
of down sewn in a 
stitched edge and 
the back completed 
