Tufted Bench Seat

The Tufted Bench!

Old bench

Now that I got my drapes, dust skirt, and shams done for my Master Bedroom, I wanted to tuft a bench in the same linen.

The first step was to remove the existing bench cushion from the hinges and the catches. Making sure the bench top was leaning against something (to catch it if it fell), I unscrewed all the parts holding the cushion onto the bench.

Removing the old staples

Then the challenging part; removing all of the staples holding the backing. I used a long flat head screwdriver to slip underneath each staple, and then a pairof pliers to lift them off. While some were a little difficult, the worst ones were lying underneath, holding together the top fabric of the bench! Once those were off, the fabric and foam came off as well. I re-used the foam because it was still in good shape.

Marking the new holes

To mark where the tufting went, I divided the wooden bench top into 8 sections (I wanted to use 8 buttons) and marked them evenly. It helped me to lay the buttons on top of the foam rubber to visualize where they should go. With a Sharpee marker I put a small dot where the holes were to be drilled. (In the photo you will see 3 large holes down the center of the lid; those were from the manufacturer and I did not use them). I took the bench top to the workroom and drilled the 8 holes using a drill bit just large enough that an upholstery needle with carpet thread would go through. After that was done, I took the drilled piece back and laid it atop the foam rubber. With a Sharpee marker, I marked each hole that would soon hold a button. (You want the mark to be on top of the foam so you can see it while you're working).

Making the buttons

Before making the buttons, I backed my button fabric with a fusible knit interfacing to give the buttons a little more body (in hindsight I should also have backed the bench fabric to give it a more strength since I did not use upholstery fabric). Oh, well!

Using a spray adhesive, I lightly covered the back of the foam rubber and adhered it to the wooden base of the bench top. I let it stand the manufacturer's suggested amount of time to get it to stick.

Pulling foam out

I cut an X into each of the small marked holes in the top of the foam, and pulled away about a 5/8 inch circle of foam from each of the markings. This was so my buttons would set down into the foam and give it the "tufting". 

I wrapped the foam in 1/2" batting and allowed the batting to move over the sides of the wood so it wouldn't poke through the fabric. Then, I cut out the 5/8" holes from the batting too. I pressed my bench fabric and centered it over the top of the batting/foam. Once I knew it was centered properly, I folded back one side and sprayed adhesive on it, then repeated with the other side. (Make sure you test your adhesive with your fabric). At this point, I made sure I marked my screw holes before stapling everything onto the base.

Pulling up the needle 

Stringing an upholstery needle (7 to 9") with carpet thread, I worked from the bottom of the board, threaded the needle up through one of the center holes into the 5/8" tear-away, and through the upper fabric. I threaded one of the buttons onto the needle and sent the needle back down into the hole to end up through the drilled hole again. Now, I pulled as hard as I could to set the button down into the fabric. Using an industrial stapler, I anchored the carpet threads pulled them to one side, stapled, and then pulled them into a triangle shape and stapled one last time. Satisfied that the button was set deep into the bench, I hammered the staples down so the thread wouldn't pull through. I also tied a knot in each end and stapled again just to be sure. Then I repeated it 7 more times with the other buttons.

Now that the bench was tufted, all that was left was to staple down the extra fabric around the corners and edges. Starting with the corners I cut away extra bulk and pulled the center corner tight smoothing as I moved around each corner. Once the corners were done, I moved to the center of each side and smoothed as I went.

I replaced the backing with a new one since I got some holes in the original, but other than that, it went well.

If you want to try this, you can get most of your supplies in a local fabric store (including adhesive). If you want to put piping around the edges, cover your welt with bias cut fabric and give the welt a long lip. Put the welt on before you put the final backing to the underside of your bench.