How to Upholster a Modern Wing Chair in a Check Fabric (and Match Every Line)

I've been an upholsterer for 34 years, and nothing tests your work like a check fabric. Every line has to run true through the wings, arms, back, seat and facings, so the chair reads as one continuous cloth from any angle. A plain fabric forgives a lot; a tartan forgives nothing.

This chair was a new build from a bare frame, with elastic webbing to the back and seat, covered in a bold red tartan check. Here's the build in the order the work happens, with the tips that keep the pattern honest.

The full write-up, with more detail on the methods, is on my free reference site: https://www.learntoupholster.com/projects/modern-wing-chair

1. Wing chair frame (new build)
2. Elastic webbing and fixings
3. Foam and modern fillings for the wings, arms, back and seat
4. Calico or under-wrap for the arms
5. Check fabric, with extra allowance for pattern matching (see Step 1)
6. Upholstery staple gun and staples
7. Back tack strip or your preferred finish for the outside panels
8. Sharp shears, a long rule and tailor's chalk

This is the step that makes or breaks the chair. Every panel has exactly one correct position on the pattern, so you can't nest pieces tightly to save fabric.

1. Find the chair's centre line and plan for the check to be centred on it.
2. Plan each panel so its lines carry through to its neighbours: wings to arms, inside back running plumb, the seat flowing on from the back, and the facings mirroring each other.
3. Allow roughly an extra half metre to a full metre on a chair this size, depending on the pattern repeat. The bigger the repeat, the more waste.

You can work out your own quantity, including a pattern repeat, with my free fabric calculator: https://www.learntoupholster.com/fabric-yardage

Tip: Before you buy a bold fabric like this, it's worth seeing how it looks on your actual chair. I built an AI visualiser for exactly that. Upload a photo of your chair and a swatch, and it shows you the result: https://www.learntoupholster.com/fabric-visualiser

On a wing chair, the covering starts with the wings. With the frame prepped and foundations on, cover both wings with the check carefully centred. These two panels set the pattern for the whole chair, so take your time. Every panel after this has to agree with them.

At this stage the arms are still in their under-wrap and the inside back is bare.

The check on each arm has to mirror its partner exactly and line through where the arm meets the wing. The scroll is the hardest part, because the fabric has to bend in two directions while its lines stay straight.

Tip: Work evenly from the centre outwards. If you fix one end and pull towards the other, the grid will drift.

Tension elastic webbing across the back of the frame. It's the standard modern suspension: consistent, quiet and resilient, and it never needs re-tying like a traditional sprung back.

Then fit the inside back panel with the check centred on the chair's centre line, verticals running dead plumb and horizontals lining through with the wings and arms. This is the biggest panel and the first one your eye lands on, so it has to be perfect.

Web the seat platform the same way as the back, then cover it with the check aligned to the inside back, so the lines flow down the back and carry straight on along the seat without a jump. Check front to back and side to side before you fix it off.

The facings are the shaped panels on the front of each arm. They're small, but they sit at eye level on the front of the chair. Each one has to match the arm it belongs to and mirror its partner across the chair. Cut them carefully; there's no hiding a mismatched facing.

With the inside complete, close in the outside arms, keeping the check lined through with the panels above them. The goal is a chair that reads as one continuous cloth as you walk around it.

The outside back is the last big panel. Centre the check to agree with the inside back on the other side of the frame, and finish every edge clean and straight.

Tip: The back is where corners get cut in lesser work, but it's the first thing people see when a chair sits away from a wall. Give it the same care as the front.

A chair that didn't exist a short while ago, with every line of the check running true: up the back, along the seat, through the wings, arms and facings, and front and back in agreement.

It just needs a cushion,

If you'd like to learn the methods behind this job, including wing-back armchairs and webbing, they're set out in full, free, at https://www.learntoupholster.com

Questions welcome in the comments. I'm happy to help with your own projects.