Feed Sack Upholstered Foot Stool

8 Materials
$30
2 Hours
Medium

I picked up this vintage foot stool for six dollars from the thrift store. I had planned on simply replacing the fabric with fabric from the craft store. Then I found this feed sack at my favorite antique mall and inspiration struck.

Here is what I started with. Both the foam and the fabric were very worn. They also smelled pretty terrible.

The first thing I did was remove the tattered fabric and foam. I then unscrewed the hinges to detach the top of the stool from the base.

I then gathered my supplies. Because this is a footstool, I used 1/2" foam. If this were a chair or bench I'd use a thicker foam. I also used scissors, a staple gun, spray adhesive, a feed sack, a flour sack towel, an embroidered fabric napkin and various pieces of ribbon. The only scissors I could find at the time were kitchen scissors, I recommended using fabric scissors if you have them.

The first thing I did was lay the piece to be upholstered onto the foam and trace it with a marker.

This made it easier to only use what I needed and get the exact size and shape necessary.

I then cut the foam out with my scissors.

When that was done I grabbed my spray adhesive.

I applied a thin coat of spray adhesive to the top and waited until it was tacky before applying the foam.

After laying the foam on top of the spray adhesive I pressed firmly to secure it.

In preparation for upholstering I cut my feed sack down the middle on one side. This way it would open up to a single layer of fabric and be enough to cover the entire footstool. Once the feed sack was a single layer I realized it was a bit too shear and would need a backing.

This is wear the flour sack towel came in.

I laid it flat and placed the top of the foot stool in the middle. I trimmed it to size leaving plenty of length to be able to secure it.

Since this part was to be covered, I didn't worry to much about how good it looked. I folded the corners in a similar fashion to wrapping gifts. I used my staple gun in the corners and around the border to secure the fabric. I also took my marker and marked where the holes for the hinges were.

Once that was done I centered my feed sack fabric the best I could and used my staple gun to secure it. I was sure to pull the fabric tight to avoid ridges. I used the same folding technique as the flour sack on the corners.

Once the feed sack was secure I trimmed my embroidered fabric napkin to size and used spray adhesive to secure it. This was done to cover unsightly cuts in the feed sack as well as the staples.

When that was done I dug through my ribbon collection so that I could frame out the embroidered napkin.

I used small dots of spray adhesive to attach the ribbon.

I love the added detail the ribbon gave. I allowed the adhesive to dry fully before moving on.

Once the adhesive was dry I use my scissors to poke through the fabric and reattach the hinges. I then attached it to the foot stool base.

I couldn't be happier with how this turned out. Especially since it was my first upholstery project. I'm looking forward to thrifting and reupholstering more pieces in the future!

Suggested materials:
  • Feed Sack
  • Flour Sack Towel
  • Embroidered Fabric Napkin
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Jeanne Martin Jeanne Martin on Sep 24, 2021

    Love what you did and especially the feedsack. What a great find! Just one question, what is that reddish string/trim on the left corner of the stool (in the pic of the finished stool)? It doesn't look attached, maybe draped.

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