Want to try upholstery but have no idea where to start? Here, we share some of the best instruction books on how to learn upholstery for beginners, whether for home, car or boat.
Whether you’re looking to reupholster a car interior, update worn-down furniture, replace your boat seat covers, or create something entirely new from scratch, here are some of the most popular book for how to learn upholstery.
While many of the basic principles apply to both automotive, marine and household coverings when you are first learning upholstery, you are likely to get more benefit from a book that is tailored specifically to the specific type of upholstery you are planning to do.
To help you choose the right book for your needs, we’ve divided this list into household and automotive/marine upholstery how to books.
Household Furniture Upholstery
We deal with household furniture every single day, yet most of us have no idea how to properly upholster the chairs, stools, and sofas around us. Household upholstery does not have to be a difficult process, but it can be overwhelming for some DIYers. With a little bit of know-how, anyone can turn a simple space into something amazing simply by reupholstering a few pieces of furniture. If you’re wondering how to learn upholstery for household furniture, here are some excellent books to give you a start.
Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design
Author: Amanda Brown
Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design – View on GoodReads
Furniture plays an important part in our daily lives. After a long day of work, you come home and sit down in your favorite chair. But eventually, that chair begins to wear out, the fabric fades, stretches, and tears. Bring life into your favorite furniture with just a few of the essential tools, and a knack for choosing great color combinations. With a little bit of effort, know-how, and the help of this comprehensive guide, you can turn any home into something truly amazing. With more than 900 images and 5 different projects, you will learn how to reupholster anything in your home from sofas to ottomans, and even your favorite La-Z-Boy.
The Upholstery Bible: Complete Step-by-Step Techniques for Professional Results
Author: Cherry Dobson
The Upholstery Bible – View on GoodReads
Regardless of how much experience you have with restoring furniture, you will find that The Upholstery Bible is filled with easy-to-follow instructions that will help you complete just about any major or minor project. You’ll find all of the essential techniques you need to successfully reupholster just about anything in your home from the initial stripping down to the final touches of covering buttons. Start simple with a few small projects in your home and around your yard, then move on to more complex jobs. With the help of The Upholstery Bible, you will learn how to choose the right upholstery tools, materials, tools and sewing techniques to complete just about any job like a professional.
Complete Step-by-Step Upholstery
Author: David Sowle, Ruth Dye
Complete Step-by-Step Upholstery – View on GoodReads
If you are looking for a truly in-depth Complete Step-By-Step Upholstery guide for how to learn upholstery, then this is the perfect book for you. Follow along with 15 amazing step-by-step projects, that will help you to fine-tune your skills as a household upholstery specialist. You will learn how to reupholster a drop-in bottom chair, an overstuffed seat, and even work with a box cushion. From there, the book will show you in amazing detail how to create a beautiful Art Deco chair, a classy leather chesterfield, or even a lazy chaise lounge. As you go from project to project, you’ll slowly build up your collection of tools, which will make mastering upholstery and learning upholstery an easier process.
Singer Upholstery Basics Plus: Complete Step-by-Step Photo Guide
Author: Steve Cone
Singer Upholstery Basics Plus – View on GoodReads
Singer is one of the most well-known manufacturers of upholstery sewing machines and equipment in the industry. As such, it is only natural that they would put all of that knowledge and experience into the creation of a comprehensive and user-friendly book for upholstery projects. There are a number of excellent projects in the book, which are complete with step-by-step instructions and finally detailed images that will help you along the way. Whether you want to build a simple stool, a bench, a headboard for your bed, a new couch, or even an ottoman, you will find everything that you need to design and complete your project like a professional. With more than 300 excellent photos, the Singer Upholstery Basics Plus is one of the most comprehensive upholstery books on the market.
The Upholsterer’s Step-by-Step Handbook: A Practical Reference
Author: Alex Law
The Upholsterer’s Step-by-Step Handbook – View on GoodReads
If you are looking for a fully illustrated how to learn upholstery book, that will provide you with step-by-step instructions on completing just about any type of project, then look no further than The Upholsterer’s Step-By-Step Handbook. This wonderfully illustrated handbook provides you with a wide range of techniques, tips, and tricks used within the upholstery industry. In no time, you will learn all of the skills and techniques needed to complete a project from start to finish. This amazing book will help you learn how to estimate materials, plan your entire project, and end up with professional results regardless of the size or scale of your next project.
Automotive & Marine Upholstery
Working with automotive interiors can be a difficult process for even a seasoned professional. Every piece of fabric, leather, or vinyl, needs to be painstakingly shaped to fit just right around some of the most complex curves in a car. Most restorers send their work out to another professional, which adds to the overall cost of a restoration project. If you’re looking for help with how to learn upholstery for your car or boat, then you’ll definitely want to check out these popular books.
Custom Auto Interiors (AKA Automotive Upholstery Handbook)
Author: Don Taylor, Ron Mangus
Custom Auto Interiors – View on GoodReads
The Custom Auto Interiors (Automotive Upholstery Handbook) is a very popular book that explains how to design, fabricate, as well as install amazing car interiors. Regardless of whether you are looking to upholster a truck, car, van, RV, or even boat, this book comes with a complete step-by-step guide to help you master the right techniques for your upcoming project. Learn to sew like an expert, regardless of whether you are working with leather, vinyl, or even fabric. Even if you are planning on rebuilding or restoring old bench seats or bucket seats, this book will help you master every technique needed to complete the project.
When it comes to Custom Auto Interiors, Don Taylor and Ron Mangus are some of the most well-known names in the industry. This great book is filled with more than 800 photographs in vivid detail, providing you with everything you need to design and build some of the finest interiors in the world. A careful perusal of the book will show that it provides accurate step-by-step instructions on how to complete any project like an experienced professional.
Automotive Upholstery & Interior Restoration
Author: Fred Mattson
Automotive Upholstery & Interior Restoration – View on GoodReads
The first part of restoring a car is to disassemble and completely gut it. The disassembly process is the easiest part of any custom restoration, while, some insist that upholstery work is the hardest. This is why even professionals outsource their upholstery to other shops. In this excellent book Automotive Upholstery & Interior Restoration, you will find all of the information you need to work on just about every aspect of the interior of your project car. Whether you need to redo the carpets, seats, car roof headliner, convertible top, dashboard, or even the door card, you will find precise, step-by-step instructions that will make the entire process easier to learn and follow.
Final Thoughts on How to Learn Upholstery
While upholstery is a traditional craft with many businesses offering upholstery services, unfortunately there is a great lack of classes or teachers willing to pass on the craft.
While in-person tuition is always the preferred method for learning any hands-on craft, this may not be a possibility for you. Unlike sewing or painting, upholstery is a less common hobby that you’ll find struggle to find a short course or workshop for. If you’re in this situation, then ‘how to learn upholstery’ books and videos are a good compromise.
With books and written upholstery instructional guides, you may not learn the technique perfectly compared with learning from a teacher face-to-face, but at least it is a way to get started. Books are also a low-pressure and low-investment way to test out whether learning how to upholster is something you are really interested in, or not.
Likewise, if you just want to learn how to upholster or reupholster a couple of simple items without much commitment, books are also a great resource you can keep on your shelf until needed.
Now that you have your books, have a look at what essential upholstery tools you need to get started on your project.
Happy upholstering!
