Upholsterers

Nature of work

Upholsterers cover furniture, fixtures and similar items with fabric, leather or other upholstery materials. They work at furniture, aircraft, motor vehicle and other manufacturing companies, furniture retail outlets and repair shops or they may be self-employed.

Job duties

Upholsterers:

• Discuss upholstery fabric, colour, and style with customers and provide cost estimate for upholstering furniture or other items.
• Lay out, measure and cut upholstery materials according to sketches or designs.
• Replace worn-out webbing, springs and other furniture parts using hand and power tools.
• Use sewing machines or sew upholstery materials by hand to seam cushions and join sections of covering materials.
• Install padding and underlays and fasten covering materials to furniture frames.
• Tack, glue or sew ornamental trim, braids or buttons on upholstered items.
• Lay out, cut, make and install upholstery in aircrafts, motor vehicles, railway cars, boats and ships.
• May repair furniture frames and refinish wood surfaces.
• May make upholstery patterns from sketches, customer descriptions or blueprints.
• May install, make, maintain and repair interior components of aircraft like seats, coverings, drapes, cargo nets, flooring, closets, bins and panels.

Sample job titles

• automobile apholsterer
• custom upholsterer
• furniture upholsterer
• upholsterer
• upholstery repairer

Skills

• You must be patient and capable of precise and exact work. Good eyesight, motor skills, and hand-eye coordination are also necessary. You must be able to follow directions closely and accept instructions from both clients and supervisors.

Job requirements

• High school is usually required.
• College or other specialized courses or an apprenticeship program in furniture upholstering and repair or several years of on-the-job training, including working as an upholsterer helper are usually required.

Other considerations

• Movement to supervisory positions is possible with experience.

No regulating bodies were found under this occupation profile

There are no additional resources for this occupation.