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Upholsterers select, cut, sew and fit fabric or leather materials to
furniture and repair damaged furniture. Upholsterers
make, rebuild and repair upholstered articles such as chairs, sofas, beds
and mattresses.
ANZSCO ID & description:
3933: Makes,
rebuilds and repairs upholstered articles such as chairs, sofas, beds and
mattresses.
Alternative names: Upholstering and Bedding Tradespersons
Specialisations: Furniture Upholsterer, Mattress Maker
Upholsterers usually work in
one, or more, of the main fields:
-
Antique and Reproduction - involves restoring genuine
antiques or recreating the style of a certain era in history.
-
Custom Upholstery - involves building furniture for
special purposes, such as use in hotels, ships and airports.
-
Production Upholstery
- involves upholstering mass-produced furniture in sections for the
domestic or commercial market.
-
Renovation and Repair Upholstery
- involves replacing old and
damaged upholstery
Knowledge, skills and attributes
An Upholsterer should:
-
Enjoy practical and manual
work
-
Be able to work neatly and
accurately
-
Have an interest in
furniture
-
Be physically fit
-
Possess normal colour vision
-
Have good hand-eye
coordination
Duties and Tasks
Upholsterers may perform the following tasks:
-
repair upholstered furniture by replacing covers,
webbing, padding and springs
-
discuss colour, fabric, style and cost of upholstery
with clients
-
staple lengths of webbing (a wide tape) onto the
underside of the furniture frame
-
stretch webbing from side to side, interlacing it to
form a base for the padding
-
lace tops of springs together to prevent sideways
movement and staple hessian to the frame
-
cut and fit foam padding
-
measure and cut covering material, join sections and
tack fabric onto the furniture frame
-
cover staples with decorative braid, trim, buttons or
fancy nails and attach calico to the underside of the furniture
Working conditions
Upholsterers generally work in workshops but occasionally they may be
required to work in clients' homes or other sites. Upholsterers stand for
most of the day as the furniture is normally placed on a bench top while
work is carried out.
Tools and technologies
An Upholsterer uses: sewing machines; staple guns; nails needles and pins;
fasteners; foam; textiles; leather hides; webbing; sheers; hot knife
cutters; press n snap fastener tools; glue guns; pliers; foam cutters;
steamers; tack hammers etc.
Education and training/entrance requirements
You can become an upholsterer by completing an upholstery apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship usually takes 36 months to complete and is offered as a
school-based apprenticeship.
It is also possible to complete a traineeship in Furnishing (Upholstery).
The traineeship usually takes 12 months to complete and is offered as a
school-based traineeship.
Did You Know?
Upholstery is the work of providing
furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric
or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English
word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods.
The term is equally applicable to domestic, automobile, airplane and
boat furniture. A person who works with upholstery is called an
upholsterer; an apprentice upholsterer is sometimes called an outsider
or trimmer.
Traditional upholstery uses materials like coil springs (post-1850),
animal hair (horse, hog & cow), coir, straw and hay, hessians, linen
scrims, wadding, etc., and is done by hand, building each layer up. In
contrast, modern upholsterers employ synthetic materials like dacron and
vinyl, serpentine springs, and so on.
Upholstery-related tools
Chalk (upholsterer's chalk or tailor's chalk)
Goggles
Needle guards
Rubber mallet
Scissors
Sewing machine
Staple gun
Staple knocker (staple puller)
Upholstery hammer
Upholstery needles (round point curved needles and button needles)
Upholstery regulator
Webbing stretcher
(Source:
Wikipedia) |
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