C4564 - Upholstery: restore, refresh and re-imagine furniture (all levels)

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Start Date: 19/04/2027      End Date: 28/06/2027        Start Time: 10:30      End Time: 13:00        Hours per Week: 2.50      No of Weeks: 9
Fees:      £180.00 (tuition)     £316.00 (overseas)     £75.00 (concessionary)
Tutor: Sylvia Apperley        No of Places: 10
Shadwell Centre

Course Overview

Course Overview
Do you have a chair, stool, or small piece of furniture at home that needs repairing or upcycling?

Working mainly on your own small or medium-sized furniture items, you’ll build confidence and independence while improving the quality and finish of your work.
You will learn how to assess furniture, repair or adapt existing upholstery, and apply more advanced techniques such as re-webbing, padding, shaping, and improved fabric finishes. The course also encourages creative upcycling, exploring how colour, fabric choice, and decorative details can transform tired furniture into something unique and useful for your home.

With tutor demonstrations and individual guidance, you’ll work at your own pace on a personal project—revitalising an item such as a chair, stool, or footstool—while developing skills that can be applied to future home projects or small-scale professional work.

Examples of Individual Projects
Learners typically work on projects such as:

Re‑upholstering dining chair seats and backs
Restoring a footstool or ottoman
Upcycling a stool or small bench using modern or contrasting fabrics
Repairing sagging seats through re‑webbing and re‑padding
Giving new life to a chair with creative fabric choices, trims, or finishes
Refreshing wooden frames with waxes or oils alongside new upholstery

Projects are agreed with the tutor to ensure they are suitable in size and complexity for the course.

What will you learn and be able to do?

What will you learn and be able to do?
* Work safely and confidently in an upholstery workshop, using appropriate tools, equipment, and materials.
* Assess and plan an upholstery or upcycling project, selecting suitable materials, fabrics, and techniques based on design and function.
* Measure, calculate, and prepare materials accurately, including cutting fabrics and components to meet project requirements.
* Apply intermediate upholstery techniques, including re webbing, padding, shaping, covering, and basic frame preparation.
* Complete an individual upholstery project, demonstrating improved quality, technique, and an ability to evaluate outcomes and identify next steps.
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Entry requirements

Entry requirements
This course is for learners who already have some basic upholstery experience and want to develop their skills further through restoring and creatively upcycling furniture.
Prosp User 8

Equipment required

Equipment required
Beginners need to bring a drop in seat or basic foot stool or a small headboard. Improvers and higher may bring in a small chair.
Note pad and pen, folder. A sharp pair of scissors and 13 or 23 Rapid staple gun is essential and your own top fabric for your individual project.
Prosp User 9

How will you know you are making progress?

How will you know you are making progress?
You will have an ‘Individual Learning Plan’ where the course learning outcomes are shown and where you can set individual learning goals and monitor your own progress against these.

You will need to evaluate your own progress and manage your time.

Your tutor will give ongoing feedback and will keep you informed of your progress.
Prosp User 12
At the beginning of the course an initial assessment takes place to identify your level of experience knowledge or current skills.
The tutor will carry out informal assessments to check your understanding, there is no exam.
You will complete a self-assessment at the beginning, middle and end of the course and you will participate in regular self-assessment.
Your tutor will let you know how you are getting on throughout the course, to help you work to your full potential.
At the end of the course you will receive written feedback.
Prosp User 11

Progress opportunities - your next steps

Progress opportunities - your next steps
Another Upholstery or Soft Furnishing course.
You may wish to enroll on other courses held at Idea Store Learning. Please see the course guide for further information or speak with your tutor.
Prosp User 10

Other info

Other info
You will be asked to buy and bring in some of your personal hand tools and materials needed.
Prosp User 13

Extra Support

Extra Support
If you have declared a learning difficulty, disability or support need whilst enrolling and you require support/assistance in class or to complete your course, please discuss your needs with your tutor at the first lesson.

If you intend to take an examination and feel you have an additional learning need or special requirements, you must declare them to your tutor within the first 2 weeks of your course.

If you are studying in an online group, then you can arrange a one-to-one online discussion with your tutor, after the session, or by email.

Where we aim to make reasonable adjustments to support our learners, please note we are unable to provide any type of in class or in person support if your course takes place online.
Prosp User 14