1. Tack Strips
2. Webbing: Elastic, Rubber

Upholstery Tack Strips are generally used to make a finished edge, or straight seam in the finish fabric (outer layer of fabric) . Tack strips can be used when it would be otherwise impossible to secure the finish fabric without staples showing.

An outside back of the common Wing Back Chair is a good example of why tacking strips are necessary. By the time you have upholstered a chair and are preparing to put the last piece on - the outside back - there are staples showing from where you’ve secured the inside back, the arms and the side panels. While putting the outside back on, it’s impossible to reach under the outside back to staple the sides of the outside back, and have it look smooth and tight. Instead, the tacking strip is used to secure the piece.

We offers three different types of tack strips and each type and use is described below.

Chipboard Tack Strips (above left) are the most universally used to secure fabric . Chipboard Tack Strips can be cut down to any size, bent around corners, used to define edges, pad sharp edges, and prevent fabrics from tearing around the staples or tacks used to secure them.

Straight Metal Tack Strips has sharp points on one side and is smooth on the other. In certain applications, there will be places where without these tack strips, it would be impossible to hide the staples securing your finish fabric to the frame. As described in the Wing back Chair example, you are able to tack on a panel of fabric without seeing any tacks-because the strip is on the underside of the fabric. The final piece is secured by wrapping the edge of the fabric under the pointed side of the tack strip, and hammering it in place through the material. This will require using a raw hide mallet or a rubber mallet with scrap a piece of scrap material to protect your fabric as it is tacked in place.

Pli-Grip also called Curve Ease is also made of metal, but is designed to be very flexible to conform to curved surfaces. The tack strips generally come in 100 foot rolls, and can be cut to length using scissors, pliers, or tin snips. Pli Grip has little holes that you can shoot staples through, and little teeth that hold the fabric securely. As just one example, consider a curved chair arm, which needs to be covered with three pieces of material. The inside arm, top arm, and outside arm. Here, a strip of Pli Grip is used to secure fabric covering the top the curved chair arm. Then the Same strip is used to secure the outside arm, giving a very nice seam that looks machine sewn. Step by step instructions on using the different types of tack strips should be described in most upholstery books.

Elastic Webbing for Automotive and Furniture Upholstery

Elastic webbing is used in automotive seats, and many types of furniture, mainly those that require a flat surface and cannot accommodate springs. One example is a dinning chair, which generally have thin frame timbers less than 5” wide, and cannot accommodate a coil springs or zigzag springs. Here, elastic webbing is used instead of wire springs. The strips of elastic usually cross to weave a grid or Matrix. The strips are fastened using webbing clips or fastened directly to the frame with upholstery staples and a staple gun. The webbing must be stretched ( generally 25%- 40%) and fastened to the frame while it is taut. The stretch given to webbing used on seat backs different for webbing used for seats. The stretching requires a Webbing Stretcher hand tool, and the correct amount of stretch, as recommended by the the manufacturer, usually given as a percentage.

Fore example, If your webbing needs to be stretched 25%, this means a 12” piece will need to be increased by 25% of it's length, or so that it is 15” long.

In this light, you can see the span across a dinning chair frame, for example, would require less then 24” of elastic webbing, if it was stretched 25%. That said, be careful that you do not cut your strips too short.

Elastic webbing generally comes in 2” widths. Elastic webbing varies greatly in price and quality, and not all elastic webbing is strong enough to be used for upholstery. I would suggest purchasing a Brand name webbing from a reputable distributor.

Rubber Webbing VS Elastic Webbing

Natural Rubber Webbing of has largely been replaced by the more less expensive and often more durable synthetic rubber-stretch type webbing, loosely referred to as "elastic webbing".  In application high-end chairs, genuinePirelli Rubber Webbing is used. Also, on furniture with exposed webbing where you want a certain look and feel of rubber webbing. Pirelli Rubber is used on period furniture, and antique furniture repair and restoration.

More Products coming soon...

Perelli Rubber Webbing