Patching a Hole in My Upholstered Rocking Chair

Our living room furniture set was purchased at least twenty years ago. Some folks would consider it old and outdated, but I am more interested in comfort than style. Besides, we have always had cats, and some of them have not treated our furniture very well. Clarence is a prime example. He was a stray we took in ten years ago. In most ways he is one of the nicest cats we've had. But he has one bad habit: he scratches the furniture to let us know he wants to go outside. As long as he is alive, there's no point in buying new furniture.

For a long time, I didn't notice just how big a mess he had made on one side of the upholstered rocking chair. I don't know how I overlooked it, but one day I realized the foam was coming out. It got worse and worse. I bought a motion-activated device that would make a noise and spray air when he approached the chair, but he just switched to the sofa.

I read articles about how to discourage a cat from scratching on furniture, and I thought for a long time about how to repair that gaping hole in the upholstery. I looked for ideas online, but all I found were ideas for patching a small tear. (Maybe I didn't search with the right words.) So I thought at length about how to go about it before tackling the job last Friday.

This is what the hole looked like, after a few years of Clarence's mistreatment.

First, I gathered up the materials I had been accumulating for the job. This included the swatch of material for patching that came with the chair; I even knew where it was after all these years! Also, a piece of foam a neighbor gave me, curved needles and heavy thread from the fabric store, scissors, and a few straight pins that didn't make it into the photo.

Step One: I trimmed off the rough edges of the fabric and the foam.

Step Two: I traced and cut a rough pattern on a piece of paper.

Step Three: I cut a piece of foam in the shape of the paper pattern. It was thicker than I needed, so I just hacked away at the back side with the small scissors until it was the right thickness. I considered gluing it in place, but decided against that.

Step Four: I held a piece of paper up to the damaged area and cut a rough pattern for a patch, extending it well beyond the area of severe damage.Then I cut the piece of fabric, leaving about 1/4" all around to turn under. I briefly considered trying to match the pattern of the fabric on the chair, but quickly discarded that idea. After all, it's an old chair, getting faded and worn, so who cares?

Step Five: I turned under about 1/4" of the fabric and used my sewing machine to sew it in place. I used the heavier thread I had purchased, loading some of it onto a fresh bobbin for the project.

Step Six: I pinned the patch in place with a few pins.

Step Seven: I threaded the smallest curved needle with the heavy thread and sewed all around the edge. I had never used a curved needle before, but it worked out quite well.

At this point, Clarence The Guilty came around to supervise and mess with my scraps and supplies.

All done! The entire project took about 90 minutes, which included about 35 minutes of hand-sewing.

From a distance, the patch is barely noticeable. The online suggestions for deterring cats from scratching furniture included placing double-sided tape over the area they like to scratch. So I did that, after the patching job was completed. I also put the tape on the same area on the other side of the chair. And, following yet another suggestion I found online, I bought a new scratching post for Clarence, placed it next to the chair, and sprayed it with catnip spray. He has sniffed it with some interest, but has not used it for its intended purpose.

Note: The purple towel is there for Clarence to sleep on, so he doesn't leave cat hair all over the chair. It's my favorite chair, but it is also his favorite chair. I frequently need to boot him out of it so I can use it.

I think Clarence would prefer a scratching post that resembles soft furniture. I am now turning that idea around in my head, and pondering whether I can make one. I have on hand a sisal-wrapped post from another cat scratching device someone gave me a few years ago. I might be able to get my husband to mount it on a base for me (I avoid power tools; it's healthier). Then I could wrap it in foam rubber and cover that with upholstery fabric, both of which would no doubt be available at the fabric store. I'm thinking about it. If I decide to try it, I will be sure to make a post about the project.

All photos taken on my Android phone.