Bergère chair tutorials
If you can do a bergère, you can do almost anything
Six stages, from the seat base to the cushion, for the most complete of French armchairs.
Guide 3 · Bergère · Everything at once
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To reupholster a bergère chair, work in this order: assess the chair, strip and prepare the frame, redo the seat base (webbing, with or without springs), pad the back and sides, cover the chair panel by panel, finish the edges with braid, piping or nails, and make the loose cushion last, fitted to the finished seat. Plan 3 to 4 metres of fabric (140 cm wide) for a standard European bergère.
One of the most rewarding French armchairs to restore, and a real step up from a cabriolet or a bridge chair: the cushion involves sewing, the closed sides add panels, and every edge along the wood must be finished cleanly. Taken one step at a time, it is absolutely achievable.
| Project | Seat |
| Piece | Bergère chair |
| Style | Louis XV, Louis XVI and later reproductions |
| Technique | Both |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Stages covered | Prepare · Webbing · Springs · Padding · Covering · Finishing · Sewing |
| Springs | Optional, simple springing |
| Fabric | 3 to 4 m (3¼ to 4½ yd), 140 cm (54 in) wide |
| Trim | Braid or double piping, 9 to 11 m (10 to 12 yd), or one box of decorative nails |
| Cushion piping | Single piping, about 8 m (8¾ yd) |
| Cushion | Foam, feathers or both |
Step 1
Strip and prepare the frame
Remove only what needs to go, keeping the old cover as a reference for your cuts. Glue loose joints, repair the wood and refresh the finish before any upholstery goes on: once the chair is covered, the frame is much harder to reach. See preparing a chair frame.
Step 2
The seat base, with or without springs
The seat carries the cushion, so it must be solid before anything else goes on. It always starts with webbing; then you choose whether it gets springs, depending on the chair’s original construction and the comfort you want.
Option 1 · Without springs
Elastic webbing
The simplest and most practical approach, and the best choice for a first bergère. The webbing alone carries the loose cushion.
How to web with elastic webbing
Option 2 · With springs
Traditional webbing and coil springs
If your chair originally had springs and you want to restore it properly, follow these stages in order.
Traditional webbing a bergere chair
Why simple springing? Springs are not tied the same way on every chair. A cabriolet or a Voltaire has a built-up stuffed seat (garniture à épaisseur), which calls for a different technique. A bergère seat carries a loose cushion: simple springing is the right method. All the other techniques are in the springs tutorials.
Simple springing technique
How to create a front edge platform
Step 3
The back and sides
Keep add a fresh top layer to a flattened padding · Rebuild if the padding has collapsed or was removed
The back is one of the most visible parts of the finished chair: getting its shape right makes everything else look better.
All padding methods, in natural fibres or foam, are in the padding and stuffing tutorials.
How to upholster the back of a bergere chair
Step 4
Covering
Cover panel by panel: the inside back, the inside of the arms and sides, then the outside back and the outside of the sides. The order matters, because each panel hides the fixings of the one before. The outside panels are closed with a hand stitch or with backtacking, as on the bridge chair back.
How to cover the arm of a Louis 15 style chair
Step 5
Finishing along the frame
Trim 9 to 11 m · Nails one box
On a bergère, the fabric stops against visible wood all around the chair. Braid, double piping or decorative nails hide the staples and give the chair its final line. See the finishing tutorials.
Step 6
The seat cushion
Piping about 8 m of single piping
Make the cushion last: its pattern is taken on the finished seat, so it fits the chair exactly. The cover is cut, piped and sewn before the cushion is filled and closed. Take your time: a well-made cushion is the difference between a professional result and one that looks homemade.
How to Make a Perfect Seat Cushion Pattern for a Bergère Chair
How to stitch a T-cushion
Foam or feathers?
Foam is firmer, keeps its shape and is easy to maintain, ideal for a chair used every day. Feathers are softer, with that sinking-in feeling that makes a bergère so comfortable, and suit period chairs beautifully; the inner cover must be tightly sewn so the feathers stay in.
How to create a feather like FOAM cushion
How to create a feather seat cushion
Know your chair
First, is your chair a bergère?
Check the sides. If the space between the armrest and the seat is upholstered and closed in, and the seat has a loose cushion, it is a bergère. If you can see through the sides, it is a cabriolet, and its tutorials are different.
History, styles, the bergère à oreilles and how it differs from a wingback or a club chair: everything is in What is a bergère chair?
Before you strip anything
Assess your chair
The step most people skip, and the one they most often regret. Many of my students have stripped the arms of their bergère straight away, only to realise later that the padding was in perfect condition.
01
The seat base
Does it sag? Are the springs still working, or is the webbing giving way?
02
The back and sides
Is the padding still firm and well shaped, or collapsed?
03
The cushion
Does it just need a new cover, or a new inside too?
04
The frame
Are the joints solid? Does the wood need repairs or a new finish?
Your answers decide the project: a full restoration, a new seat and cushion, or simply a new cover.
Plan your project
How much fabric and what materials do you need?
Fabric
3 to 4 m at 140 cm wide
A little more for a large repeat or a motif centred on the back and the cushion. For your exact chair, use the free fabric calculator.
Along the frame
9 to 11 m of braid or double piping
Or a box of decorative nails.
Cushion
About 8 m of single piping
Optional: 3 to 4 m more around the outside back, and the same on the cushion for a contrast. Single or double? See the piping guide.
Materials and tools
From webbing to sewing machine
Webbing, springs and twine for a sprung seat, hessian, padding, wadding, calico, cushion filling; a staple gun or hammer and tacks, ripping chisel, scissors, regulator, curved needles and a sewing machine. All explained in the tools guide and the materials guide.
The fun part
Fabric choices and upholstery ideas for a bergère
One of the most versatile chairs for fabric: its large surfaces give you real room for pattern and texture, and almost everything works if it is chosen with intention.
Reliable
Plain cotton velvet
It suits the classic silhouette, wears well and looks rich without being fussy.
Period
Jacquards, damasks and toile de Jouy
A natural match for a period bergère.
Bold
Large-scale prints
The back and sides give them room. Centre the motif on the inside back and the top of the cushion.
Discreet
Small repeats
For a more discreet, lived-in result.
Avoid very chunky or loosely woven fabrics: they are harder to tension evenly along the frame and wear quickly on a chair used every day. For a seat, choose at least 30,000 Martindale rubs.
Is it for beginners?
A step up, and you won’t take it alone
The bergère is a step up from a simple dining chair or a bridge chair. Done one of those? You’re ready. Very first project? Start with Guide 1: the skills carry over directly.
With the Premium Membership, you send me a photo or a short video of your bergère on WhatsApp at any stage, and I answer you personally, as if you were at my workbench.
Reupholstering a bergère: your questions
How much fabric do I need to reupholster a bergère?
3 to 4 metres at 140 cm wide for a standard European bergère, plus 9 to 11 metres of braid or double piping (or a box of decorative nails) and about 8 metres of single piping for the cushion.
In what order do you reupholster a bergère?
Frame, seat base, back and sides padding, covering, finishing, and the cushion last, so that it fits the finished seat.
Can I just change the cover and keep the padding?
Yes, if the padding is still firm and well shaped. Strip only the fabric, add a fresh layer of wadding if needed, and cover. This is the most accessible way to start with a bergère.
Do I need springs in a bergère seat?
No. Elastic webbing under a good cushion gives a comfortable, simpler seat. If the chair had springs, restoring them keeps it authentic: on a bergère, they are tied with the simple springing technique, not the method used for the stuffed seat of a cabriolet or a Voltaire.
Do I need a sewing machine?
Yes, for the cushion cover and the piping. See the perfect sewing machine for upholstery work.
Questions about your own chair? Write to me, or join the Hammer Club below.
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Written by Céline Vanier, running her own upholstery atelier by Lake Annecy for more than 15 years.
