Standard mallet
Made from solid beech wood
A beech mallet is a staple of an upholsterers tool box.
Primarily used with a chisel or staple remover to remove tacks or staples.
Also useful for other general tasks.
This mallet can be used as it it, or you may prefer to lightly sand and oil it for a smoother finish.
Standard pliers
A great all round pair of pliers
These fush pliers are used for removing staples once you’ve lifted them with your staple lifter.
Steel blades and soft touch handles make them easy to use.
Standard ripping chisel
Wooden handled, straight ripping chisel
A comfortable wooden handled ripping chisel.
Used for removing tacks in combination with a beech mallet.
A good quality tool that does the job and will last well with care.
Standard staple remover
A good quality tool box basic
This staple remover is a workhorse of the upholsterer. Used to lift staples before being pulled out with pliers when stripping furniture.
With it’s comfortable wooden handle it’s easy to use and will last you for years.
Adding to your kit? Discover our additional tools below
Webbing Stretcher
Essential for adding webbing
Made from solid wood, a webbing stretcher is essential if you want to add webbing to any seat platform.
Used to pull webbing taught against a seat frame before fixing in place with tacks or staples.
Add this to the standard or premium kit.
Premium magnetic hammer
Ozborne bronze magnetic hammer
The gold standard of magnetic hammers.
A solid bronze head tipped with steel ends – one magnetic for picking up tacks, the other for hammering. Finished with a smooth wooden handle.
Treated well this will last you a lifetime.
Standard magnetic hammer
Draper split end magnetic hammer
A good quality first hammer.
A solid steel head with one end for hammering, and a split magnetic end for picking up tacks. Finished with a wooden handle.
This is a great hammer to start your upholstery with.
Regulator
10″ regulator – an essential for traditional upholstery.
A regulator is like a giant needle. It is thicker and stronger than a needle, with a sharp tip and a blunt, wide ‘handle’.
Regulators are used to disperse and even out upholstery stuffing such as coir and hair. The tip can pierce through hessian to tease out fibres beneath. They are also a general use ‘pointy’ tool which comes in handy in a multitude of situations!
Round tipped needle
A 10″ round tipped double ended needle.
There are two types of double ended needle – round tipped and bayonette tipped. It is useful to have both.
The round tipped is primarily used for deep buttoning as the round tip does not damage the fabric in the way the bayonette can. It would also be used in any situation where you need to stitch through the top fabric.
As the name suggests, these needles are sharp at both ends.
Bayonette tipped needle
A 12″ bayonette tipped double ended needle.
There are two types of double ended needle – round tipped and bayonette tipped. It is useful to have both.
The bayonette needle is used for stitching the inner layers of traditional upholstery stuffing. As well as a sharp tip, the end of the needle has a sharp knife edge, creating a ‘slicing’ effect. This allows it to pass more easily through tougher materials.
As the name suggests, these needles are sharp at both ends.
Curved needles
Coming in 3 sizes – 2″, 3″ and 5″, these curved needles are used for a variety of jobs.
The smaller sizes are used for stitching fabric and creating invisible joins. The larger are used earlier in the process for the stuffing layers.
Curved needles are indespensible for every upholsterer.
Board shears
These 8″ board shears are a pleasure to use.
Pleasantly weighty, these are fabric scissors with a difference. The hot forged polished blades glide through fabric, and the blunt end allows you to cut without the risk of snagging.
If you haven’t already got fabric scissors, make them these!
Chalk pen
A lovely little addition to your tool box.
This refillable chalk pen makes marking up your cut lines a breeze! With it’s pencil format, it gives much better accuracy and ease of use than traditional dressmakers chalk.
Standard Upholstery Starter Tool Kit
£109
Brilliant tools to get started with.
Remove old upholstery and strip your furniture at home with our Standard Upholstery Tool Kit. You can then complete it at home, or bring it to one of our classes to finish.
Each kit contains:
- 115mm mallet
- Flush pliers
- Wooden handled straight ripping chisel
- Triangle end wooden handled staple remover
* Complimentary tailors chalk
If you plan to continue your project at home, you will need to add to your tool kit. See the ‘More information’ tab for advice on which tools you’ll need.
