Katelin L. Ashcraft : Upholstery

Upholstery is one of the easiest and cost effective ways to change a stock item or found piece to fit the needs of the show or for a fresh look at home. I first dabbled in upholstery in college both out of genuine interest for the skill and sheer necessity. After that I was hooked. I would happily work as a soft goods specialist anywhere, name the place.

Below are all of the past upholstery projects I have had the opportunity to work on, from the most recent all the way back to my just starting out.

Petite Wingback- Personal Project 2017

Act of God- ATC 2016

Sofa

King Charles III- ATC 2016

Benches

Thrones

The Wedding Gift- CATF 2016

Doug's Bed

Alien Pouf

Just testing it out!

Porch Swing -Commission Project 2016

Very fun project for a co-worker. Most difficult part was creating the "net" or sling for the seat and back since the original has disintegrated in the Arizona sun leaving no pattern to go off of. All fabric used is a upholstery grade Sunbrella.

Patio Cushions-2016

I made for of the cushions out of a blue Sunbrella fabric. The cushions are a little loose for the size of foam, but my construction technique did create tight, square corners. Make sure to subtract 1/4"-1/2" on all sizes from finished cushion size to create a tight fit.

SantaLand Diaries- 2015

Santa Chair

Disgraced- 2015

Sofa

Armchair

4 Dining Room Chairs

FINISHED SET PHOTOS

I also made the 2 seat cushion pictured above.

Romeo & Juliet- ATC 2015
Throne

Wheelchair

Around the World in 80 Days- 2014

Chairs

Other Desert Cities-2014

Mid-Century Chair

4 Dining Room chairs

I also helped with the sofa and rug pictured in the set photo below.

Really beautifully Scenic Design By: Ann Sheffield

Sofa & Arm Chair Upholstery By: Heather Cap

Dracula- 2010

Chaise Longue

This chaise lounge was a challenge because of the mechanics inside of it. Powered by an air compressor, the middle of the chaise lifted up about a foot higher than the base height of the seat so as to create the appearance of levitation. Dracula's victim/ actress had to make sure that her skirts and a blanket fully covered the apparatus.

Free Lance Project- 2010

Ottoman

BEFORE

This Ottoman was a very basic project but it was my first paying commission piece.

AFTER

The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas- 2009

Sofa, 2 Chairs & Ottoman

This love seat ended up being an excellent antique shop find at $135. Originally covered in yellow crushed velvet, I reupholstered it in a lovely brocade for The Diary of Anne Frank, and then in pink vinyl for, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. I cringe now looking at how loose the vinyl was.

Here is how the sofa appeared in The Diary of Anne Frank (below). Not visible in these photos is the tufting on the back.

Properties Master for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Timothy Smith (above) is putting the teflon sliders on the ottoman, which I also upholstered. Below is a production shot of the sofa, ottoman and another two chairs I upholstered for the show.

Scenic Designer for The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Ashley Stephenson (above) is helping me put the gold trim on these two chairs that I upholstered as a part of a cowboy themed dressing room for Melvin P. Thorpe seen below. Notice the matching dressing screen too!

Leading Ladies- 2009

Sofa, 3 Armchairs, Dressing Screen, Large Faux Curtain Swag

BEFORE

The original sofa was extremely heavy. In order to make it lighter we striped it to the bones and rebuilt it while still maintaining the sturdiness of the piece that the actors loved, because it lent itself to a lot of rough and tumble physical comedy. As you can see below the previous carpenters seemed to have wanted to add to this sofa's weight. It was solid.