Upholsterers use common handtools, including tack hammers, staple guns, tack and staple removers, pliers, and shears, and special tools such as webbing stretchers and upholstery needles. They may also use sewing machines. Upholsterers who work in upholstery shops may pick up and deliver furniture or help customers select new furniture coverings. Those who manage shops also order supplies and equipment and keep business records. Upholsterers cover furniture with filling material, felt, and heavy cloth, and tack the cloth to the frame to form a smooth round surface.
Most upholsterers work inside a shop or factory.
The work is not dangerous, but upholsterers must be careful to avoid cuts and bruises when they use sharp tools and when they lift and handle furniture or springs. Upholsterers stand most of the workday, and they do a lot of bending and heavy lifting. They also have to work in awkward positions for short periods of time. Employment Furniture upholsterers held about 60,000 jobs in 1992. About 1 out of 3 were self-employed, many of them in their own reupholstery shops.