How to Repair Tears in Upholstery

1). Sew the tear if it is small enough. Ideally, the best situation would be to remove the upholstery and repair it. If you cannot manage this, simply take a needle and thread and work the two sides of the tear together by making several small, tight stitches in the material. If you have leather seats, be sure to use a leather needle.
2). Replace the entire seat by reupholstering, if the tear is so bad it cannot be fixed. Reupholstering means you will have to replace the seat’s entire cloth. This is a complicated process, but you you can do it yourself. Remove the seat. Take off the old seat cloth, and make a pattern out of it; cutting and sewing on your own upholstery.
3). Patch up your cloth seat covers with any soft material if the tear is large. Simply cut out a square of durable fabric such as cotton, and fit it over the tear. Then sew the material into the seat.
4). Purchase a leather patch if you have leather seats. A traditional fabric patch will not work on leather seats and a special patch must be used for the job. Find a matching color and simply sew it onto the upholstery the same way you would with fabric upholstery.
5). Buy some seat covers if none of these methods seem reasonable. Seat covers can hide any tear.