How to Make a Victorian-Style Chair

Design a chair that is within your skill level. Ensure that your plans leave enough wood in the legs that the chair is sturdy. Plan the patterns you will carve in advance.

Cut four, 3-by-3 pieces of wood 20 inches long with the circular saw. Create a square seat out of these pieces by fastening them together inside the corners with the metal brackets. This will leave a gap between the ends of the wood on the outside of the corners.

Cut four, 3-by-3 pieces of wood 8 inches long. Mount these to the seat by placing the ends in the gap at the outside corners of the seat and putting two wood screws through each leg, into the seat. Drill a pilot hole with a bit that is slightly thinner than the screw you will use and tighten the screw into place.

Cut two, 3-by-3 pieces of wood 20 inches long and two pieces 36 inches long. Fasten these together in a rectangular shape in the same way you did the seat, with metal brackets at the corners. This will be the back of the chair.

Cut four, 3-by-3 pieces of wood 28 inches long and four pieces 12 inches long. Fasten these together into two rectangle shapes in the same way you did the seat, with metal brackets at the corners. These will be the arms of the chair.

Fasten the arms to the seat by putting screws through the bottom side of the arms, into the seat. Put in a screw every 4 inches. Fasten the back of the chair to the arms. Align the back at an angle that is comfortable and put screws through the arms, into the sides of the back frame. There should be screws going through the vertical part of the arm frame and the lower horizontal part, into the back frame.

Attach the 20-by-20 board to the seat frame by putting nails through the board, into the frame around the perimeter of the board. Put in one nail every 2 inches. Do the same for the back of the chair, nailing the 20-by-36 board into the back frame.

Carve the legs and the areas of the back and arms that will be exposed after upholstering. Use the wood plane to get a rough shape, then carve out finer details with the chisel set, starting with a large chisel and moving to smaller chisels. Be creative -- add floral ornamentations or animal shapes, for example, and carve the feet of the chair into claws. Sand the chair when you're done carving, starting with a coarse grit sandpaper, progressing to a finer grit. Finish the wood with a varnish in a color of your preference.

Cut foam to fit on the arms, seat and back of the chair. Apply spray adhesive to the wood and press the foam into place. Attach cotton batting to the chair by putting spray adhesive on the foam and laying down the batting. Staple around the edges of the batting, being careful to hide the seams in less obvious places -- like underneath the arms and seat of the chair.

Stretch fabric over the foam and staple it into the seat and back board, keeping the staples hidden near the seam of the board and the frame. Repeat this process for the arms of the chair, again hiding seams in the fabric underneath the arms.