So, here is a project I took on a few years ago for a contest I entered...this is the finished slipper stool that I up-cycled, using - wait for it - a hot glue gun! I saw this home design show several years ago with Todd Oldham using a hot glue gun to re-upholster a couch and I ran wild with the idea.
Above are the supplies I used: fabric scraps, scissors, glue, gun and Popsicle stick. This is for pressing down the fabric on top of the glue so as not to burn your little fingers. The larger sticks work well too.
This is the horrible shape this piece was in prior to my working my magic. Ripped, stained. etc.
Up close pic of the results. Really, just lay out your fabric how you think you might like it to look, this may change, and start gluing away. (See in-process photos below).
A good part of it is knowing where to bend the fabric together so that it appears to look like a seam. Tuck over in areas that cover other fabric and press until the glue seams set (see edges framing the top).
I can't say that all areas are completely "clean" from the glue, but this was my first try at this! Give me a break! All things considered, it turned out pretty good. Oh, and the hottest setting worked the best. I actually did a whole chair like this, but it got a little "sticky" when I was tucking and gluing in the seat of the chair...