Hello Everyone!

I am new to the forum and new to upholstery and have a few questions. One of my dining room chairs ripped and I need to fix it. I refuse to pay someone to fix it as the quotes I got were crazy and I would be better off buying new furniture. I want to make sure the vinyl won't rip again so I was thinking about buying heavy duty marine vinyl. I found some at Joann fabric, but it's really expensive. I found a perfect match at Marine Vinyl Fabric .com . It looks great and matches my other chairs perfectly (and fits my budget). What should I be looking for in material to make sure it's high quality? I don't want to do this project again in 1 year. I have watched a few youtube videos, but I'm nervous about making a smooth finished product. Are there any tips to smooth out the material to get any minor creases out of the vinyl? Also What type of padding do people recommend for a dining room chair? Soft or hard? Any other tips people can provide would be great. I like to make sure I know what I am getting into before starting a project.

Thanks!
David