First off....congrats on the great chair! If you are going to have something reupholstered it's important to find a good upholsterer to do the work. Call local designers and ask who they use...you'll get a great recommendation usually. If you really love this chair and you plan on having it for a long time, don't scrimp on the cushion or the upholstery fabric. It will serve you well in the long run.

If you wanted to keep a solid upholstery I would suggest a mohair velvet. I think it would be appropriate given the style of the chair, it will wear like iron and it's beautiful to look at. Also given the architecture of these chairs something elegant and simple like a mohair velvlet (even a cotton velvet) in a solid color will let the chairs design really speak for itself. Check out some of the textiles from Knoll or Larsen or Maharam. Maharam makes a sexy wool felt, Delvinia Melange that would be great too.

If you want something with some pattern that is appropriate for the period of the chair then you will want to do a little homework as a number of patterns, styles and materials are out there and some of that will have to be your personal taste, but I'd stick with the mohair velvet.

We had one of these in our living room when I was a child; ours was tweed.

I recently had a similar pair of chairs reupholstered. I bought some really nice Knoll fabric off ebay for a great price. I purchased 5 yards and that was more than enough for the cushions. There are usually a lot of Maharam fabrics on ebay that would work well too.

That is a great find!

Try Modern Fabrics - they carry a selection of reclaimed Knoll yardage, including some very nicely textured solids:

http://www.modern-fabrics.com/store/store.php?pg1-cid38.html

I would go with a solid color wool bouclé, but I think, given the simplicity of the chairs, you have quite a bit of leeway. But I'd stick to solid colors.

Could also see these working in leather. But it really depends on the vibe you are going for in the finished room.

I'd stick with textured solids - Wool boucle or tweedy looking fabrics.

Retrospect Custom Furniture on Market Street is where you want to take your chairs to be redone - They do great work.
And tell Cornelius I sent you.

I found great deals on appropriate fabric at
http://www.winterbeachmodern.com/catalog.html.
The selection is print heavy, but there are solids too.

i'll second retrospect, which does great work at reasonable prices and ebay for the fabric. you want 5 yards (2 per chair with some wiggle). for retail shopping, you can buy maharam or knoll fabrics in sf at several stores and maharam has a store on jackson.

i usually troll sal beressi fabrics for mohair or ultrasuede but they have some nice tweeds as well.

boucle is harder to find cheap.

Congrats on the Z-Chair! If you need to replace the rubber straps, go to www.fagasstraps.com. We are the sole US distributer of Fagas Rubber Straps for Danish Modern Furniture. If you have questions, email us at info@fagasstraps.com

If you are still following this thread....I am attempting to make a Z chair and could use a little help. I need a measurement for the length of the longest piece. The one that goes from the tip of the armrest and then is the back leg. It would be super helpful if you could send that to me!!
Thanks,
Ed