Sewing Slipcovers?

[3boys4us]

Has anyone done this? Any tips? Any good websites?

Our couches are 6 yrs. but a mess, kids throwing their bodies off them all the time, the dog sneaking up, dh eating on them .....

They may also need more foam in a couple of the cushions - should I just add foam (or stuffing) or start afresh?

[daylily]

I have slipcovered two couches and one armchair, but I've never had to repair or replace a cushion. It's kind of a PIA, but it's a job that brings a lot of satisfaction as long as you do it right. Lots of home decorating books have sections on how to make a slipcover.

First, you need to calculate how much fabric you need. Next, select fabric: get good quality cotton such as duck or denim or a cotton/linen blend. Crappy fabric will make you hate yourself for wasting the money on it. If you choose a patterned fabric, buy extra so you can match the pattern at the seams. It's probably best to stay away from plaids or checks, because if they aren't matched perfectly, your slipcover will look very unprofessional.

To sew: I like to cover the cushions first. Simply take the old cushion covers apart with a seam ripper and iron them and use them as patterns. This way you can recycle the zippers and reused the cording to make new piping.

After the cushions are done, you cover the body of the couch: cut rectangles of fabric that are the correct dimensions of the various couch parts and drape them on the couch and cut to fit. The books will show you exactly how to do this. Pin the seams while the fabric is on the couch (make sure the right sides are together) and then take each piece directly to the sewing machine. You could put a zipper down the back side of the couch to make it easier to take off. If you plan to wash your slipcover, then cut it a bit big to allow for shrinkage, since there's no way you can prewash 18 yards of fabric. The skirt gets sewn on last. A simple skirt with kick pleat at the corners is easiest. Study your own couch to see how the skirt is made.

Good luck! I taught myself to slipcover, and although my slipcovers never looked perfect, they were presentable.

[sunmountain]

For the price of the fabric, consider buying them. I know, not very crafty;) but I have found them very cheap at Big Lots and even the dept. stores have them on sale a lot.
Definately duck fabric is the sturdiest, and if you buy them, get the kind that are gathered all around with elastic--no ties, all one piece KWIM? You only need two for each piece of furniture, one on, one in the wash.
Hope that helps, even though I have no sewing advice. I do sew but something like that is too big of a job for me to do with four kiddos.

[dlb]

Sunmountain--

have you ever seen any super sized ones? My main sofa is a MONSTER and I have a hard time finding ones that will fit. It is denim, and has loose pillows that I would like to stay uncovered, but I need something big enough to go over the huge arms.

dlb

[sunmountain]

The ones I've seen go to 92-94 inches. Try Brylane Homes and other catalogs like that. :)

[dlb]

Hey, thanks Sunmountain. I'll have to measure the couch soon and check it out.

Sometimes I wonder why we even bother to buy nice furniture around here...3boysforus, could you let us know how it turns out, if you do make it?

dlb

[3boys4us]

Thanks for your advice.

daylily: I was hoping to sew them to go over the current covers we have. I'm also not too sure about piping (although my current sofas have some). What about using muslin to get lay out the patterns? I was planning on using denim.

sunmountain: Thanks for the tip about premade slipcovers. I must say I've looked but like DLB one our sofas is over-sized and couldn;t find one at TArget that fit. And the ones I did find at Lnad's End and Pottery Barn are extremely expensive.

PS I love Job Lots - planning to go there today.

DLB I will definately let you know!

[granolamom]

We have four kiddo's and about once everyother year I buy pre-made for the sofas is the playroom.


Try:

www.surefit.net


The are fairly reasonable in price. they have ones with fitted arms.

It is worth a look.

Granolamom

[Kim]

I just recovered our couch a few months ago. DeannaLynnBritt: We have an oversized couch, too. We were able to find a slipcover to fit, but the oversized arms practically ripped the slipcover apart.

Here's my approach:

Like Daylily suggested, use the fabric from the cushions as a template. I was able to reuse the zippers, but decided not to use the piping. My sewing machine wouldn't have been able to handle the bulk.

Next, I took the old fabric off the couch. Using a staple gun I covered the couch section by section. Note: Work slowly. Know which pieces you will need to leave unstapled to cover other sections.

I haven't covered the back of the couch yet. I'm one of those people that needs to paint the back of the house first otherwise it would never get done.

I'll get started on this and take pictures as I go. Hopefully I can get them posted in hopes they benefit someone. :)

[daylily]

Making a muslin first for practice is a good idea, Rene, as long as you don't mind the extra work of cutting out two slipcovers. Be sure to buy a heavy duty needle for your sewing machine for when you sew the actual cover.

[sunmountain]

the muslin idea is great! You could always rip it apart later and use the pieces as your template for more covers! Or just keep it aside for an emergency;)
These boys really make a lot of work for us, huh?:D

...sunmountain, mama to the 4 blonde-haired blue-eyed beauties, 3 of them boys;)

[dlb]

Hey Sunmountain-

Actually, it's the 49 yo BOY who makes most of the messes here


And, the little girl who comes over all the time ate a whole tube of PRINGLES and got greasy crumbs all over my couch--my boys would've at least poured the chips all over the coffee table, and let the crumbs fall on the carpet:D

Anyone have a pattern for house slipcovers? Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to clean.

When they get there own places, first thing, I'm gonna smear soap on the bathroom counter and crumple up the towel and throw it on the floor--but maybe it will already be that way, and they won't notice any difference.

dlb

[Missgrl]

Moving this to crafts forum for ya!:thumb

[ldsapmom]

I am just in the middle of slipcovering my two sofas in denim. One thing i do recommend is prewashing your fabric if your main goal in slipcovering is to be able to wash them easily. Also be sure to pre wash your piping and cording. Take the fabric to the laundry mat if you have to -- you don't have any idea how much it would suck to go to all that work just to lose it in the end.

I am using a standard weight, sturdy denim. I also chose the piping you buy to cover with your own fabric that comes in like a canvas off-white color, but I chose to leave it uncovered -- the contrast between the denim and the canvas is nice. My couches are about the same length and made by the same company -- they are of the same fabric -- but the styles are different. One couch has T cushions on the seat (where the extend almost around the front of the couch), and the other is regular with the cushions meeting at a straight edge of the couch. Be aware if you purchase couch covers and have T cushions, they most likely will not fit as well. My friend bought the denim one from Pottery Barn (for over $200.00!) and it does not fit properly, but she has made due.

I hate working with zippers so I chose to omit those. Along the back of the cushions, where the zipper would go, I have sewn about 1/3 in from each side. I stuff the cushions in and out. I then used Velcro to seal the remaining area. I still may add cording along the edges of the back cushions because I only chose to use piping on the slipcover of the arms and bottom front -- not the cushions. An easy way to do this after is to get cording that looks like a rope (with no flat part where it would be sewn into a seam) and handstitch it into place where you want it.

I almost have one couch done -- now I am waiting for the denim to go back on sale to do the other one!

[sunmountain]

These are like the ones I have.
Just slip them on and --presto-change-o, a new couch:
www.surefit.net/cart/product.cfm?prrfnbr=14&cgrfnbr=1&merfnbr=1&crow=3

Even T-cushions are ok with these. And that's a great suggestion, Idsapmom, about washing the fabric first, always an important step before you sew.

[leafylady]

I want to do this too, but I think I'd have to kill the cat first. No no not really...., but she might have to be declawed. My boys (dh and ds), but the cat claws the furniture no matter what I do or buy.

I like the idea of denim with the uncovered canvas piping.

[Kim]

d

[Aster]

wowza's Kim!! That's absolutely inspiring.

I have a chair that needs to be recovered. Got some good ideas from this thread.

[ldsapmom]

I examined my couch with the partial intent to staple/nail the cover on, but my couch does not readily allow access to the areas where the staples would need to go -- I would practically have to take it apart and/or add pieces of plywood to do the sides.

But Kim, yours turned out great -- I wish you had a full picture of the before!

[Kim]

Our couch didn't look much different before except that it had a skirt along the bottom. I still haven't finished the project - the fabric along the back is the old fabric.

Kim