Simply Slipcovered

I've enjoyed transforming great bargain, sometimes ugly, furniture into something we'd be pleased to enjoy in our homes.  We found this loveseat at a resale shop for $35!  It was in good shape but was upholstered in a very dated blue floral.  We found a happy tomato-hue fabric for under $8.00/yard and covered the loveseat for my daughter's classroom with 10 yards.  Success for so little!




I'll walk through the steps I took to make the slipcover for this dated and stained chair.  I began by carefully  noticing the seams of the upholstery and the lines of the piece to determine what my cuts would be, what design features I wanted to add or emphasize and which cuts would be the first and easiest.  Next, I placed the pre-washed fabric over the chair in the area I wanted to cut.  (Note:  I cut my fabric, if necessary, into 5-yard pieces so that I can pre-wash in my home machine.)  I used a washable fabric marker to mark the seam.







I began by cutting the back, following the line of the existing back cushion, leaving a generous seam allowance, then cut the inside arms.  I proceeded just like piecing a puzzle.

As the pieces went together I pin-basted them inside-out on the chair, sewed them following that fitting, then cut the next.  I haven't yet included cording in the slipcover seams as we've wanted a more shabby look.  The cording would give a more finished, tailored look so I may try that next.  I like to remove the existing seat cushion zipper (not as hard as you might think) to reuse it.  The boxed cushion requires almost no thought, just follow the form.


We're now enjoying this cozy, buttery chair in an upstairs bedroom.

I wish you lots of fun and inspiration for your projects and would love to hear your ideas.