I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me.
Philippians 4:13

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

My First Slipcover

Hello Again from The French Hen's Nest

I did it Miss Mustard Seed!
Seven years ago when I was single and money was quite tight, my sweet sister Jeannie (the other French Hen) bought me a good
VoilĂ !
quality sofa from goodwill that only needed a cover and got it for $20!  I had just moved into an apartment and was grateful to have the sofa.  Although it was a very well made sofa and the lines were classic, the upholstery fabric wasn't very pretty.  



Old upholstery with skirt cut off.
 
Anyway I put a cover on it and have enjoyed it since.  When I got married and moved into our home I really wanted to replace that sofa.  The problem was (and is) that a well made sofa is very expensive and my old sofa is sooo comfortable and sturdy we hate to part with it.  I looked into having it reupholstered- $400 for fabric and $700 for labor!  I am not going to spend $1100 on a sofa my sister got for $20!

So I decided I would make a slipcover for it.  After once again looking at fabric I kept thinking about messing up $400 fabric. So we bought another slipcover for it from WM and lived with that for 3 years. 

I added cushion covers and pillows

Enter Miss Mustard Seed, http://missmustardseed.com/  .  If you haven’t discovered her blog- where have you been?!  She has a tutorial for making slipcovers from painters’ canvas dropcloths!  Perfect for a beginner.

So after watching the tutorial about 4 times (visual learner) and thinking about each step, I purchased 2 -9' x 12' dropcloths from Lowes for $19.00 each.  I couldn’t find the brand she recommended but the ones they had were a nice beige color so I bought those and didn’t have to bleach them.  I just washed them in hot water twice to shrink them and soften them up.

 I began as she said by making about two miles ( maybe an exageration) of welting. That part was time consuming, but easy.  Following her instructions it took me about 5 days to finish the slipcover, working about 3 hours each evening.after work.  The hardest part for me was the corners on the cushions and I had to re-do a couple.


1 cushion down and 2 to go!


I had previously made red down filled pillows for the back of the sofa and some decorative pillows with some toile my sister Jeannie sent to me.  Since my husband is quite tall and our sofa is quite low I used bed risers to make it higher for him.  They are completely covered by the skirt and the sofa sits nice and sturdy. 



VoilĂ !
 
Now my ugly duckling is a beautiful swan!  Thank you Miss Mustard Seed for the encouragement!
Be brave and try it.  Let me know if I can help and check out the tutorial.

Be blessed.
Linda

Our Delightful Home

Partying with Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage

Our Delightful Home


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19 comments:

  1. Oh wow Linda! You did an amazing job on this slipcover. It looks beautiful. I don't know if I would have been able to pull this off, but you certainly did a great job on it.

    Thanks for visiting my blog today & leaving such sweet comments!

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  2. great job it looks like a professional did it.

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  3. Thank you Monica (and anonymous)! I surprised myself! Linda

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  4. Wow - that is pretty awesome! I have been thinking about making slipcovers for a while now but I know what a huge undertaking it is. Yours look fantastic - what great inspiration!

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  5. I had to come over and check your slipcover out. I know how slipcovers can be daunting, but you did a great job. I have man several wing back and other chair slipcovers, but never a couch, maybe you will be my inspiration.

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    1. Thanks for your kind comments. I thought about it a long time before doing it. With a couch the hardest part is having to handle so much fabric. In my mind I broke the sewing down to each small part. That made it not so daunting! Would love to see photos of your projects.

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  6. You did an amazing job!! Wow is all I can say.

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  7. Your slipcover turned out beautifully. I love slipcovering chairs, especially. I guess it's because it takes a little less time and it costs a little less. I have slipped several chairs in my home...all in predominantly red and white toile. I, too, get my home dec fabrics when Joanns has them on sale...and, how I love using the coupons.
    Thanks for sharing your inspiration.
    Blessings,
    Carolynn

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  8. Beautiful!! You did a great job!

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    1. Thank you Debbie and thanks for visiting the French Hen's Nest!

      Linda

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  9. Very nice job. Now it's like a whole new couch. Love this look.

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    1. Thank you Debbie and Terry for your nice comments. I do feel like it is a whole new couch. It was either fix it or put it on the curb!

      Thanks for visiting!

      Linda

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  10. Amazing job! Thanks for linking up and stopping by at "Show Me What You Got Tuesday's at ODH.

    Mrs. Delightful
    www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you Mrs Delightful (I love it!) for your kind comment. I can only imagine how much work is involved in hosting a party. Thanks so much!

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  11. Looks amazing! Congratulations. And making them yourself saves a fortune. Love it. x Julie

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    1. Hi Julia! thanks for you kind compliment. You're right-it's about saving money!

      I'm heading over to your blog now. Visit again soon.

      Linda

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  12. Hello, Lovely job on the slip cover!!! I have a question about this post...did you use the same cushions? They look thicker than than the original. Would you mind sharing with me how you did the cushions? Love your blog and wanted to join~~~but Google's not working at the moment..~~~Will come back later and join.
    Best~~~Mickie

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