Thursday, February 9, 2012

My Slipcovered Sofa

BBB (Back before blogging)  I had these two couches, which my husband and I purchase when we were first married.  They actually don't look to bad in this picture.  But in person they were a mess.  With spots and stains (from my beautiful children) and faded yellow spots from sun damage, they needed lots of help.  My husband just wanted to replace them. But aside from the cosmetic damage and the dark green color they are in really great condition, just needing a face lift.  My goal?  To slipcover them. 


 I started with Miss Mustard Seed's slipcover tutorials, then moved on to free Youtube videos, and figured out how to make them piece by piece. There are also slipcover tutorials that you can purchase, that I am sure save you a lot of time, and I was wishing I had bought one...but it is possible to do it without.  I will warn you that making your own slipcovers takes HOURS and HOURS!!  One night (because I have 4 kids to take care of) I stayed up the entire night just to get ahead and to work on them without interruption.  But now they are finished and as imperfect as they are I still love them!  

The best part is that I can throw them in the washer and they look like new again!

The worst part?  They were so close fitting, they can be difficult to take on and off!
I really struggled with the zippers--being an intermediate to beginning sewer this was the most difficult part for me!  Also the skirt was challenging.  But that is because I had to guess how to sew and fit them myself.
 I used close to 30 yards of fabric at $5.99/yard for both the sofa and loveseat. 

And here is my loveseat again all finished.  The damask pillows I printed and made myself, you can read that tutorial here






Thanks for the visit!  This project was time consuming but SO worth it!  And yes, I would do it again, just not right away.  ;)

Thanks for the visit!


19 comments:

  1. Yay! Good for you. I also struggled with slipcovers awhile back. I found the piping to be the most frustrating part for me. I stopped after my chair..lol. Your loveseat looks great!

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  2. wow, that looks like a pro did it.. applause applause~! very pretty indeed.

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  3. You did a great job! I sew slipcovers for a living and there's very few times that I see DIYers do very well, but you did great!! I'm very impressed. I haven't featured any slipcovers on my blog yet, but I just finished one I'm hoping to publish in the next couple days. Give yourself a BIG pat on the back!!
    Jules

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    1. Thank you!! That truly is a compliment. Good thing you didn't see the zippers. I can't wait to see yours!

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  4. They look terrific, like something straight out of Pottery Barn!
    -Paulette
    3sisters-pjr.blogspot.com

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  5. I love how your couches turned out! They look fabulous!

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  6. Wow, your slipcovers are fantastic! Great job. Wonderful for you that you can sew slipcovers and get a whole new look.

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  7. You rock!! Thanks for the tips. Will keep your post!

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  8. Wow! GREAT job, Britt! You've got more courage than I would with that project! lol! I just made a couple cushion slips yesterday and just about pulled my hair out because I didn't have my "thinking cap" on properly! lol! I never realized how much "thinking ahead" one has to do when sewing. Yikes!!

    xoxo laurie

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  9. Wow, Britt, they look fantastic! I've been wanting to do this for ages! I would love if you would link up to my party: http://www.nutmegplace.com/2012/02/show-off-saturday-1.html

    Hope to see you there!

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  10. Looks amazing. I am glad you shared them. I purchased the pink polka dot slipcover tutorial to cover my two leather sofas. I want a fresher look for spring and summer so what it is going to be. You give me a bit of confidence- though the zippers scare the bejeezus out of me.
    tammy

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    1. I am sure buying Pink Polka Dot's slipcover tutorial is a great investment. I really am too cheap. My time--the extra time it took me definitely would have been worth the purchase price. Good luck with your slipcovers, I am sure they will turn out great!! And just having instruction on the zippers will make all the difference!

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  11. I bought a used Ikea Ektorp sofa and new white slipcovers. I love it although it isn't the most comfortable sofa in the world! Having the ability to wash the covers is wonderful though....my three children (dogs) even though they are white do make a mess sometimes!

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  12. WOW! They really turned out nice. Wish I had that kind of patience to tackle a project like this.

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  13. Wow! They look fabulous, great job. I wish I could sew...I would love to slipcover my sofas, they're too big for standard slipcovers. Thanks for sharing your sofa makeover with us at Inspiration Friday!

    Heather

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    1. Thank you! And thanks for always hosting a great party!!

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  14. Nice sofa cover. I think this is fit to my new condo. Great job! :)

    condo Philippines

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