Tips On Making Your Own Slipcovers
An article by Simon Phillips
Dressing your furniture with slipcovers is a really effective way to improve your home's appearance without great expense. Slipcovers are basically removable fabric covers which are shaped to fit over your original upholstery and can easily be removed for cleaning or if you simply fancy giving your room a different look. Furniture slipcovers are ideal for covering up worn or outdated upholstery and can instantly give your old seats a new lease of life. By choosing a washable fabric, you can make life easier for yourself by protecting your good quality upholstery from food and drink spills or pet damage.
Making your own chair slipcovers can be rewarding and enjoyable, and you have the freedom to completely change the color and style of your furniture. Loose slipcovers, which are simply draped over a sofa or chair and held loosely in place with ties, are the easiest to make. However, for a tailored look, a fitted slipcover can look very sleek and elegant, and this is the type we'll talk about here.
Slipcover Fabrics & Tools
Fabrics made from natural fibers tend to be easier to work with when doing a lot of cutting and sewing. They are more "breathable" and comfortable to sit on. Synthetic fibers can be slippery and harder to work with. For making a fitted slipcover, a medium-weight cotton, or cotton blended with a small amount of synthetic fiber is a good choice. Cotton is easy to sew and is generally hardwearing and washable. However, it can be prone to wrinkling, so cotton blended with polyester increases wrinkle-resistance. Polyester is commonly used in soft furnishings, as it is durable, fade-resistant and easy to dye. To avoid having to match up large prints and plaids, it's advisable to choose a solid color or something with a small pattern, such as checks or stripes, with which it won't show if the pattern's not matched.
Because you'll want to be able to wash your fitted slipcovers, unlike with upholstery fabric, you'll need to preshrink your slipcover fabric. Do this simply by washing and drying your chosen material, using whatever method you intend to use to wash the finished item. It's good practice to also preshrink all the materials you'll be using to make your slipcover, such as the zipper, any trim or welt cord. Once dry, press the fabric with the lengthwise grain.
One of the main things to consider is where you will sew your slipcover. You'll be dealing with large pieces of fabric, so a large table is essential for laying out, cutting, pinning and sewing. A dining table or wallpapering table is ideal. A standard sewing machine should be adequate for making your slipcovers, as long as you have the correct needle for the job. You'll also find sewing supplies such as shears, round-headed pins and hand sewing needles come in handy.
Planning Your Slipcover
If you're covering an upholstered seat, it makes sense to plan to have the seams of your slipcover in the same place as the original seamlines. You can also use the upholstery as a guide to skirt length, welting etc, or you can choose to leave out certain features from your slipcover to give the seat a new style. Remember you'll need to incorporate some type of closure, such as a zipper. Generally, sofa covers have a zipper at each corner, whereas a chair cover will have one at a back corner.
Before you buy your fabric, it's crucial to take accurate measurements of your furniture. Measure the length and width of each section, and allow a little extra for seams, hems and for tucking in. Fabrics tend to be cut with the lengthwise grain running vertically. However, if you're making a sofa slipcover, you can save on fabric if it can be cut with the lengthwise grain running the width of the seat instead. Some fabrics are made with this technique in mind, but it's not suitable for napped fabrics such as velvet or corduroy, or for directional patterns. Always buy a yard or two more fabric than you need to give yourself spare, just in case, and remember you will be preshrinking it before you start work anyway.
Making Your Slipcover
The example here follows a basic technique for making a sofa slipcover, using a solid color fabric. The same principle can be used for most styles and shapes of sofas, loveseats and chairs.
Step 1 – If you plan to add a skirt to your seat, and it doesn't already have one, decide where to place it and draw a line to mark the position, then measure the distance from the floor. How long you make your skirt is up to you – see what would work best with your particular furniture.
Step 2 – Measure your seat cushions, bearing in mind that on a 3-seater sofa, the middle cushion is often a slightly different size. Allowing 0.5in for the seams on all sides, cut out covers for the top and bottom, keeping the lengthwise grain front to back. Measure the width and perimeter of each cushion, then cut out the boxing strip. When covering a T-cushion or L-shaped cushion, a good technique is to layout your fabric over the cushion and use a chalk marker to feel round the edge seam. Remember to allow extra for the seams to give you extra to work with to achieve the best fit.
Step 3 – Do the same for your back cushions, measuring and cutting out the covers.
Step 4 – Cut out the outer back cover. If you're running the fabric vertically, try to position the seams in the same place they are on the upholstery. Generally, back seams are located where the cushions join, or there will be one central seam. Leave an extra 6in at each end of the cover for attaching the zippers.
Step 5 – Match the fabric for the inner back cover to the top edge of the outer back cover, and cut it to size, leaving a seam and tuck-in allowance. Roughly cut the ends that meet the arms, leaving enough excess to tuck-in or to join to the inner-arms. The tuck-in allowance depends on how much your seat depresses where the front edge and inner arms meet, when someone is sitting on it.
Step 6 – Pin the outer and inner back covers together, along the upper back seam line.
Step 7 – Cut out the deck, which will be the same length as the inner back. The outside edge should match up to the seam where platform cloth is sewn to the front upholstery panels. Pin the deck to the lower edge of the inner back.
Step 8 – With the grain running vertically, cut out the front sections of your slipcover, with the seams matching up to your upholstery. Remember to leave a tuck-in allowance at each end. If you're going to fit a skirt to your cover, cut the sections just below the line where you'll attach the skirt, leaving space for the seams. Pin the front sections together and then pin them to the deck piece.
Step 9 – Pin the darts and front corner seams.
Step 10 – Pin the fabric for the outer arm and cut out the outer arm sections vertically, leaving the seam at the outer edge of the arm. Leave an extra 3in at either back corner for the zippers. If one corner won't have a zipper, put the seam at the back, just past the corner.
Step 11 – Cut and pin the inner arms to the inner back. Trim the excess fabric almost to the seamline, for a smooth fit. Cut out the fabric for the lower inner arms, leaving enough fabric to cover the front of the arm to the outside corner. Leave as much tuck-in as you allowed for the deck. The front lower edge should be just below the skirt line. Pin in place.
Step 12 – Make the skirt. You can use whatever style of skirt you like, be it pleated, ruffled or straight. Cut it following the same grain orientation as the rest of the cover. To make a traditional straight skirt with a pleat at each corner, add twice the pleat depth for each pleat to the circumference. As a guide, have a pleat depth of 4in. At the back corner, allow enough fabric for the zippers to be attached. Put your piecing seams inside the pleats.
Step 13 – Use your sewing machine to sew the cover together. If you're adding a skirt, sew it on before you attach your zippers. Finish by hemming the lower edges of your slipcover.
The Author:
Simon Phillips is an interior design enthusiast and a contributor to www.getslipcovers.com - An online resource offering a great choice of ready made stretch slipcovers for sofas, chairs and loveseats.
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