Camel-Back Sofa Slipcover

Last summer I was looking at sofas to replace the
 huge dark leather one that I hated.
I knew basically what I wanted and how much I wanted to spend,
but I wasn't having much luck.

Just as I was getting frustrated and close to giving up, a friend sent me
a picture of a sofa she was trying to get rid of.
 Free.
I drove right over.

 If it looks a little faded, that's because it sat out in the sun all summer,
waiting for me to have time to get to it.

 I knew exactly what fabric I wanted on this sofa: a soft grey herringbone.

 I laid it out over the back, centering the fabric and making sure
the pattern was in the direction I wanted,

 and cut to fit.

Next, I added fabric to the sides, right sides together,

to cover the entire back.
You can see that it is a little long; that's because it will need to be
cut on a diagonal when I add the arm fabric.

 I decided to use a solid grey linen for under the cushions.
Once that was cut in, I laid the herringbone over the arms and rough cut that.

 I then pinned it to the back, right sides together,
 making sure it would be a good fit.
Pin, sew, trim edges.

Next up: the arms.

As you can see, they have kind of a funny little shape.

 My 1st attempt: fortunately I noticed the pattern 

was crooked before I got too far,

 so I tried again, making sure this time to get it straight.

 Make sure to flip the sofa fabric to the wrong side 

so you are pinning right sides together.

 Once it's pinned, you can trim the edges.

Add the piece that wraps around the bottom of the arm,

and trim to fit.

Next we will get to the piping, sides, back and cushions.

Stay tuned!

Blue and White Slipcovered Chair

Between a couple weeks of computer problems and getting ready for Roses and Rust, I haven't had much time to post lately. But with a new computer and most of the pieces ready or near ready, I will be sharing some of the projects that have kept me so busy lately!


I think this chair is my favorite! In fact, I may have trouble letting it go!

Here it is "before": good lines but a little dated and the wool fabric was itchy!

I absolutely loved this fabric when I saw it last fall.

I didn't know what I would do with it, but I had to have it!

 

I just laid it over the chair and began cutting it to size.

 

Then I started pinning.

I pinned along the the top.

I pinned along the sides,

I pinned the corners.

I folded everything so I could just top sew along side my pins

and not have to turn the fabric. 

This ensures that you have a good fit.

I added white piping to the bottom only.

The fabric is a little busy, so I didn't want to add to it with too much piping

 I added velcro to the sides so the cover could be taken off,

then some cute white buttons.
 

Love it from all angles!

linking this week to:






http://www.commonground-do.com/2014/03/be-inspired-182.html

http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/2014/03/centerpiece-wednesday-spring-ideas.html

Furniture Project: Slipcovered Chair

I found this chair at a thrift shop and it has sat in my living room with various fabric pieces draped over it for almost a year. I considered slipcovering, upholstering, even painting the fabric.

I finally got around to making a decision,

and once I did, it only took a few hours to complete the project!

I decided to use another dropcloth to slipcover the chair and paint the wood white.

I wanted the pretty carved wood to show, so I made little strips to hold the pieces together.


This is the back, it's a little hard to see through the sign, but it's the only one I had.
I made sure all the pieces would fit tightly, like I do with a regular slipcover, and just sewed the strips every few inches on both sides.

Once I figured it out, it went together very quickly!

Tutorial: Wing Chair Slipcover

This is the wing chair I covered with a dropcloth from an earlier post and here is the promised tutorial. I warn you, there are a boatload of pictures!

The first step is to drape the fabric over the top and cut out the shape of the front of the chair. Make sure to cut it big enough for seams. It was at this point that I painted the stripes.

Do the same with the wings, using lots of pins. If you are using a fabric with right and wrong sides, pin it right sides together so you can sew it exactly as is and get a good fit. (That's one of the perks about using dropcloth, both sides are the same!) This also means that when you turn the wings right side out, they will go on the opposite wing that you originally pinned. Use a lot of pins and pin exactly where you want to sew.

Then sew along the lines established by your pins and you will get a good fit.

Drape the fabric over the arms and cut to fit.

Then pin some fabric directly on the front of the arm and cut around it to get the right shape.

 Pin this to the fabric draped over the arm and sew. (See all the pins?) If you like piping, this is a good place for it.

Pin the arm piece to the front, turning over the edges of the front to get a good fit.

Pin fabric to the back of the chair, overlapping the front piece with edge folded over. Cut two overlapping pieces to fit and sew across the top. You will eventually add buttons or ties to these back pieces so they can be closed or opened for getting the slipcover off and on.

Now you have to pin and sew the back piece to the side of the wing and arm piece. As you pin, turn under the edge so you can topstitch. This will give you the best fit without making you crazy!

Sometimes you need to put in an extra piece to make it all fit, just pin it with edges turned under and topstitch.

I usually use muslin for the seat because it will be covered by the cushion. Just cut to fit, going up the sides a little and turning the edges under as you pin, and topstitch. Pin a piece of fabric to the front of the muslin that stretches over the entire front of the chair and drops down the front.

Pin the corner and sew. Wrap the side around and pin to the side arm piece that drops down the side.

There will be a lot of extra fabric on the inside of the corner.

Just cut it off. In fact, trim all the seams so they will lay flat.

Finished corner.

This is the front bottom piece. Topstitch again to the muslin and bottom of arms.

Hem the bottom edges.

Lay the cushion over the fabric and cut two pieces with seams all around. Then measure the width and length of the cushion all the way around and cut out this piece. If you need to do it in pieces, just make sure you don't have any seams on the front.

Sew the long piece to one of the cushion sides. This is also a good place for piping.

This next step is crucial: when you sew the second cushion piece on, be sure to pin it with the cushion inside! This may sound unnecessary, but if you don't do it this way, it will get twisted and you will have to rip it out and do it over. Believe me! Just be careful getting the cushion out with all those pins!

The best way to get the cushion in and out, push down on the cushion while moving the slipcover over it.

Finished cushion before stripes.

Much better than the original!

Linking to

Miss Mustardseed

No Minamalist

Elizabeth and Co

Primp

http://www.commonground-do.com/2013/04/be-inspired-133-flower-beds.html