http://www.cedarhillfarmhouse.com/20
4. Form your slipcover onto of the furniture you are slipcovering. Follow the form of the piece. Here I pinned the piping following the curve of the ottoman
5. Trim your seams. As you sew on piping or sew new sections of fabric onto your slipcover, trim off the excess fabric or it will be bunchy.
8. Try to use piping on the slipcover where it is on the furniture, although you may need to make some adjustments.
9. Use piping as your sewing guide. Always pin the piping on the slipcover while the slipcover is on the furniture, and follow the curves. So for the piece below, I would have pined the piping on the side piece of fabric first, and then basted the piping in place. Then when I sewed that side piece onto the slipcover, I would make sure that the basting seam was facing up so I could see where it was, as I sewed. So, if you can see your basting stitches follow them as you sew. If you can’t see them, take your work and turn it upside down. Now you should be able to see the basting, and you can follow the stitching when you sew.
10. Make sure the opening in the back for the cushions is big enough to insert your cushions. To be sure it’s big enough use the same size opening as your current cushion covers.
11. When in doubt, rip it out. Sometimes seams don’t end up in the right place or they are bunchy. There’s no need to panic, just rip it out and redo the seam. I had to rip out several places on this slipcover. It took a few minutes to rip it out, a few minutes to resew it, but the result was worth it! Here’s a messy seam that I redid. The fabric isn’t flat, the seam isn’t up next to the piping, and there’s a gaping hole.
Here’s another example I wanted to show you.
Take 1 – bunchy, so I ripped out a small section, and re-sewed.
I have already reached a point of diminishing returns here, so I’m stopping. I think the trick is to be picky enough for the slipcover to look good, but not so picky, that you spend 10 hours fixing things that people won’t see or notice. If it were to bother me at this point (which it doesn’t, it’s a slipcover after all) I would have to go with Take 5.
12. Press your seams open as you go when possible. Where you have piping on a seam, you will not be able to do this.
14. Take your time. You want your slipcover to look professional, so take some extra time to ensure that it is neat and tidy. If it is a spot under a cushion that no one will ever see, then don’t worry about it, otherwise, go slowly and take the time to do it right. You’ll be glad you did.
Here it is in process without the layer of batting.
My Slipcovering Tips
(These photos were taken in our old city house, FYI.)
Some readers have asked me to show them how I make slipcovers.
So I am covering that today.
Having made quite a few over the years, I can say that each one is different, but there are a few rules that I follow for all of them.
Here are my SLIPCOVER TIPS
1. If you plan to wash your slipcovers, wash and press the fabric BEFORE you do any sewing. Shrinking will probably occur when they are washed, so if you wait until after they are made, then the seams could pucker, and it’s possible it would no long fit your furniture. I’ve read that some people take them out of the dryer before they are completely dry and put them on the furniture to finish drying. Also to make sure that the measurements are accurate, you want the fabric to be as flat at possible, so if it is wrinkled, then ironing before you cut can be very helpful. This linen woudn’t even lie flat until I ironed it.
2. Start with the front center of the piece first. Place fabric on the furniture inside out, grain up and down. You don’t need to use a level, but try to make sure each piece of fabric you add is not crooked, or learning either direction. Add one piece of fabric at a time, pin it on in place, sew it, trim the excess, then put the slipcover back on inside out to add the next piece of fabric.
3. If the width of your furniture is wider than your fabric, don’t use a center seam. Center one width of fabric and add equal amounts of fabric on either side.
4. Form your slipcover onto of the furniture you are slipcovering. Follow the form of the piece. Here I pinned the piping following the curve of the ottoman
5. Trim your seams. As you sew on piping or sew new sections of fabric onto your slipcover, trim off the excess fabric or it will be bunchy.
6. Pin the fabric snugly to your piece if necessary to hold it in place.
7. Always have the grain of the fabric going up and down never across your furniture. The exception is the arms, where the grain goes across the arms.
8. Try to use piping on the slipcover where it is on the furniture, although you may need to make some adjustments.
In the case of the arms, I used the outline of the arms for the location of the piping. That eliminates the need for the pleats in front.
9. Use piping as your sewing guide. Always pin the piping on the slipcover while the slipcover is on the furniture, and follow the curves. So for the piece below, I would have pined the piping on the side piece of fabric first, and then basted the piping in place. Then when I sewed that side piece onto the slipcover, I would make sure that the basting seam was facing up so I could see where it was, as I sewed. So, if you can see your basting stitches follow them as you sew. If you can’t see them, take your work and turn it upside down. Now you should be able to see the basting, and you can follow the stitching when you sew.
10. Make sure the opening in the back for the cushions is big enough to insert your cushions. To be sure it’s big enough use the same size opening as your current cushion covers.
I use safety pins to close my slipcovers. Professionals, I know, don’t do that, but it’s fast and it works great.
11. When in doubt, rip it out. Sometimes seams don’t end up in the right place or they are bunchy. There’s no need to panic, just rip it out and redo the seam. I had to rip out several places on this slipcover. It took a few minutes to rip it out, a few minutes to resew it, but the result was worth it! Here’s a messy seam that I redid. The fabric isn’t flat, the seam isn’t up next to the piping, and there’s a gaping hole.
Here’s another example I wanted to show you.
Take 1 – bunchy, so I ripped out a small section, and re-sewed.
Hmm, still bunchy, so I sewed some more.
Still bunchy so I tried to smooth it out a bit more. It’s more smooth now, but the seam is very wavy.
I ripped out some of the work I did above, and pressed the seam with an iron. It looks pretty good to me, and that’s good enough. I normally don’t bother worrying about bunching if it’s on a spot you can’t see, but this sofa will not always back to this wall, so I wanted to be sure the back was an nice as the front.
I have already reached a point of diminishing returns here, so I’m stopping. I think the trick is to be picky enough for the slipcover to look good, but not so picky, that you spend 10 hours fixing things that people won’t see or notice. If it were to bother me at this point (which it doesn’t, it’s a slipcover after all) I would have to go with Take 5.
12. Press your seams open as you go when possible. Where you have piping on a seam, you will not be able to do this.
13. Pull the fabric taunt as you pin on new sections for a snug fitting slipcover.
14. Take your time. You want your slipcover to look professional, so take some extra time to ensure that it is neat and tidy. If it is a spot under a cushion that no one will ever see, then don’t worry about it, otherwise, go slowly and take the time to do it right. You’ll be glad you did.
15. When making piping, use a larger size piping than you think you need, skinny piping looks cheap. I am not sure of the size I used, but I believe this is a 16/32″ piping for this slipcover, although for the slipcover in my bedroom, click here, I probably used the 3/8″ size.
Here are some of the piping I have on hand to show you the different sizes available.
For this project I used the piping second from the left.
16. If you want a ruffle, use a ruffler to save time, stress, and aggravation. I’ll talk about how to use one later. They can be tricky and it is very easy to break a bunch of needles if you don’t know what you are doing.
17. If the piece is tufted, use a liner or batting under the slipcover to smooth out lumps.
I used a large piece of fabric on the back to soften the indentations from the tufts. Since this fabric was corduroy and had ridges, I also used two layers of fabric on the arms to soften the ridges there.
The ottoman was also tufted, so I used 3 layers of quilt batting under the slipcover to soften it.
Here it is in process without the layer of batting.
To see some of my slipcovers, you can click on these links
Bedroom settee slipcover
Living room slipcovers
Bedroom settee slipcover
Living room slipcovers
I hope that helps. If you want to know more please leave a comment or email me. If I get enough responses, I’ll do a tutorial in much more detail. I just want to know there is interest out there, before I spend that kind of time putting it together.
Here’s a list of the parties that I visit on a regular basis. I might have shared this link at any number of these.
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- […] 8. Slipcovering Tips by Cedar Hill Farmhouse […]
keya
You are amazingly talented!!!!! I wish I had a sewing machine so I could try this! Great tutorial!
xx
Anne
Kris
Thanks for all the tips and trouble shooting with your tutorial! You did a marvelous job!!! I read your post all the way through…and I only intend to make a table covering in the future! I’ll let you know how it turns out!!!
Fondly,
Pat
Hugs,
Jann
Charlene
Please join me for TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS. Everyone who love slipcovers can benefit from your slipcover wisdom!!!
/Maria Northcutt
Stopping by to let you know that I will feature your slips at my party tomorrow.
Linda
Simone
Leslie (aka Gwen Moss blog)
Thanks Anita!!
Have a wonderful day!
Meegan
meeganmakes{dot}com
Debbie
What type of material did you use? Where did you buy it from and what cost? What do you think a couch makeover costs? Yours turned out perfect!