Slipcovers

My sofa needs to be slipcovered or re-upholstered. Much to my dismay, Connor loves to sleep on it, and while I am gone during the day, it’s his haven. Additionally, the pattern is dated and I wanted something I could take off and chuck in the laundry with a lot of bleach.After checking around, and realizing how incredibly expensive it would be, and how long it would take, I decided that I would make the slipcover for my sofa. It was a moment of complete insanity, fuelled by watching some videos on-line and reading a local blogger’s EZ instructions for making one. I mean, if Pam can do it, so can I! The first thing I did was head over to see my friends at DeBois Textiles, and check out what they had on hand. I already had an image in my mind, put there by Joni at Cote de Texas, who is the world’s leading proponent of white slipcovers, preferably in linen.  I have sewn with linen many times before, and find it to be difficult to work with, and at my amateur level, I need all of the simplicity I can possibly get.

As I poked around in the nether regions of DeBois, I happened upon the perfect fabric for the sofa. It’s a pale cream colour and is a nice weight cotton. To make it a little more interesting than just plain fabric, it’s got a diamond pattern woven into it.  The wonderful people at DeBois were kind enough to make a gift of the fabric and I appreciate it tremendously! The pattern’s small enough that I don’t have to worry about matching repeats and lining up edges.

After a lot of pondering and thinking, I realized that the first thing I needed to do was to make about a mile of cording or piping for the pillows and the edges of the sofa. I bought 20 yards of cord, but soon realized that that wouldn’t be nearly enough. I am sure I need at least double that amount. Actually, the first thing I did was have the fabric laundered in a commercial washer. It had to be cut in half to fit into the machine, and having it washed and dried before I start cutting and sewing ensures that it won’t shrink the first time I wash it. Next up, measuring the two T-cushions and the three pillows along the back! Stay tuned.