Slipcover Instructions!
Hi! I’m Rachelle from the blog Adventures In Creating where I do everything from sewing to welding. I am thrilled to be guest posting on one of my favorite blogs. Thank you so much, Cassity, for this opportunity!
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I’ve never slipcovered anything before so first I did some research on slipcover instructions and read a few articles:
The Nester on her slipcover project
And I did a lot of searching for fabric. I found a great deal on the Dwell fabric on this website: https://www.onlinefabricstore.net/ in case you wanted to get some of your own. Someone also asked if the fabric is durable. It’s an upholster grade fabric and is made of cotton. I haven’t had it that long so I’m hoping it lasts a long time and continues to look good. I’ll probably spray some Scotch Guard on it to protect it from stains. I’ll give you any updates as they come!
Ok, enough talk down to business!
I started with some old sheets I bought at Goodwill. I wanted to make a templates to use for cutting out my nice fabric. Since I’m a first time slipcover-er I didn’t want to waste precious fabric with mess ups.
I cut large rectangles out, then fit them snugly around each section of the chair, pinning as I went. I wanted the original shape of the chair to show through so I pinned as closely as I could around the edges.
After I did that I trimmed any extra fabric edges to get about a 1.5″ seam allowance I would to for my templates. I marked the templates so I would remember where each one was supposed to go.
I then used my templates to cut my Dwell fabric out. Using the sheet templates allowed me to line up the pattern how I wanted.
Then I repinned my new fabric templates inside out on my chair to get my slipcover shape.
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Then sewed the whole thing up. It was a little cumbersome with all the fabric laying everywhere but I was afraid to unpin anything and loose my shape.
After I sewed it all up I refitted it on the chair to see how it fit. I pulled out a few seams that could use some refitting and stitched up a few spots that I had trouble getting the first time around.
The arm for example I pinned again and resewed.
Then is was time for the cushion, I thought that since I have done a few pillows in the past this would be easy. But it was time consuming and hard.
I traced the shape of the cushion onto the fabric leaving a 1.5″ seam allowance.
To get the fabric allowance for the middle cushion thickness I used a piece of string and ran it all along the edge. Then laid it out on the fabric, measured a few inches on either side, and cut it out.
The hardest part was sewing along the T-Shape of the cushion. Other than that it wasn’t bad.
I then pinned the fabric around my cushion in the same fashion as I did the chair, leaving an opening in the back.
Once I finally finished sewing (I’ve never sewn this much in my whole life!) I got to work on the bottom. First I cut off the outdated skirt.
Originally I was going to staple the fabric to the underside of the chair to give it a more upholstered feel. But in the end I just used pins to adhere it so I can take the slipcover off whenever it needs cleaning.
Slipcover before skirt tucked under
Though the pictures don’t show it I ended up sewing a piece for underneath the cushion using some leftover sheet fabric. Then I was all done!
I hope this has been helpful and gives anyone who was thinking of trying this themselves some courage. You can do it!
What do you think of these great slipcover instructions?!!
————–Reader Submission 2/8/18————
Do you have a chair you’ve been hanging on to, trying to get up the courage to start a DIY reupholstering job? Check out what our reader, Joan, did with an old chair she wanted to update:
“I had an old wing back chair (probably from the 50s or 60s) covered in rust-colored velvet. The seat cushion was in bad shape and I didn’t feel able to reupholster the entire chair. I covered just the back and seat cushion with a Navajo rug. It turned out great and adds just the right “pop” to the area above our stairway.”
What a brilliant idea, Joan! Thank you for sharing! It does “pop” just right!
I have been wanting to make a slipcover for my wing back chair for a long time. After watching your demo, I’m going to give it try.
You did such a great job, thanks.
Thanks and good luck, Arlene! We’d love to see pictures when you’re done!
Thanks. Yours cam out great. Nice and snug fit. So many are sloppy looking but yours looks great. Thanks for posting. I am about to do 2 loveseats. Your directions really helped.
Thanks for the comment, Barbara! We’d love to see pictures when you’re done! https://www.remodelaholic.com/share-brag-post/
Thanks so much for sharing!!! Now I just need to find the fabric I want for this chair!!
That is the hardest part! 🙂 Good luck finding just what you want!
Great job, I am going to try this.. can’t wait to see the results. .
Thank you so very much for posting this. I am in my 60’s and have a very bad back problem. A couple of years ago I found an old chaise lounge at an antique mall and this is what I’ve been sleeping on. Unfortunately it’s shabby-chic look is looking a lot more “shabby” than “chic” anymore, but I am not financially able to replace it. Since I found these wonderful directions, I’ve decided to try to make a cover for it instead. I would never have even “thought” about attempting such a feat without your wonderful tutorial. Again…thanks so much.
Wow!! Just, Wow!!
thank you. just what i was looking for.
cheers
Ill get started to night
Great job! You not only matched the vertical stripes, but the horizontal stripe across the front of the cushion matched the side too! Bravo!
I have been sewing for 70 years and congratulate you for a job well done. It looks more like upholstery than slipcover. I will try your techniques on some projects I have procrastinated on for far too long. Thanks for posting your innovative ideas!
Can’t wait to get my fabric and get started! Thank you for sharing your love of creating with others. Your tutorial has given me the courage to take on my own slipcover project.
Hi,
I am trying to re-upholster a tub chair but I cannot detach the seat from the chair. Any ideas how this can be done?
Cheers
I haven’t done it personally, but this post might be helpful: https://www.remodelaholic.com/reupholster-tub-chair/
Your chair looks very similar to the one I need to cover. How much fabric did it take, so I have a general idea? Thank you for your tutorial!