re-working slip covers… or creating the FrankenCouch
April 4, 2008 by Chloe Findlay-Harder
Filed under Home & Living
My DH and I have been wanting to buy a new couch for awhile now. Three dogs and a couch that’s older than I am aren’t a pretty combination 
We stumbled onto an amazing deal on a couch – almost 75% off, but with one little catch.
It didn’t have a slip cover.
I’ve slip covered chairs before, and felt up to the task (it would definitely be a big job though!) The salesmen overheard us talking about sewing covers and mentioned that he had some love seat covers in the back room – and would we like them?
Hey, anything to save a week’s worth of sewing!
I cut one end off of both slip covers, and put them on the couch, so they overlapped in the middle. I hauled out my trusty measuring tape and marked the middle of the couch on the top of the back and the front edge of the couch. I folded the raw edges inside and pinned, so there was one fold line down the middle of the couch.
I hauled the slip cover off and lugged it to my sewing machine. I sewed three straight seams, each a quarter inch apart:
Not bad, I only broke one needle!
And here’s what the back of the couch looks like:
The seam is actually straight, but I had to contort myself to take photographs over the dogs.
The couch turned out great, but there’s one little problem…
The dogs have taken it over
Pics of doggities on couch, please!
)
Hey, I got the same bargain on a 400 dollar couch. Got it for 50 bucks, but no cover. May I ask, what kind of fabric did you use, and about how many yards did it take? Looks like your cover turned out nice!
Hi Stephanie,
Awesome deal on the couch! I got two loveseat covers for the same style of couch, and then split the couch part of it down the center.
I’d recommend buying a pattern for slip covers – most of the big commercial pattern companies make them. You can draft your own pattern using measurements, but it takes a while and a couch is a big project to do!