Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Drop Cloths for Slipcovers

When my father moved he gave me an awesome sleeper sofa that he couldn't take with him.  My parents bought it in 1997 when they first moved to Georgia and it has the BEST mattress. I had slept on it many times during my visits and it is as comfortable as a regular bed!

Here is the couch with my little cutie.  We were still in the middle of decorating the den when I got the couch.  I didn't love the fabric, but I was willing to live with it.
Then I found this amazing braided rug at a garage sale.  I love this rug!  I actually passed it up and left the sale and then drove back as fast as I could once I realized what a deal it was.
As you  can see, it does not go with the couch at all.  Pinterest to the rescue!  Once again I spent FOREVER researching how best to do this and I finally found a six part video tutorial on how to make drop cloth slip covers by Miss Mustard Seed

You will need the following supplies:

  • A sewing machine
  • Enough drop cloths to cover your couch
    • I bought four 15'x4' 10 oz canvas drop cloths from Lowes (I had some leftover)
  • Matching thread
  • Fabric scissors
  • A million pins (the ones with the big plastic heads) 
  • A seam ripper

I washed the drop cloths at the laundromat before I started.  You don't want to make the cover and then wash it because the fabric shrinks and it won't fit.  

I just followed Miss Mustard Seed's tutorials (going back to them whenever I got stuck) and did it step by step, one section at a time.  It did take quite a while to get it done, but I wouldn't say it was hard.  It just required a lot of patience.  I probably spent more time pinning the fabric than sewing it. 

The trickiest part was attaching the arms to the back, front and the sides at the same time.  I kept trying to follow the exact shape of the couch, but it wasn't necessary.  The look of the drop cloth is supposed to be casual and not perfect.   
I think it came out AMAZING!  Now the rug goes with the couch and the whole look of the room is totally my and my husband's taste.  I am definitely a beginner at sewing and I would say as long as you have some experience with a sewing machine (even if it was from 10 years prior when you just hemmed a few pairs of pants) then you could totally do this too.

Linking to
Primitive & Proper
Elizabeth&Co.
Embracing Change
Primp
Red Hen Home
Beyond the Picket Fence
Redoux
Miss Mustard Seed
Liz Marie
Funky Junk Interiors 

10 comments:

  1. wow! it looks amazing! what a fabulous update!

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  2. You did an incredible job! It looks great! I invite you to stop by my blog and say hi :)
    Susan

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  3. Awesome Job! What an improvement for your sofa.

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  4. For a FIRST time slipcover makeover...auuuuugh!!! How fabulous is this?!!! More than, I would say! You did MMS proud, that's for sure! Thanks for sharing this, and inspiring me.

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  5. Wow, that was a big project and you did a great job!

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  6. Still peeking around your site, as I'm your newest Follower :).... neat and I've always wanted to try Miss Mustard Seed's tuts about dropcloth slip covers--- you are very honest with your assessment, so I might just have to try....if I do and blog about it, I'll give a link back here to YOUR blog and Marian's at MMS of course.

    Big smiles,
    Suzanne in NW Illinois

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  7. Since slip covers have gotten so darned expensive (for me anyway on SS) I'd love to try to make a nice slipcover for our hand me down sofa. It's super comfy but not my style at all. I hate the big arms. I love furniture that's more contemporary and sleek.
    We have a small living room also so it really takes up way too much room but it's what we have. You have really inspired me to give this a try. You did a great job making your slip cover.
    I've got experience sewing but tend to be lazy about bigger jobs. I bought clearance upholstery fabric to redo a club chair I bought at Habitat years ago but it's still sitting in my sewing room. Now I'm not sure I want the chair to have that fabric on it. Anyway, you did such a great job on your cover I'm going to give it a try for our sofa. Glad you shared this project. You did great. Happy daze

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  8. I've never done a slipcover before, but it seems like the 9x12 dropcloths wouldn't necessitate so much cutting. Could you not then use one piece for the whole back/front center and use another or two for the arms/cushions? Is it more economical or easier to use the long narrow dropcloths?

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