Slipcover Copies

I’ve made my share of slipcovers over the past ten years but surprisingly I have never made one without having the furniture with me or without having access to the furniture…until now.

My client reached out to me from northern Virginia looking for someone to make new slipcovers for her two identical 84” couches. The couches already had factory made slipcovers for them but were in really bad shape having discolored tremendously over the years. It sounded like a nice little change of pace and challenge for me to take on this project remotely especially if I could take apart the existing slipcovers to use as a template.

Original slipcover with a lot of yellowing but otherwise in good shape

I studied the existing slipcover, made notes on the actual slipcover pieces, labeled them with arrows, “left”, “right”, and any other identifying markers to match up the pieces once I took it apart. I also cut the whole slipcover in half so I could still see the construction if I needed to refer back to it. I was so glad I did as it was extremely helpful. After taking apart the pillows, cushions and pieces to half of the slipcover, I pressed them flat so I could use them as patterns to cut from the fabric.

We decided to not piece the inner or outer back pieces or the cushion seat but instead opted for the pieces to be one piece of fabric. With the 84” finished width, this meant making sure I could run the fabric up the roll without compromising the fabric design. Turns out it could run either way, allowing for less piecing, as long as I kept all the pieces running the same way. It’s so important to study the fabric before beginning any project to determine if there is a nap, weave directional design or sheen difference. I wanted to make sure that all the pieces were running the same direction.

Serena & Lily Perennials Rough & Rowdy~Basketweave Chalk
Performance Fabric

We kept with the original design of topstitched seams, keeping it simple, clean and fresh.

With the extra fabric, I made a couple of hemmed cushion panels for her to tuck in the sides and back of her couch cushions so her dogs could lay on them and if they got dirty, she could just throw them in the wash instead of taking off the cushion cover. We also made several extra throw pillows.