sofa cover....

...DIY In my last post I talked about how we needed new sofa's, but unfortunately this is not in my budget at the moment! So in an attempt to still make a visual change with our current sofa's for our new look living room, I have DIY'ed a sofa cover for this old and dated sofa:

So today I am sharing how I did it!

Now, this is not going to be the usual, nostalgiecat DIY step by step tutorial for several reasons:

Firstly, sewing is NOT my forte....in fact sewing, together with hoovering, is one of those things that arises an unrational anger in me, and if you could've heard the stream of profanities coming out of me whilst doing this project, you would've been appalled!

So , as I am not a sewing expert, and this is my first attempt at making a sofa cover,I don't think its fair for me to tell you how to do this: Instead I am going to refer you to This u-tube tutorial, that I found very useful! In this video Paul shows you how to make a slip cover for a sofa using an easy pattern method , and he explains it a lot better than I ever could .

So if you want to make your own sofa cover, I highly recommend that you spend 1/2 n'hour  watching this tutorial, to give yourself a better understanding of how to best go about making one!!

So, using the same method as Paul so expertly explains in this video, I have adapted it a little to make my loose fitting sofa cover...and I will try my best to explain how!!!

Let me tell you: If I could do this, so could you!

So, firstly, You will need: Enough fabric to cover your sofa, pins (lots of pins...), scissors, a sewing machine and thread...

Lets talk about the fabric: If you want to make a sofa cover, I would recommend that you choose a heavy weight fabric, whether that be heavy cotton, linen or, like I used, canvas!

When working out how much fabric you need, measure the dimensions of your sofa, then add a few extra meters, just to make sure you have enough!

You basically need one piece of fabric that will cover the back of the sofa, one large piece that will cover the seating area, and two pieces that will cover the arm rests... Roughly cut these pieces to size! Then I would recommend that you wash and iron the fabric before making a start! As instructed by Paul, in the video, start by covering the back of the sofa: Pin a piece of fabric to cover the back of the sofa, by using what Paul refers to as "anchor pins", pushing them directly into the sofa to hold the fabric in place.. Start at the top edge of the sofa, and pin it in a straight line all along the back, making sure you leave an inch or two of excess fabric hanging down from the point of where the seam will go... Follow any seams in the original upholstery if there are any... Next up, you'll want to take your large piece of fabric, that's going to be covering the entire front seating area: Drape it over the sofa, and use anchor pins to pin it in place all along the top, with some excess hanging over the excess from where your back piece is pinned..
Next up, you'll want to pin the two pieces of fabric together...
....all along the back of the sofa! If your sofa, like mine, have curved edges along the top ends, stop where the curve begins for now and just make sure you have enough fabric hanging over this area... The next step is to anchor this big piece of fabric to the shape of the front of the sofa: Simply pin the fabric in place, directly into the sofa, following the curves of the sofa... Then, making sure you leave a couple of extra inches all along the edges, cut away any excess fabric around the armrests... Next up is the armrests: Drape your pieces of fabric over, making sure it overlaps the seating piece and the back piece...and at the front. Anchor in place with pins. Then pin the pieces of fabric together, following the shape of the sofa. Leave an inch or two of excess fabric from the point of your pins, but do trim away any excess fabric to make it easier for yourself... This will be the trickiest part: Pinning the fabric together following the shape of the inside of the armrest: Take your time, and gently pull the pieces together, whilst pushing the fabric into the shape...Again: Paul's video tutorial explains this a lot better than I can! Trim away any excess...but DO TAKE CARE NOT TO CUT AWAY TOO MUCH!! Pin the pieces of fabric together... Next up is the front of your armrests: Chances are you have an off cut that will fit this piece perfectly by now! Anchor in place, then pint the pieces of fabric together! Repeat on the other armrest! I had to attach an extra piece all along the front of the sofa, as my big piece for the seating, didn't quite reach the ground (because I miscalculated the measurement a little), but if you have calculated your measurements better, you shouldn't need to, and you have now finished pinning the fabric together...   The last step, before removing all your anchor pins, and sewing it all together on your sewing machine, is to mark with a pencil where the two pieces of fabric meets...basically you are marking where the seam will go! Do this all over the sofa at every "seam"... Make sure you mark this on both sides! When sewing the fabric together use these lines as a guide, but in order to make sure the cover is loose enough to slide on and off your sofa, place your seam on the outside of the line... I'm not going to talk you through the trauma I experienced when sewing this up on the sewing machine: Que profanities!! But that's basically it!! I also made some cushions in the same fabric to finish off my new look sofa!  

It's not perfect, I will admit....but for someone that has an irrational hatred for sewing, and as a first attempt at both pattern making and making a sofa cover...not bad!!

What do you think??

And it has fulfilled the purpose of the project: Changing the look of the sofa!

And with those squidgy cushions, it has actually turned into a comfy space to curl up on, come those cold autumn nights!

AAAAAnd, so I am ready to show you the full reveal of my new look living room...in my next post!

There are still a couple of DIY's I've done in here I want to share with you...that big , abstract artwork on the wall being one....but as I am actually blogging from Norway at the moment, where I am having an impromptu break, I am taking a little blogging holiday after the reveal....