Grey Slipcover for the Couch

The week after Father's Day our cousin Tiffany was here visiting and helped me start the slipcovers for my couch, sofa, and 2 wingback chairs.  We also designed the pillows for them.

Although we didn't quite finish the couch before she left, it was soooo close.  I got it finished just in the nick of time the next week (last Wednesday), right before the spontaneous visit from my mother-in-law from Idaho.  Whew!! nothing like a little pressure and motivation.

So here are the pics of the couch redo.

Although this is the loveseat, this is what the couch looked like BEFORE

and with the new bun feet already swapped out.

During the process, draped and pinned with our sheet pattern.

You can use any scrap fabric, muslin, etc. that you may have floating around.

We just wrote on the pieces with Sharpie so that we would know what piece

was what and any other notes we needed.

Showing the new feet!

Love these so much.

All done and ready to use.

I may have to tweak a few spots after my company leaves.

There a couple places that I've been thinking about that may need some attention.

Otherwise, this is a major improvement.

Back Velcro opening:  center back panel of the slipcover.

The 2 pillows I've finished so far for the room. 

Love this green and cream fabric.

Details:

• Used grey sunbrella fabric that I bought for $5.49/yd.--14 yds. for total of $76.86
• We didn't use it all--probably 1 1/2 - 2 yds. leftover.
• I plan on using some of that for the basis of a grey knit shag pillow for one of the wingbacks.  I found the right color grey knit sheet at the thrift store for $3 last Friday.  I should have enough for the pillow and a new tee for me.
• I ended up having to serge the edges once I got it all put together because the sunbrella was raveling so much.  I don't want it to unravel even more when I pull it off to wash it.

• We boxed out the cushions and piped both the top and bottom edges.
• I also added some poly batting to each cushion to "beef" them up a bit.  
• Same thing for the pillows.
• Reused the original zippers and some of the piping.
• The only other piping on this was the front of the armrests.
• I didn't like the piping around the bottom of the slipcover, but that is personal preference
• Plan on a number of days to accomplish this unless you plan on ignoring your family completely for 2-3 days.  It took Tiffany and I about 5 days--not of working solidly, but a good number of hours each day.

Notes on making piping:

If you can reuse the piping from your couch or chair then do it.  My couch, sofa and one wingback all had cushions with piping only through the front portion of the cushion--like dividing the front panel in half.  So I was not going to have enough piping to reuse and box out the cushions on all of it.

Sometimes you can just pull the piping filling out of the piping cover.  Other times it isn't that easy.  If the fabric isn't too thick you can just cut your new piping and put it right over top the first.

If you can, cut your piping strips on the bias.  They will lay much nicer and you can manuever it easier around curves or corners.

The piping filling you buy at Jo-Ann's is WAY expensive ($29.99/ 100 yds.) and not as nice as I would like.  I ended up buying cotton rope (clothesline) 3/8" by 50' for $.99 at Menards.  That is $.06/yd.  Considering I needed 27 1/2 yds. for piping on just the 5 sofa and loveseat cushions alone, this was the better way to go.

200 yds. for $4.00 not $59.98 if I were to purchase at Jo-Ann's.