Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Upholstery for the lazy girl!

When decorating, always keep in mind that no-one's going to see the bottom/back/inside. This is only one small step up from wrapping a loose piece of cloth over a cushion, but it does keep the cover tidy and in place.

So: lay that piece of grey denim you're never going to make a skirt from, face up on the floor. Put the cushion more or less in the middle. (Please excuse the blurry photos, but it was the middle of the night.) Oh yes - zig-zag around all raw edges first.

Fold the corners up more or less like this.

Pin them.
Turn the cushion over to check that everything's neat.

Whip the 'cover' off.

Draw a straight line from the pinned corners to the edge.

(And then it was morning, and the light changed completely!)

Sew along the line, and cut off what you won't need. Probably a good idea to check that your seam's in the right place before cutting, though.

Put the cover back on the cushion.


Fold the corners, then fold the sides up. Adjust the folds so that the edges don't quite meet.

Mark button positions with pins...

... and sew buttons on.


Cut 4 lengths of thickish thread, about 20 - 30 cm long, double each piece up and knot the ends together. Put the loop around a button.

Wind the other end round and round both buttons, pulling them closer together.

All done.

Voila! Hey presto! Siedaar! etc. A zipless cover you can take off to wash, but don't have to tidy every morning.

14 comments:

painted fish studio said...

fabulous tutorial, perfect for a lazy girl like me!

Cristina said...

That is wonderfull. But we, because we know how to do it, always tend to go under to see if it is perfect! But fells good to be lazy :)

Knitsonya said...

Now that is clever! No to zippers and fussy piping.

janine de waal said...

I like your thinking! Minimum effort for maximum effect! ; )

HB said...

Nice idea and colours!

lori said...

Oh what a great idea!! I have been wanting to make some slip covers for my couch cushions but have been too lazy to do the whole zippered cover! Thanks!

Freshly Found said...

Such a great idea. I've had fabric cut out to cover some cushions for a few years. This would be so much quicker!

Tina said...

Buttons ... what a great idea. So easy too.

greetingarts said...

One man's lazy is another man's genius. Sorry, can't write more, I gotta go cover some cushions that my kids have all but destroyed! Thanks a ton for a great idea.

Erin said...

what a good idea, as a fellow lazy girl, i'd like to say nice job.

Dana Watsham said...

Good idea.

Not to mention that the bench/sofa is utterly gorgeous ....

boodely said...

Sweeeet!!

Sorka said...

oh cool!! I like it!

Dana said...

Nice... I'm wondering if these would work with Kitchen or dining chairs... I've recovered my kitchen chairs 3 times in the past four years. It would be so nice to have something that would be easily removed so it could be washed...