Cover a Sofa
A sofa cover, often called a slipcover, is a piece of fabric draped over or tucked into a sofa for protection or decoration. Many people choose to cover sofas that are old and show signs of wear and tear; others do it to protect their couches from pets or dirt. It's also common to make a cover to align your sofa's decoration with the rest of a room's décor. Whatever your reason, learning how to cover a sofa is an easy project that you can finish in a few hours.
Contents
Steps
Making a No-Sew Cover From Sheets
- Grab some sheets. You'll need a full set of sheets, both fitted and flat, in at least full size. Queen and even King size sheets may be needed for larger couches.
- Take the cushions off of the couch. Remove all of the movable cushions off of the couch.
- Lay out the flat sheet. Lay the flat sheet over the sofa so that it creates a skirt in the front and drapes all the way around to the back.
- You may need to orient the short sides at the arms of the couch, or they might need to be at the back and front. It depends on the size and shape of your couch.
- Put the cushions back on the couch. Replace the cushions on the couch, keeping the sheet looking nice and straight where it shows through at the front.
- Place the fitted sheet over all of the cushions. Now place the fitted sheet over both the seat cushions and the back cushions (if there are back cushions). Tuck the sheet as you go until it looks nice and uniform over the cushions.
- Cover the arms. Now you'll want to cover the arms of the couch. Take the pillow cases and drape them over the arms of the couch, lengthwise so that the front of the arms are covered. Tuck and pin the fabric until it looks nice.
- This method leaves the sides of the couch exposed. If you have tables or other items on the sides of the couch, this won't matter. However, if the sides of your couch will be visible, use folded blankets draped over the side, to keep the sides disguised.
- Place some pillows. Now all you have to do is cover and place some pillows to make the couch look more normal. You can use pillow cases on normal pillows or you can cover or reuse loose pillows that came with the couch.
Sewing Your Own
- Choose a fabric for your sofa cover. Keep in mind the décor in the rest of the room and the desired level of comfort on the sofa. Do not choose fabric that is especially expensive, as your cover will hang on the ground and will also likely need to be cleaned because of frequent use.
- A home supply or sewing store will have many options for your sofa. Choose a lightweight fabric that is easy to clean. Buy a piece of fabric approximately twice the length and twice the width of the sofa to give yourself extra room to work with.
- Jersey fabric is recommended, as it will stretch to form to your couch. However, it will not look as "fancy" as some other fabrics might.
- Purchasing the fabric for your cover on sale from a fabric store is recommended, since this will save you a lot of money. In the US, many craft stores will have weekly coupons that can be used to save money on fabric as well.
- Measure the length and width of your sofa from back to front and side to side. The length is the distance from where the sofa touches the ground in the back, over the sofa, to where it touches the ground in front. In other words, measure the height of the back of the sofa, add the depth of the sofa, and then add the height of the front. Use a flexible tape measure to get this measurement. The sofa's width is the distance across the seat of the sofa from one arm to the other.
- Write both of these measurements down.
- Measure the width and length of the sofa's arms. The arm width is the distance from where the arm meets the seat of the sofa, over the arm, to where the arm touches the ground. The arm length is the distance from where the arm meets the back of the sofa to the edge of the arm.
- These measurements should also be written down.
- Cut out your cover's under layer. The under layer is the main piece of fabric that will go directly on top of the sofa. It serves as the main protection for the sofa and lies beneath the top piece.
- To find the under layer's width, add the sofa width to both arm widths and add an additional 12 inches (or 30 cm.) to allow for tucking. For example, a sofa with a body width of 4 feet (or 122 cm.) and arm widths of 1 foot (or 30 cm.) should have a width of 7 feet (or 212 cm.). To find the under layer's length, add the sofa length to both arm lengths and add an additional 12 inches (or 30 cm.).
- Stitch a hem onto the under layer. A hem is a small ribbon of folded-over fabric that runs along the edge. It will serve to keep the under layer in place. To sew the hem, fold over 5/8 of an inch (or 1.6 cm.) of fabric along all sides and sew this to the under layer.
- Cut out the body of the top piece. The body of the top piece will drape over the back of the sofa onto the floor. To find the body's length, use the sofa length and add approximately 12 inches (or 30 cm.) to allow for tucking. To find the width, use the sofa width and add approximately 2 inches (or 5 cm.) to allow for hemming.
- Cut out the arms of the top piece. The arms of the top piece will be secured to the body and flow over the arms. To find the arm piece's lengths, use the arm lengths and add approximately 2 inches (or 5 cm.) to allow for hemming. To find the arm piece's widths, use the arm widths and add approximately 12 inches (or 30 cm.) to allow for tucking.
- Drape the under layer over the sofa. Drape and tuck the under layer behind the sofa's cushions. The under layer should fall evenly to the ground and should have any excess fabric tucked between the back of the sofa and the cushions.
- Drape the remaining fabric. Drape the body of the top piece over the body of the sofa. Now, drape the arms of the top piece over the sofa's arms.
- Sew the pieces together. Sew together the body and arms of the top piece. After adjusting the arms so that they fall to the floor evenly, pull each one about 5/8 of an inch (or 1.6 cm.) under the body piece. Sew each arm piece to the body piece. You can do this by hand or with a machine. When you're done, tuck any excess fabric into the cushions.
Purchasing a Sofa Cover
- Measure and observe your sofa. Take the measurements for your sofa's length and width, as well as the length and width of the arms. You'll need to know these in order to know what size cover to buy. You'll also want to take note of what style of couch you have and who the manufacturer is. There might be an official slipcover made especially for your couch, such as if it is from Ikea. If not, the general shape of your couch should inform what style of cover you buy.
- For example, if your couch has scroll-style arms, you'll want to find a slipcover with ties at the front so that you can gather the material and maintain the round shape of the arm.
- Purchase a cover with an appropriate size for your sofa. Sofa covers are readily available at home supply, furniture, and upholstery stores. Consult the cover's packaging or a sales associate to make sure the cover is the right size. You'll want to err on the side of caution: if you're unsure on the sizing, try to get something that's slightly too large, instead of something that might be slightly too small.
- Put the cover on your sofa. Drape the cover over your sofa so that its edges fall evenly to the ground. Tuck any excess fabric into the cushions. There may be special instructions included with your sofa cover, in which case you should be sure to read and follow them.
Tips
- The purpose of using both an under layer and a top piece is to vary the design of your sofa cover and so that you can remove one piece for washing while keeping your sofa protected. Try using different cuts of fabric for each, or even vary the body and arm pieces of the top piece.
Things You'll Need
- Fabric
- Scissors
- Needle
- Thread
- Flexible tape measure
