Thursday, March 11, 2010

Slipcovers

Are you excited to see a post that's not about my bed? Instead, this post is dedicated to slipcovers, thanks to a slipcover party at Pink and Polka Dot.
Once, I had an ugly couch so I bought a slipcover for it at Kmart for $25. I'm sorry, this is the only picture I could find of it.

Well, later I got different couches which were more comfortable, but we needed something to rest our feet on while we watched movies. Enter the Garage Sale Ottoman.

Honestly, it is so gross. It needed to be covered, and luckily I had hung onto my red couch cover, so I had some fabric to work with. After reading the tutorial from Pink and Polka Dot on slipcovering a chair, I attempted the ottoman. It turned out okay, considering it was one of my first projects.

It's perfect...comfortable, washable, and adds some needed color to the family room.

So I hung on to the remainder of the fabric from the couch slipcover and just made these pillow slipcovers from a tutorial found here.
Dang it, there's the bed again. But don't the pillows look great?

New pillows usually cost about $20 each, which is crazy. I had some old ones just sitting in the closet that I used for this project. I hope they are the last pillows I buy, because if I want a new look, I'll just make a new slipcover for them!

This is the back of the pillow cover. See how there's a nice little slit for inserting your pillow?


This is the back of the other pillow. Remember, I was working with leftover material and I didn't quite have the right lengths of fabric. But, in the spirit of "use what you have" I just sewed some smaller peices together. It doesn't quite cover the old pillow as well, but you can't tell from the front, so I'm not worried about it.

Conclusion: Buying that slipcover from Kmart was a great plan. I used it as a couch cover when I needed it, then turned it into something that fits my needs now. It doesn't always work to repurpose your old stuff, but lots of times it does, and the results are so satisfying!

8 comments:

  1. you did a great job with the ottoman! thanks for sharing!

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  2. i'm so inspired by your bed! i've been wanting to build one also...it's gorgeous!

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  3. Great ottoman! I love it! Stop by and take a gander at Poor Pitiful Pearl, my slipcover...Meme

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  4. Love your slipcovers, you did a great job on the ottoman and pillows. Don't you love how so many things can be slipped?

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  5. I want to make an ottoman slipcover, too! I have no idea how to sew, though. Any tips for beginners?

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  6. Genius! I need to start thinking outside the box.

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  7. Your slipcover gave that ottoman a whole new life. Great job! Just an idea, but if the open back bothers you, just lightly hand sew it closed with a matching red thread. The thread can be easily removed if you want to wash it or change the fabric.

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