Friday, April 1, 2011

Ottoman Slipcover Tutorial

The ottoman is one of my favorite peices of furniture. It's so comfy! I love having a place to put my feet up while I watch a movie, for the dog to stretch out on, or for the kids to use as a trampoline. Talk about multi-tasking! 


But it was in need of a makeover after we painted our family room, and five months later, I finally got around to doing it. I don't know why it took me so long, because it was pretty simple.

Here's what you need to do:

I. CUTTING FABRIC/HEMMING

Measure your ottoman. I learned the hard way that you should measure more than once. Measure the top, sides, and height. I found it helpful to draw it out.

I purchased 4.5 yards of fabric, but I probably could have gotten away with 4 yards.
Cut your fabric according to your measurements. You should add an inch to each measurement (ie, if it measured 26 inches, cut it to 27 inches to account for seam allowance.) To make the pleats on the bottom, cut 4 squares that are 13 inches x the height of your bottom section. For me, this worked out to be 13x11.5.

Next, sew together the bottom peices. It should go in a pattern like this:
LONG SIDE--SQUARE (the 13x11.5 peice looked squarish, so it will be hereafter referred to as such)--SHORT SIDE--SQUARE--LONG SIDE--SQUARE--SHORT SIDE--SQUARE.
It will create an enormously long train of fabric.
Next, you want to hem the bottom edge. It will be so much easier to do this now, rather than once your pleats are in.
So, unless you're luckier than me and have a serger-- go ahead and do the double fold/iron method to create a hem.
(Doesn't my ironing board cover make you want to puke? I found it in my great aunt's basement. I should really upgrade. They're probably like $6.)

Sew down your hem.
Then sew your fabric train together, so that it makes a big circle. You'll be connecting LONG SIDE with SQUARE.
Now make sure you press all your seams.

II. PLEATS
The pleats really were simple. You'll be glad you did it, otherwise your ugly ottoman will show through, and it will make you sad whenever people come over. Believe me, I speak from experience.

Take one of your SQUARE peices and find the center. Mark it with a pin. Mine was 12 inches wide, so I marked it at 6 inches.


Then take one side of your square and fold it over so the seam lines up with your center pin. Iron it down, nice and flat. And pin it, of course.

Do the same with the other side of the SQUARE. The two seams should meet in the middle.


Repeat this procedure with all four SQUARES, then take it to your sewing machine and sew those pleats in place!

III. ALL THE REST
Now you want to attach the middle section peices to your bottom section. Line up the edges of the middle peice with the corresponding seam on your bottom section. You should leave about 1/4 inch overlapping at the seams (in between the middle peices) for seam allowance.
Sew all four middle peices to the bottom part before worrying about attaching them to eachother. It will look like a big circle when you're done. Press your seams.

Then, pin together the sides of the middle peices and sew them together, starting just under the seam where it meets with the bottom section. This will ensure it all sticks together, without gaps.
Press your seams.

Finally, attach the top peice. This is tricky because you kind of have to fiddle with the corners to make the seams line up. Just bend and tuck to the best of your ability, and if you don't like it once you've sewn it, try again.
Press your seams. Last time!

Try it on for size! Actually, I recommend trying it on for size as you complete each section, to make sure things are going according to plan. The first time I put mine on, it was 3 inches too long! I really have no idea how it happened, but I'm glad that I fixed it before adding the middle and top sections!
 Check out those pleats!

It really helps to bring the room together. Loving it!

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