Special Project: My First Attempt at Slipcovering

Let me first tell you, I have never had the desire to slipcover.  Upholstering furniture is more my game because I like the finality, that when you staple the piece of fabric in place, it isn't going anywhere.  The thought of having to fit, remove, sew, try on, re-fit, etc., had no appeal to me.  But when I was asked to help my sweet friend Ashley at The Handmade Home, I decided to give it a shot just to see if I could do it.  I will say that I think I have found a new interest.  If I take on some more practice, I may even add slipcovering to my list of services one day.

Our Subject:
Ashley's Sofa

Our Mission:
Turn it into a slipcovered thing of beauty with English rolled arms.  And in all white, no less.

Here is the "before" of Ashley's sofa.

 Here is the inspiration sofa.  Ashley chose a beautiful, simple sofa as her inspiration.  I simply followed the design of this sofa to complete this piece.  Notice the straight skirt and English rolled arms.  She selected a white cotton duck fabric.

Picture Source:  Pottery Barn

Here is the "after."

Picture Source:  The Handmade Home

I am so pleased with how it turned out.  And look at how beautiful her living room is!

As usual, I did not take any pictures as I was working.  I only have the pictures Ashley took of me working at her house.  Trust me, I made the cushions ahead of time at my home.  The rest of the slipcover was constructed at her home over a period of nine hours with a lunch break and a brownie with ice cream break.  Yum!

The Process:

I started with the Outside Back and the Inside Back.  Ashley and I decided that the back turned out the best.  Too bad it will be facing a wall. :(  I found the outside line at the top back of the sofa as my starting point, and I followed the line with my pins.

Next, Inside Arm to Inside Back.  This was the trickiest part.  It is very hard to get the curve sewn together where it will not pucker.  Practice, practice.  I also inserted pleats onto the rolled arms.

The rest of the process was easier.  The Outside Arms to the Inside Arms, the Decking area under the cushions, and then the Nosing along the front.  Since we did not attach a skirt, I hemmed the entire piece to complete the project.

I plan in the future (when I purchase the serger that eludes me at the moment) to serge the seams for her. 

You can check out Ashley's post on this piece today over at The Handmade Home.  I already have another slipcover project lined up.  I will be sharing more of the process with you on this next piece.  And, yes, I will take pictures! 

I would love to know what you think! 

Linking today to:

Perfectly Imperfect

Restore Interiors

Saavy Southern Style

French Country Cottage

Miss Mustard Seed