The leather monsters have been sold, (with a slight combo of mixed emotions: Jamin may or may not have been petting them, telling them “it’s okay” that afternoon when their new owners were on their way. His guilt trip fell flat on it’s face, but Aiden did try to bargain not to be utterly destroyed that his favorite sitting spot was being given away as long as we got him a teli for his room. Niiiiice.)
The process has begun, and in the meantime, while our first, the Duncan Phyfe, is being refinished, I’ve been scouring the internet for slipcover resources. I basically scored a nice, comfy, totally ugly, rolled arm sofa on Craigslist.
{After searching high and low for the perfect shape, whilst brushing elbows with only a few psychopaths-seriously, I should do a post on Craigslist and the mental hazards it causes.} I plan on turning it into (something like) this:
And in the meantime, I thought I’d round up a few of what I think are the best tutes out there for a gal to follow. SO…drum roll please: in no particular order:
Of course, the furniture whisperer, Miss Mustard Seed has a great video series, found here.
Pam of Bibbidi Bobbiti Beautiful did a stellar number on this piece.
Kristi, the slipcover queen has a great book that outlines the process, step by step. Check it here.
Here’s a gal who conquered her own ugly couch, using the book. Read her take on it, here.
Heidi of Honeybear Lane tackles it step by step, in this beautifully laid out tute, here.
Alima, one of my fave reader peeps totally tackled it, and you can read all about the slipcover-athon, here.
Oh, and another quick tutorial in outline form, here.
Didn’t they all these clever {quite fearless} women do a fabulous job? I’m feeling pretty inspired. I’m ready to tackle it! {with the help of my awesome reupholstery friend…yep. That always helps…}
Just a side note on fabrics: A reader asked me recently about the kind of fabric one might use for upholstery projects. In other words, when shopping, what grade to look for? I thought I knew the answer, but I deferred to the expert, just in case. Straight from the source:
“Most home decor fabrics can now be used for upholstery, but you have to be careful: If you have a piece of furniture that takes a lot of wear, it is best to go with the upholstery grade. If you have a side chair that doesn’t have as much wear, any home decor fabric should be fine. Always keep in mind how the furniture is being used. You wouldn’t want to put silk anywhere that children reside because it water stains so easily. You can also buy an indoor/outdoor fabric if you are concerned about stains. But, yes, these days most home decor fabrics are appropriate for upholstery.”
Feeling inspired yet? I am! If you know about any other tutorials I may not have seen, please do share!
Thanks so much for all the slipcover tutorial resources! I have two chairs that need to be slipcovered and I have been avoiding them and pretending that they’re fine just the wrong way that they are…anywhoo let me go check all these out and get busy! I can’t wait to see yours!
Debbie
I love these! Can’t wait to check them all out! Who knew?!
Wow, thanks for the great feature! Making my slipcover was by far the biggest sewing challenge I’ve even undertaken. But it was 110% worth it and has given me the confidence to do anything!
All of these are amazing!
Great resources! I’ve found some great fabrics online too for a great price, including some upholstery grade fabrics. It’ll be nice to add these wonderful resources to that. Maybe now I can get going on my own projects. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, boy, I would rather climb up on my roof in the midst of a sleet storm to remove the ice dams (cursed with Minnesota winters) than take out the sewing machine to tackle slipcovers. It makes me clammy just to think of it . I know, i know, I see the beautiful results but it still freaks me out. Wow-am I impressed!
haha! see? I think the key is black mailing a friend. I already bribed one. And not I’m totally bribing another.
So I guess my philosophy is that we all should try it! 
Hee hee…now if only I could KNIT one!! (Or better, have a talented friend to blackmail, as you mentioned.)
Dorothy-I’ve heard of people doing that. I think I’m going to have to check that method out! talk about super comfy! – I wonder how well they hold up?
I’m dying to hear about your craigslist experiences!!! Please do tell!!
Slipcovers are the best, but so intimidating! Good luck with yours. I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.
omg!
Those are MY couches in my living room!!! Same shade too (putty) – HAHAHAAA!!
I happen to love the style, actually, b/c the rounded arms are low and great to rest your head on with a little pillow. I’m looking for more streamlined, sleek and modern couches soon though anyway! So rag on it all ya want! hehe…
Its ironic, when I saw all the slip covers, I sorta liked them (not big on slipcovers in general), but was immediately turned off by of the ruffled-bottomed ones.
How about that…
Isn’t it funny and great how we all each have our own unique tastes?? CHEERS!! =)
Hey Rita! The couch I found isn’t putty, its a dark brown- One of the reasons I said it was ugly was because its got paint all over one of the cushions. Therefore the reason I am slipcovering. Didn’t mean to take digs at anyone elses’ sofas! I’m not a fan of ruffles myself, but they did do a great job on the slipcovers!
Thanks for the shout out gurl! Can’t wait to see your newly slipped sofa! Woot woot!
I love your blog, you’re so creative!
I know this post is about slipcovers, although I love the throw pillows in the third picture (http://img4.southernliving.com/i/2009/08/tarpon-run/living-room-tarpon-l.jpg?400:400), I’ve been looking for those colors fabric for my living room’s pillows and they look gorgeous, can you share where did you get the fabric. Thanks so much!
Hey Gianni! Thanks so much for dropping a line! unfortunately, that photo is from southern living, and is not mine. So I have no idea where those pillows came from, but they are fabulous! Looking at the link, I would go to southernliving.com, and check out tarpon-run in their search options. Something may pop up there for you, to tell you more about the home, etc. Hope that helps!