Ottoman slipcover (spring 2013)

Slipcover camouflages the war-torn ottoman

This ottoman has been with me for years. It's practical: it has storage and matches a "chair and a half" with a fold-out bed. It's been tough to ditch them for newer furniture because (a) I have kids who are still young and therefore destructive, (b) I hate to get rid of something so functional, and (c) I'm not sure what else would fit in that space.

"Before" shot of the beaten-down ottoman

I figured it might make sense to try to make a slipcover. But I don't have a sewing machine and anyway, I've always messed up the bobbin when I've used one in the past. So I decided to drape the fabric and sew as little as possible. Anything would be better than the existing marker-stained, tattered fabric and plastic wheels. I hit the Calico Corners up the street again, the back discount section of course, and found this neutral remnant. Stripes are the only pattern I've avoided for some reason so I gave them a whirl.

Tucked corners with stitches from the inside

After figuring out which direction the stripes looked best, I tucked in the corners and made a few stitches on each. I am not sure if they will eventually rip through because there is nothing behind the fabric to reinforce them, but it seemed like a pretty decent gamble. If the stitches don't hold, I can redo them. If they tear through the fabric, I could probably tuck a little more and hide the damage.

Midway through attaching the bottom border

The corners had a lot of extra fabric that would have dragged on the floor. So I pulled it taut while trimming along the floor line with a pair of scissors. I tried to make the cuts in a smooth arc. Rather than trying to hem it the normal way, which I was afraid would be crooked or flimsy, I decided to sew a band of webbing around the bottom edge. It seemed like a good way to keep the slipcover in place, as there is some heft to it.

Finished project... the wrinkles eventually sorted themselves out

The most time-consuming - and tedious - part of this project was sewing the bottom edge. It probably took 2 hours; I spent the time on speaker phone, catching up with my Dad. I'm not a phone person so multi-tasking like this is perfect. Music is also a good distraction, and often when I look at a finished project I can flash back to the Pandora station I had on.

Finished project

Was this a success? I'm not sure. It's not awesome but it's not awful either. My daughter likes it, and it didn't cost too much, so I don't cringe when I look at it.

Time to complete: approx. 3 hours

Cost: approx. $15 for 2 yards of fabric, plus some leftover webbing (can't recall the cost)