How to Change a Cushion

Sofa cushion covers can extend the life of the sofa.

Sofa and chair cushions receive a workout in most homes between spills, children and pets, they can quickly become stained or damaged. If the cushion and the sofa is in good condition and just the cushion cover is in need of a change, then it is worthwhile to change the cushion cover. If you have extra sofa fabric you can make a new cover in the original material, otherwise it is a good idea to change the damaged cover and other similar cushion covers on the same piece of furniture at the same time. You can change just the seat bottoms or just the seat backs for a nice cohesive appearance.

Things You'll Need

• Seam ripper
• Painter's tape
• Marker
• Iron and board
• Upholstery fabric
• Pins
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Zipper
• Dry cleaning bag
• Vacuum cleaner

Instructions

1. Remove the cushion from the sofa. Unzip the back of the cover and remove the cushion form. If your cushion cover doesn't have a zipper use a seam ripper to carefully open the back seam. Remove the cushion when your seam opening is large enough to pass the form. Use the seam ripper to open and separate all of the pieces of the cover. Use painter's tape and a marker to label each piece on the underside so you know where it goes.

2. Iron the cover pieces to flatten out the seam allowances. If your cover has welting you will need to make it at this time. Welting is a cord wrapped in bias-cut fabric. Cut fabric strips at a 45-degree angle to the grain of the fabric. Join your strips together to create a long enough strip for all of your welting needs. Place a welting foot on your sewing machine or a zipper foot if you do not have a welting foot. Fold the fabric strip in half lengthwise and insert the cord in the fold. Sew tight to the cord.

3. Pin your cover pieces to your new upholstery fabric. Select a fabric that plays well with your original sofa fabric. Do not try to match the fabric unless you can match it exactly. Cut out your new fabric pieces.

4. Position and sew your upholstery zipper to the two longest side pieces. The zipper should be sewn first. Follow the pattern for placement. Most zippers wrap around the sides a few inches. Check to make sure your zipper works when your zipper panel is finished. Sew your side panels together. Place the front side panel face side together with the right side and sew the short front corner seam using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Repeat for the left side.

5. Sew the right side seam to the zipper panel. Typically the right and left side seams will overlap the end of the zipper by 1/2-inch. If this was the style of the original upholstery then your zipper panel will be long enough to allow for this coverage. Otherwise place the zipper panel and right side face sides together and sew with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Repeat either seam arrangement to match on your left side. Check the fit of your sides around your cushion before moving on.

6. Place your top cover face side down on the table. Position your welting starting in the back center. The welting cord side should be to the inside. Align the rough edges of the welting with the rough edges of the cover and pin. Overlap the beginning and ending welting by 2-inches and cut your welting. Sew your welting to the cover sewing tight to the cord. Start 1-inch from the beginning of the cord and end 1-inch from the beginning of the cord.

7. Open the seam on the end piece of welting to expose the cord. When the cord is 1/16-inch overlapping the beginning cord, cut just the cord. Trim the welting fabric 1-inch past the cut cord. Fold the welting fabric under and wrap the fabric over where the two cords butt. Sew the remaining welting in place. Repeat this for the bottom cover.

8. Align the top cover with the side panel circle. Match up the front corners. Position the fabrics face sides together and pin. Sew the top cover and side cover together using a 1/2-inch seam. Clip your corners to remove excess fabric. Repeat for the bottom cover. Turn the cover right side out.

9. Position the cover with the zipper facing you on the table. Position your cushion with the back of the cushion facing you next to the cover. Place a dry cleaning bag over the cushion so that the plastic touches the table surface on all sides of the cushion. Insert the end of a vacuum cleaner hose under the plastic and close to the cushion. Turn on the vacuum and suck the air out of the cushion. When the cushion is flat, slide it into the cover and pull out the plastic bag. Adjust the cushion corners to fit the cover corners and zip up the new cover.

Tips & Warnings

• Use your old upholstery pieces as a pattern for the remaining similar cushions so that your sofa or chair looks unified.

References

• Upholster: How to Sew a Boxed and Welted Cushion