How to Cover Leather Furniture With Batting Foam

Covering leather in batting prevents slipcover slippage.

Leather furniture that is being slipcovered is commonly covered in tight-fitting quilt batting to prevent the slipcover from sliding on the leather. The process for covering the leather is similar to slipcovering in fabric except that often the cover is hand sewn in places for the best fit. Some slipcover professionals prefer to sew it entirely by hand because the batting cover will not be visible so the stitches can be larger and less attractive.

Things You'll Need

• Quilt batting
• Safety pins
• Scissors
• Needle and thread

Instructions

1. Drape quilt batting from the joint of the seat and seat back, up over the top of the chair or sofa and down the back the full length of the leather covering. Pull the batting tight to the shape of the furniture and pin the batting front to the back along the sides using safety pins. The safety pins will hold the fabric in place while you stitch it.

2. Thread a needle with heavy-duty thread. Knot the ends of the thread together. Stitch the batting together using 1/8 to 1/4-inch running stitch. When sewing the second side, pull the batting tight as you stitch so that it is stretched around the furniture.

3. Drape your next largest area with batting. Usually this is from the seat back, across the seat and down the front. Safety pin the new piece to the sewn piece. Drape and pin the arms before stitching the three pieces to each other. Continue to use the safety pins to hold the fabric as you stitch and pull. Make the batting fit as smooth and tight as possible. Trim off excess batting. Secure the bottom edge of batting to the underside of chairs and sofas using a staple gun.

Tips & Warnings

• While you are padding your piece with batting you can add more batting if your furniture piece is uncomfortable on top of the arms or seat. Simply secure the batting well and shape it so that the slipcover will have a nice appearance.