How to Fit Slipcovers for Furniture

Make an inexpensive muslin mock-up of your slipcover before you cut into your slipcover fabric. Once the mock-up has been properly fitted, you can then use the muslin pieces as a pattern.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dressmaker's Measuring Tapes
• Muslin
• Fabric-marking Pens
• Home Decorator Fabrics
• Sewing Machine
• Threads
• T-pins

1. Purchase the necessary yardage of both muslin and home decorator fabric. Refer to "Measure for Slipcovers," under Related eHows, for instructions on calculating the yardage needed.

2. Use a tape measure to determine the length and width of each section of the piece of furniture. Use the existing seams as a guide. Keep notes as to the section name and the corresponding measurements and make sure that every section is accounted for.

3. Remember to add a 1-inch seam to each side of every section for a seam allowance. Add 6 inches to the bottom of the inside back section and the back of the seat section. This allowance will be tucked into that portion of the furniture piece where the seat and the inside back meet.

4. Cut a piece of muslin for each section. Make sure that the cut pieces correspond to the measurements taken in step 2.

5. Use T-pins to pin the muslin sections to the corresponding sections on the furniture. Pin each section at the center first, and then smooth out the muslin pieces to each side. The muslin should be pinned so that it is taut but not distorted.

6. Pin the sections onto the furniture in the following order: inside back, seat, front, outside back, side back, arms ' inside, top, front and outside arms. Do not pin the tuck-in allowances.

7. Trim each muslin piece to fit the contours of the furniture, but remember to leave the appropriate seam and tuck-in allowances. Trim and repin the sections as often as needed.

8. Unpin the sections and sew the slipcover together. See "Sew Slipcovers," under Related eHows, for the order in which the sections should be sewn together.

9. Place the slipcover onto the furniture and check it for fit. Be prepared to restitch and refit as many times as necessary to get the proper fit.

10. Measure and fit the cushions as you would the furniture. For zipper application, however, one of the cushion's side panels will need to be cut into two pieces along the crosswise grain (remember to add an additional seam allowance). The zipper will be inserted along the seam that is created at the point where the two sections join.

Tips & Warnings

• Determine where other tuck-in allowances are needed. Depending on the construction of the furniture, you may need this allowance at the point where the inside arms meet the seat and where the arms meet the inside back.
• Add a 3-inch tuck-in allowance, if needed, where the arms meet the inside back. This allowance is added to both the arm and back sections. Add 6 inches where the inside arms meet the seat section. Again, add the allowance to both the seat and arm sections.
• Use a fabric marking pen to write the name of the section on each piece of muslin. Also draw an arrow down the center of each muslin piece to indicate the lengthwise grain line. These arrows will be placed along the lengthwise grain line of the slipcover fabric when you cut the pattern pieces.
• Mark the center points of all large sections. This will help you position any large motifs that may appear on your home decorator fabric.
• Make a special cut around each leg if you will not use a skirt. Leave the fabric along the furniture edges as is. At each leg, however, cut the fabric lengthwise along each side of the leg and across at about 1/2 inch below the point where the leg meets the furniture piece. The resulting cutout will be rectangular in shape.
• Use pins rather than a zipper in your mock-up. The zipper is usually placed along either of the side back seams on a chair and along any one or two of the side or back seams on a sofa or loveseat.
• Use a basting stitch to sew the muslin mock-up. This will make it easier to take the pieces apart after the fitting has been done.