How to Replace a Sofa Cushion

Whether your dog won't stop digging in the same spot on your sofa, or your child recently had a fruit punch accident, sometimes you need to replace a single cushion on your sofa. In these cases, you don't necessarily have to reupholster the entire sofa when simply replacing the one dud cushion will fix your problem.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Scissors
• Stitch-ripper
• Sewing Machine or Needle and Thread
• Chalk or a light marker
• Fabric

1. Find the right fabric to make a single cushion for your sofa. To help you find the exact match, either bring a sample of the fabric to the store or take a few detailed pictures of your couch to reference. If you can't find an exact match, try a two-tone effect by using a complimentary fabric pattern.

2. Remove the upholstery from around the old cushion using a stitch ripper, and use the old upholstery as a pattern to model your new fabric. Depending on preference, you can either measure the original fabric pattern and then use those measurements to model a new cover, or you can simply lay the original upholstery on top of the new fabric and outline the pattern with chalk.

3. Cut out the pattern from the new fabric.

4. Use either a sewing machine or a needle and thread to sew your replica pattern together into a new cover.

5. Wrap your old sofa cushions with your new fabric, and stitch it shut.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a hard time remembering how to reassemble fabric patterns, try taking pictures of the old cushion after each line of stitches you remove. This way you will be able to remember how it was put together when you are reassembling the new one later.
• When you are chalking out the outline of the original pattern on the new fabric, make sure that the new fabric is faced upside down so that you will not be able to see the lines after it is reassembled.