Slipcovers are a great boon to interior design.  They not only serve to protect your furniture and thus save on costly upholstery bills, but are a quick inexpensive way to change your home decor.  However, they can be very expensive to buy, a wingback chair slipcover can run you at least $100 and a slipcover for a sectional into the $1,000’s.  Just putting a throw over your furniture ends up with it slipping and sliding and not staying put, even with ready-made they have a tendency to not stay put that makes for constant readjustment.

Markdown Mom has an inexpensive way to make a better fitting slipcover, no sewing, and with little time involved.  First of all, consider the fabric that you want for your slipcover and it’s purpose.  If you have pets and want to protect against scratching in addition to being able to remove fur from the fabric easily, consider canvas or another very tight weave durable material. 

1.  To make any slipcover or piece of cloth conform to your chair, loveseat, sofa, or sectional visit your local home improvement center.  Long pieces of drywall edge beading are easily cut to fit your needs and are very pliable. 

2.  Cut pieces to fit between the back and seat cushions of your furniture, and along a padded arm and the seat cushion.  This will tuck the material into the seat, back, and side and will keep the slipcover in place regardless of who sits on the furniture piece.   Use a snippers for cutting vinyl and metal for the best results.  This V-shaped, beaded plastic strip costs under $3 a strip and will be sufficient for one sofa depending upon the size. 

3.  Cut the back piece first, and then the side arm pieces–which can be smaller than the actual side length.  Put the cloth on your furniture and tuck the “V” shape into the couch.

4.  To make an easy fit for the side and back, buy some self-sticking velcro®–again, at the home improvement center and finger miter the corners of your sofa or chair back and sides, tucking in the fabric.  Pin and do the same to the other side of the sofa until you have the back sufficiently tight.  Do the same process for the sides.  Industrial strength velcro comes in black or white, and you can get other colors to match your fabric in the sewing notions center of a fabric or craft store.

5.  Remove the pins and replace with velcro by creating a strip to be attached to the inside part of the fold and adding it’s corresponding loop strip to the back of the sofa in the same location.  Do the same for the sides creating a hospital bed corner.    

Easy, quick, and cost-effective.  Want to make it spill resistant?  Spray it with silicone.  For fabric amounts refer to upholstery yardage for your furniture item and add a few yards to it, just in case–plus you can make pillows out of any leftover material. 

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