How to Sew a Replacement Slipcover

{note to friends and family...scroll to the bottom for gratuitous Elsie B pics}

Happy Friday to y'all!  As a stay-home mom, the weekends don't seem too different than the weekdays, but today is particularly exciting because it's....date night!  We're going out to eat and to hear a friend's band.  Should be fun!  Plus, I make an exception to my "hot tea instead of wine" resolution on the weekends.  That's definitely something to look forward to!

So, recently I found myself making a replacement slipcover, and I thought I'd share the process for anyone else who may be interested in doing the same.  Basically I disassembled the old slipcover to use as a pattern for the new.  This is a great project for someone who has experience sewing simple projects like pillows or table runners, but who wants to move up and try something a little more challenging.   The most important steps are in the planning.  Even though this slipcover is for a tiny little chair, you could certainly apply these principles to any size slipcover.  Here's a glimpse at the final product.

We were gifted with this cute little hand-me-down toddler chair,

 complete with a  handle and a pocket for books.

It's a Pottery Barn "My First Anywhere Chair," and is a soft, lightweight, comfy spot for little bums to rest.

source

It was embroidered with the previous owner's name, so I thought about creating some sort of patch to cover that, but soon realized I could whip up a whole new slipcover.  I dug through my fabric box, and found a big enough piece for this project, a contrast piece for welting and a stash of extra unfinished welting.   That means $0 spent!  I love this kind of project!

You could use this method to make a replacement slipcover for anything.  We're just going to use the old slipcover as a pattern.  We will be sacrificing the old slipcover, so be prepared to never use it again.

I started by labeling all of the pieces with a black permanent marker.  Just use whatever terms that will help you remember where the piece goes. 

Then I realized I needed to be even more thorough.  I'm so glad I thought to do this, because it was a crucial step, and is what made this project really easy in the end.  Label each intersection of fabric pieces with a separate number, and mark it on each corner of the intersection.  Start at any intersection, and begin with number 1, then keep marking until each intersection is labeled.  Here is the number 2 intersection.

Here's the 23 intersection. 

It was helpful that these numbers were in red ink...it stood out later.  There were almost 30 intersections on this chair.  Also mark any button holes or zippers.

Now, take lots of photos of your project from many different angles.  Make sure you can read your markings in the photos.  You may find yourself referencing these later.   

Next you want to use a seam ripper to disassemble the pieces.  Do so carefully, so you don't accidentally tear the fabric.  I didn't pay much attention to the welting while I seam-ripped, and it ended up staying attached to a fabric piece.  It would be a good idea to number the welting at the intersections, as well, in case yours comes away from the fabric.

Here are all of my pieces.

Now, iron your old pieces, so they're completely flat when you use them to trace the shape onto your new fabric.  You can simply arrange your pieces on the new fabric.  You'll want to pay attention to any stripes or patterns and think about how that will affect the look of the finished slipcover.  My new fabric was a narrow stripe, so I made sure my pieces were arranged so all of the stripes were vertical.
Once the pieces were cut, I used a tiny black marker to transpose the numbers at each corner to the new fabric.  I kept the old piece stacked on the new one until I sewed, just to keep everything very organized and labeled.

The back piece included a pocket and a handle.  I recreated both and sewed it all together.

On Wednesday I shared my quick 'n easy method for making bias strips for welting.  You could follow that tutorial, or buy pre-made cording, or skip the welting detail altogether.  For those pieces with welting, I sewed a strip of welting to my new piece, just as it was sewn to the old.  I made sure to leave an extra inch on each end, to make sure there would be enough during the reassembly.   See how the bottom edge of that Seat piece below had a strip of welting?

 I just sewed my new welting onto that same edge of the new matching piece. 

The front of the arms had welting, and were quite curved.  To help make that sharp turn, make little cuts along the raw edges.

Once all of the pieces had been cut and any welting or details had been added, I began to match the numbered intersections together.  I started with the middle section.  Here are three pieces sewn together.  You can see that extra welting hanging off the edges below.

Remember to sew right sides together, and just match your numbers up!

Those curves on the arms were tricky to sew to the adjacent pieces, so I pinned them.

 Just keep sewing away until all of your pieces are in place!  I neglected to take any photos of the zipper in this project.  Many slipcovers don't have zippers, so you most likely won't need that visual anyway.  I re-used the zipper that was on the old slipcover, which was that seafoam green color.  But, it's on the bottom and won't be seen.

Now that the slipcover was finished, I put it on the chair.  I knew I wanted to personalize it for this little peanut below.  She can barely see over the window sill when on her tippy toes.  Isn't she precious, or is it just my biased opinion? 

  I had these acrylic paints on hand.  They are fine for fabric projects like this, but I wouldn't use them on apparel.  They are pretty stiff when dry, and could crack if the fabric bends much or is washed often.  But, I knew this would stay fairly flat.

I wanted the letters to be pink, to add a feminine touch.  I didn't have pink paint, but I had white and red.  Here's a little color mixing tip for you...always start with the lighter color.  Then add drops of the darker color to get your desired hue.  It's much easier to slowly go darker than it is to try to go lighter.

I measured the center of the back of the slipcover and used pins as a visual guide.  I started with the middle letter and worked my way out.

Not perfectly centered, but close.  I later went in and added shadows to the letters in a color similar to that of the welting.  The pink seemed a bit out of place, and I thought it needed something to bring it all together.
Here's the finished product!

Not too shabby for a freebie, huh?  I love that it's personalized and unique.  I know that Aria loved this chair and used it often, and I hope Elsie will do the same over the next couple of years.

notice the perpetually curled toes

showing off her "how big is elsie?" move

Linking to Serenity Now and Living Savvy. 

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Quick 'n Easy Continuous Bias Strip

Do you sew?  If you make your own piping/welting or bias tape, you'll enjoy this easy method for creating a long, continuous bias strip.  I just finished up a slipcover that I will share with you soon, but first I wanted to show you this process.  It's relatively simple, but it deserves it's own post.  (If there's a difference between welting and piping, I don't know what it is.  Perhaps that piping is used in apparel applications and welting in upholstery?  Anyway, I'll use the two interchangeably.)

Once when I was in a fabric store shopping for welting supplies, a friendly lady explained this process to me.  She drew it out on a scrap sheet of paper and sent me on my way.  I'm so thankful to her!  It's how I always make welting now, even if I don't necessarily need it to be on the bias.

"Bias" just means the fabric is cut on an angle to the selvage edges.  This gives the strips more flexibility and stretch which is handy when the project your working on has corners and curves (which most do).  See the welting on our couch pillows below.  It's covered in corduroy fabric, and as you can see, the stripes of the corduroy are running diagonally. It's visually more appealing than if they were all horizontal or vertical, and it was much easier for the seamstress to work with as she constructed the pillows.  Pay no attention to the errant cat hairs there...they're everywhere!

The steps may seem overwhelming, but hang in there!  You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it ends up being.  I've seen other "easy" methods, but with this one you'll save more time in the cutting stage at the end. 

You want to start with a rectangular or square piece of fabric.  The beauty is that any size rectangular or square piece will do.  The proportions don't matter.  I had a long narrow piece that I wanted to use.  And if you're making a project that will be washed in the future (slipcover, pillow cover, etc) be sure you wash and dry the fabric a couple of times to pre-shrink it. 

Fold it in half.

I lined up the pattern to keep the seams neat and tidy (as you can see on the two edges on the left).  This isn't necessary, but with a pattern this bold and obvious the seams will be less noticeable in the end if you do this. 
Now, sew around the three open edges, so you end up with a completely enclosed rectangle.  Three sides are sewn shut, and one is the fold.

Trim the edges so you have about a 1/4 inch of fabric outside of your seams.  Now use a long straight edge to draw a line connecting two diagonal corners (use the corner of the seams, not the edge of the fabric). 

Now, flip the fabric over and draw another line connecting the other two diagonal corners on the other side.

Next you want to carefully cut along the lines you've drawn.  BE SURE to only cut the layer of fabric where the line is drawn.  First pinch the top layer and make a small snip along the line. 

 Now carefully cut along the line, then flip and cut along the line on the other side. 

 Cut right up to the corner as shown below.  If you're concerned about cutting too far, just stop short and cut farther in a minute.

Trim the corners.

You're left with a tube of fabric with several seams.   (Now you can see how the cuts have worked, and if you need to cut a bit farther in the corners, do it now.)

 Iron the seams open. 

Lay your tube out flat, and fold one end towards the other.  Leave 6-8" of fabric unfolded (let's call this "the flap".

You may want to fold again.  This step will depend on how long your particular tube is.  If it's very long and narrow, you may end up folding/stacking several times.  Just be sure to leave that extra fabric flap, marked below.  Make sure you have scissors sharp enough to cut through the stack, too.  If you don't think your scissors can make it through very many layers, don't fold as much. 

So far, so good?  Now we'll mark our cuts.  The width of the strips will depend on your particular project.  I was using a pretty skinny piping, so I wanted my strips to be 1.5" wide.  Use a ruler to mark your cuts on the stack of folded fabric.

Carefully cut along the lines you've marked on the folded stack.  Be careful to just cut to the edge of the stack, barely into that flap.

Here's what your tube looks like now.

Loop your tube around your ironing board, or carefully lay it out on a table (if you can't hang it, make sure you put a piece of cardboard or something sturdy in the middle of the loop, so you only end up cutting through that top layer in the next step.

This is probably the most crucial step:  In the photo below I've labeled the cut intersections.  Draw lines connecting the bottom intersection to the adjacent top intersection.

See how "bottom a" is connected to "top b" then "bottom b" to "top c" and so on?  Now, cut along these lines.   

 You're left with one long continuous bias strip!  The two ends are narrowed to a point, so I just snip those pointed ends off.

 To cover the welting, simply use your zipper foot.  I don't even pin it.

A couple of caveats:
-  If you need wider bias strips, you may want to leave a longer flap.  There will be an angle in the strip at those intersections I labeled in white, and the shorter that flap is, the sharper those angles will be.   The longer the flap is, the wider (and less noticeable) the angles will be.
- The size of your original piece of fabric can help you estimate the amount of finished strip you will have.  If you were to start off with a 20x60 piece of fabric, and you simply cut it into several 2" wide strips, you would get 10 strips that are 60" long, or 600" total of strips.  Using the method above, you'll get roughly the same length of strips from that same piece of fabric.  You would want to subtract a bit for seam allowances, but you should be able to roughly estimate how long your strip will be by measuring your original fabric.

Thanks for sticking with me 'til the end!  I hope you'll come back soon to see the project this was made for.  Here's a sneak peek.

 Please let me know if you have any questions, or if I need to clarify something.  Just leave a comment. 

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