Another Couch Recovery

I have been lax in my posting this last week mainly due to the fact that we're "back-to-school." I homeschool and this year we have a pretty full schedule. I know--excuses, excuses.

Since I added a full-time school load, I thought I'd also recover my faded couch. That makes sense, doesn't it? Actually, my son was working nearby and I looked at the couch and I was ashamed. It was already faded. Now there were two holes developing. It was just time.

Here it is "before":



The fabric was a freebie I acquired last summer. It's very heavy-duty. Here, I've recovered the back and have begun on the bottom front:

Remember, this is not a professional re-upholstery job. This is a "no-sew" slipcover using the staple gun, safety pins, hot glue, and lots of tucking. Here you see the bottom front being secured to the seat with safety pins:

I tipped the couch over to show how I just tucked and stapled underneath. It is NOT a pretty sight. Good thing that the only way others will see it is if they're crawling around on my floor. If they're doing that, well, they deserve to see this!:

I had only five yards of the flowered material. I picked up some soft green fabric (about 3 yards) for $1.00 and used it on the sides where it wouldn't matter that it isn't sturdy. This material will also go on the back, but I have to piece it together. I haven't done that yet. The couch sits against the wall. I'll get to it sometime...I promise!

The fronts of the arms are the most annoying part. Here I show how I've trimmed and stapled the edges onto the front. I attempted to make a template (with paper) and cut a piece to glue to the front. The attempt was not a great success, but these raggedy edges are at least covered. (You'll see the picture of the fronts in the finished pic.)

The completed (except for the back) project. So, as long as no one crawls on my floor and looks underneath, moves the couch forward to look at the back, or peers too closely at the fronts of the arms, I think this will pass!

For $1.00 and five hours of work, I'm satisfied with the results.

Now, it's time for school...

(For step-by-step instructions on sew-free re-upholstery, click HERE.)