Re-upholstery can be expensive and it’s not always necessary to start from scratch when you want to put a new face on an old couch. While some slipcovers are complicated, with each pillow re-covered separately, sometimes a basic slipcover is all you need. Aside from being decorative, this type of slipcover is an effective and convenient temporary option for covering a couch when training a new puppy or for those times when adorably messy little guests come to visit.
Remove the cushions from the couch and set them aside.
Measure your couch from the floor next to one arm, up and over the arm down to and across the seat and up and over the other arm to the floor. This is the length of fabric you will need.
Measure your sofa from the floor in front of it up and over the cushions, then up and over the back of the sofa to the floor behind it. You can fudge on this measurement by a few inches if your couch sits snugly against the wall. This is the width of the fabric you will need.
Measure the couch cushions all together. Measure from side to side to get the length, then from front to back to get the width. Measure the height, double it and add that number to both the length and the width. Add another 12 inches so you’ll have enough fabric to tuck under the cushions snugly.
Center your fabric on the sofa. Line the front hem up with the floor in a straight line. Drape the fabric so that every part of the sofa is covered. You may have to wiggle it around a bit.
Tuck the fabric securely into every place the sofa has a crevice. Keep the fabric as flat and smooth as you can.
Lay your smaller piece of fabric so that 6 inches or so is lying on the seat of the couch where it meets the back. Toss the rest of the fabric up on the back of the couch for now.
Replace the cushions on the couch.
Pull the second piece of fabric gently forward from the back of the couch to cover the cushions. Click here and buy your Couch covers. Tuck the loose fabric under the cushions in the front and on both sides. Keep the fabric as flat as you can while you tuck it in because you will feel any lumpy bunches when you sit on them.
Cut four pieces of grosgrain or other ribbon that complement your slipcovers. Each strip of ribbon should be 12 inches long.
Open a large safety pin and hold it in your dominant hand. Reach up under the slipcover at the outside of the left arm right where it meets the seat of the couch, holding the open safety pin.
Attach a piece of ribbon to the slipcover by pinning it from underneath. Slide the pin through the ribbon so that you’ll be able to fold the ribbon over to hide the pin’s shaft. Poke the safety pin back through the fabric and close it. Repeat just inside of the couch arm, and then again for the other arm.
Tie the ribbons in square knots or bows to hold the fabric in place. Tuck any extra fabric that is pooling up on the floor underneath the couch.