Sunday, April 11, 2010

Sofa Dilemma


Do you remember this sofa from my fix it post?
It has seen better days.
Both seat cushions have tears in them and a little bit of the fabric
on the arms is worn out.
It
cost a lot and is a really comfortable, good quality (except the fabric) sofa,
so I don't want to get rid of it.

The only problem is, it will cost $500 plus fabric to reupholster it, so
I bought a slip cover for $49 from Ikea thinking it might work.
It almost did.
The back fits perfectly.
From what I can determine it has three problem areas.
Two of them I think I can fix, but the third one I would need to hire someone to fix.
First the skirt on the front isn't quite long enough.
I think that would be an easy fix since the slipcover is for a sofa bed it has no middle section, so I could just undo the seams and add a little to each side
or just add a whole new skirt (just the front section).

That would be pretty easy.
Second the arms aren't quite long enough, but if I add a little bit of fabric to the seam pictured below I think that will fix that.
Hopefully, cross my fingers.
The last problem is that the seat cushions are a little bit short.
I would have to hire someone to either add fabric to them or sew new ones altogether.
That would cost me $60 to $80.
It's weird that the back cushions fit great, but the seat cushions don't.
Here's a side view.
It's a risk to start cutting it up. What if it doesn't work? Then I'm stuck with a slipcover I can't return and still have to pay to have it reupholstered or a custom slipcover made. I really want a slipcover, so I can take it off and wash it.
Another option is to have someone sew me some new seat and
back cushions and leave the body of the couch as is.
I don't know if that would look silly though.
I don't know what to do. What would you do?


5 comments:

  1. Simple enough but take it back I'm not the biggest risk taker.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmmm...that is a tough one! I am all about returning in my house!:) but if you are confident in your sewing abilities, why not give it a try? Wish I could sew! Any other places to look for a slipcover that might fit better??? Not much help huh??:)
    Enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here is a tutorial from Pink and Polka dot if you feel you can tackle it yourself.

    http://pinkandpolkadot.blogspot.com/2008/08/laziest-slipcover-tutorial-ever.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for stopping by. I see what you mean. I have made several slipcovers from scratch and I don't know if I would tackle taking that one apart or not. Maybe if you could find the right white. Good luck and I would love to see photos of whatever you choose to do.

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  5. I have that Ikea sofa that slipcover is meant for but they don't have a fabric that matches what I have going on in the room it goes in. My plan is to take the slipcover and use it as a pattern for a new slipcover. I know you've said that you can't sew a straight line but I really think you could tackle this project using the slipcover for a template. And the bottom cushions don't have to be made professionally. On my previous sofa, I made the bottom cushions except that I left a long flap for the back where the zipper would go. I just tucked the excess fabric into the back of the sofa and voila! You could also use velcro or strips of fabric/ribbon sewn on the edges and then tied. No one will see it. It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

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