The Nester linked to this post which she calls the Laziest Slipcover tutorial ever. I am claiming that prize however! Honestly the couch was even easier. The secret to my lazy success? Two words – Staple Gun. Ok two more – safety pins.

I bought a pair of these couches some 5 yrs ago at a sale on base. They originally lived in the Officers Club lounge so they were commercially sized (nearly 100 in wide) and built for lots of use. The down side was they were covered with an oatmeal tweed which looks quite nasty after very little use. They were already yucky looking when I got to them but the frame and springs were rock solid and they were large enough for our clan. For less than $100 a piece I snatched them up.

We have used premade slipcovers on these over the years but they come undone so easily it was a constant battle to keep them tidy. I hatched a plan last spring to reupholster. The fabric is a faux leather from – where else? Walmart. It was less than $8/yard. I picked up ten yards and then got cold feet. As the pregnancy progressed it just started to seem monumental. I was going to buy more slipcovers and an extra to make separate cushions. Then decided shoot, I already have the material. It is going to need sewing anyway. On a whim, Moira and I tracked down the staple gun and had at it. Less than an hr later we had the whole frame covered.

The cushions were a breeze since they are squares. We just set the cushion on a rectangle of fabric, sewed up the sides and literally – pinned the bottoms. You never see them and I don’t do zippers.

Let me tell you what we learned about the base. First look closely at your upholstery. Chances are the sides went on first and wrapped tightly around the arms. This is what I have seen in upholstery bks and what we did. What we didn’t do was rip off all the existing upholstery. I am ambitious but not insane. Instead, we pulled the new fabric tight and stapled into any bit of frame we could find. Where we couldn’t, we pinned (large safety pins). Then we folded fabric and draped it across the front and back, over the stapled sections. Since it is a faux leather it doesn’t move much but rather catches on the other layer and holds.

If you look very closely, as I am now that I have close ups, it is not professional at the folds. BUT, I generally have a throw tossed over the arms anyway. It is durable, easy to clean and we have commercial quality sofas for next to nothing. Enough for me!

I think it would have been an easier job with twill or the like. Not sure I would do the leather look fabric again simply because I don’t like it as well draping in front. To me, leather ought to be tightened down everyplace. But, since this is a lazy woman’s tutorial you can see it didn’t bother me enough to rip it off and replace it. I feel fairly certain my children will eventually irreversibly damage some part of it, allowing me to try again with something else. I am so fortunate that way lol!