It's makeover Monday and as promised, I have a different (something other than paint) makeover to share with you.
I bought this ottoman/footstool at the Habitat for Humanity Restore back before Christmas, and I just recently got around to making a simple slipcover for it. It was $5.00.
For this project I used a bleached drop cloth.
I began by draping the fabric over the top of the footstool and then cutting a long the four sides of the stool to get the top piece.
To get a snug fit, I pinned and then stitched the tucks at each of the four corners.
Next, I made the piping. As you can see, this ottoman has two rows of piping, so my slipcover will have the same. Piping is one of those details that gives an at home sewing project a professional look, so don't skip. It's worth the extra effort. To figure out how much piping I needed, I took the cording and wrapped it around the stool twice, using the existing piping as my guide. I then cut 3" strips of the drop cloth and stitched them together to get the length needed to cover the cording. I then centered the cording in the middle of the fabric and stitched it closed using a zipper foot. The zipper foot helps you get as close to the cording as possible. Honestly, my zipper foot rarely comes off my machine. I'll explain why in another post!! Now I have one long continuous piece of piping that I can attach and then cut where I need to.
Next I put the fabric top on the stool inside out and pin the piping, right sides together and raw edges facing the same direction.
I then stitched the piping to the slipcover top, removing pins along the way.
Where one end of the piping meets the other, simply cross the pieces, stitch into place, allowing the end to disappear. You can then cut the piping. The remaining long piece will be the second row of piping.
This is what it will look like right side out.
At this point I measured for the band that will go between the two pieces of piping.
After I cut the fabric to make the band, I decide to go ahead and cut the fabric for the ruffle. I was already on the floor, so I thought I might as well. I cut the fabric for both the band and the ruffle at 3 inches. For the ruffle, I turned the fabric longways so that I could use the selvage as the finished edge of my ruffle. I ended up sewing 3 strips together to make the band. For the ruffle, I measured 2 and 1/2 times around the ottoman to have enough fabric to make the ruffle. I sewed several pieces together to get the desired length. I then just manually gathered the fabric as I went along, stitching my gathers in place to create a ruffle.
With the slipcover inside out, and positioned on the stool, I pinned the band to the top piece. Again, right sides together, all raw edges facing the same direction. After sewing the band in place, I pinned and stitched the remaining pipping to the band. I then turned the slipcover right side out and pinned the ruffle to the underneath side.
I then sewed on the ruffle, stitching right along the edge of the piping.
Notice I sew in a way that keeps the bulk of the fabric to the left of the machine. This eliminates a lot of goofs, like fabric getting sewn where it doesn't need to be!!!! After I attached the ruffle, I trimmed all of my raw edges and cut off all those pesky little strings.
Voila!!! This cheap and cheerful project actually ended up in my retail space. The size and fabric make this ottoman very versatile. I did scotchguard the piece, but the beauty of slipcovers is that they can be tossed in the washing machine.
Thank you for visiting for another Makeover Monday!! I'm so glad I made it by five o'clock, barely under the wire!! It's been a Monday on every level....LOL!!!