Karen Erickson - The Complete Photo Guide to Slipcovers, Pillows, and Bedding

Copyright 2014 Creative Publishing international, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any meansgraphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping of information on storage and retrieval systemswithout the written permission of the publisher. However, the publisher grants to the purchaser of this book permission to reproduce the templates in the book for personal use.

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Digital edition published in 2014

Digital edition: 978-1-61058-420-3
Softcover edition: 978-1-58923-690-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

Copy Editor: Kari Cornell

Proofreader: Karen Levy

Photography: Teresa Bennett, pg. ; Therese M. Davis,

pg.

Cover Image: Courtesy of Bujor Handmades/www.bujorprov.com

SLIPCOVERS,
PILLOWS & BEDDING

Sewing for your home is one of the most meaningful and expressive ways to impart your personality and style in every room. Doing it yourself gives you the freedom to choose colors, fabrics, and design features in combinations that are not offered or may be difficult to find in stores or online. If youve ever shopped for bedding to coordinate with the existing wall colors and window treatments in a bedroom, you understand ready-made limitations. And when it comes to slipcovers, ready-made options are fashioned to fit only a few basic styles, so you may be stuck with ill-fitting covers made in fabric choices that are severely limited.

DIY home sewing is obviously less expensive than paying for custom-made soft furnishings, but it can also be thriftier than buying ready-made. The money you save in labor costs can be spent on higher-quality fabric or a few extra decorator pillows.

REVIVING YOUR FURNITURE WITH SLIPCOVERS

You dont have to buy new furniture to give your home a new look. In fact, you may love your furnitures style and the way it fits you, but youve grown a little tired of the color or pattern. Slipcovers give your furniture a fresh start when you want to change the color scheme of a room, update faded or worn upholstery, or simply alter the ambiance with the changing of the seasons.

Slipcovers can also modify the style of your furnishings a bit. You are limited somewhat by your furnitures original linea wing chair will always be a wing chairbut you can make a slipcover that changes the look considerably. Unmatched pieces of furniture youve acquired at sales or secondhand shops can be slipcovered in matching or coordinating fabrics to unify them.

If that favorite chair still has firm padding and a sturdy frame, a custom-fitted slipcover is a great alternative to reupholstering it. Hugging the chair like a glove, a fitted slipcover gives the chair new life without changing its identity and without the added work of stripping the original cover and reupholstering. With slipcovers, family heirlooms and cherished antiques can retain their valuable first skin while playing an active role in the decorating plan.

The projects in this book use typical furniture candidates for slipcovers with variations in fabrics, skirt styles, and closures. You can mix and match techniques to design slipcovers that are just right for your furniture and dcor. Various methods of slipcovering will be explored, each with step-by-step instructions. Experienced slipcover makers often work directly with the decorator fabric, which saves them time. But by making a muslin pattern, youre able to keep the pattern to make additional slipcovers from the same type of fabric at another time. Some slipcovers are easy to make, requiring only measuring the furniture and cutting the fabric into rectangles. Separate cutting instructions are provided for many of the projects. For some slipcovers, the cutting directions are incorporated into the instructions. Always read the You Will Need to Know section for important information specific to the project.

SEWING PILLOWS, BEAN BAG CHAIRS, TUFFETS, AND BEDDING

Pillows are among the easiest sewing projects and they require only a small amount of fabric, yet they provide comfort and decorative punch for bedrooms, dens, and living rooms. Using the techniques shown in this book, you can design countless pillows in a wide range of fabrics, with edge treatments and embellishments to suit any dcor and budget.

Snuggle up with a book in a beanbag chair or put up your feet on a tuffet. These comfortable and stylish soft furnishings are easy and inexpensive to make. They are also great for rec rooms, childrens bedrooms, and dorm rooms.

Sew bedding ensembles to dress up your bedrooms. Choose from a variety of styles, including duvet covers with coordinating pillow shams and bed skirts, lined and unlined coverlets, and full bedspreads. When you sew them yourself, you can choose fabrics in textures, colors, and patterns you like. Make duvet covers in washable, lightweight fabrics for comfort and ease of care. Design bedspreads in silk fabric with rayon cording for a formal master bedroom.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Each project includes a materials list of everything youll need. The list doesnt specify how much fabric to purchase because that will depend on the size of your furniture or mattress and the size of the pattern repeat for the printed fabric. The list doesnt include general sewing supplies like T-pins, glass head pins, fabric shears, straight edge for measuring, fabric markers, sewing machine, foot attachments such as zipper or cording foot, thread, iron, and pressing surface. Each project does include cutting directions and some advice to help you choose fabric and embellishments. Step-by-step instructions are accompanied by photographs to help you make slipcovers, pillows, and bedding youll be proud to show in your home.

If you come across any unfamiliar words or phrases, check out the Terms to Know list on .

SLIPCOVERS

T he techniques and projects in this section begin with the easiest slipcovers and progress to higher difficulty levels. While you are not likely to work your way through in order, it is helpful to read through all of the instructions and study the photographs. Skills learned in the easier projects are likely to help you understand and execute the techniques for more complicated projects.