Trying a New Denim

May 20, 2015 Sherri Rice

Sometimes our beloved animals are hard on furniture - can anyone relate? My client brought this chair and ottoman that had had some unwanted attention from a cat. And, somehow the tapestry fabric did not handle the attention very well. But, the chair was still very comfortable and had great lines, so slipcovers came to the rescue.

English roll arms and a rolled back? Yes, please!

My client wanted something in a natural color, that was also durable and washable for life with animals. We selected the bull denim recommended by The Slipcover Maker. And here is the After...

And here is the pair...

A simple design, with piping and knife pleats around the bottom.

August Blues - After, Chair and Ottoman2

The rolled back is such a elegant feature, I think...

I really like this fabric - it is sturdy, but soft enough to be able to work it around curves and fashion details like the pleats (and the price is very reasonable). I would definitely consider it for our home, if I thought I could get away with such a light color ;) Note: the shrinkage is about 6"/yd. so make sure you allow enough fabric for pre-washing!

August Blues - After, Chair and Ottoman3

Do you have a favorite slipcover fabric?

Sherri

The Chair with Two Left Feet

April 30, 2015 Sherri Rice

...or When a $5 Craigslist Chair is Just a $5 Craigslist Chair :) This is a story about a chair...

I thought the corner of our front room (my office/furniture holding room) needed a little something, a chair specifically. I like wing chairs for the height they bring to a seating arrangement, so I went to Craigslist to see what I could find. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a chair whose primary job was to fill a space and look good (with a slipcover, of course), so when I spotted one nearby for $5, I contacted the seller about details and we went to have a look.

The seat cushion was attached, not my favorite, but the rest of the chair seemed ok - sturdy enough, the fabric was in good shape, and it didn't smell funny. So, we took it... I mean, it was $5! And, I soon realized why it was only $5...

When we were loading the chair, I noticed that one of the back legs had been put on wrong. Well, that would be an easy fix. Once we got it home, I attempted to fix that rogue leg and realized that both back legs were the same, as in they both belonged on the same side of the chair. And the legs were plastic, not wood :/ And then (yes, there is more!) I looked more closely and noticed that both front legs also belonged to the same side of the chair. Who makes a chair like that??? And who pays money for a chair like that? Ahem...

Well, I didn't get around to slipcovering it for awhile and eventually that chair got moved to the bedroom. And then I noticed that my favorite chair (not the one with two left feet, but another one that actually was a great Craigslist find) was being used to hold the Professsor's clothes - what?! So, the Craigslist chair promptly got moved to his side of the room , so I could use my favorite chair for actually sitting in! And then, finally I had time to make a slipcover :)

I used a chunk of dropcloth, and added some leftover white piping. I didn't have enough fabric to make a long skirt to hide the wonky legs, but since the chair's new job was to hold clothes, I figured no one would notice. And here it is...

August Blues - Dropcloth Sliipcover After1

Whew, much better, even if it is actually as off kilter as it looks in the picture! It now blends perfectly with the rest of the bedroom decor and is beautifully serving it's purpose.

August Blues - Dropcloth Slipcover Close-up

Now, the lesson to be learned could be "buyer beware when shopping Craigslist" and that's a great lesson. However...

August Blues - Dropcloth Slipcover After2

...I'm going to go with the Nester, who says "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."

Can I get an "Amen!" to that?

Sherri

P.S. And can I just ask, can we make clothing-holding chairs a thing?? Because, I'm pretty sure we all have them... ;)

Inspired Parsons Chair

April 22, 2015 Sherri Rice

I finished this project a few months ago - please ignore the Christmas tree in the pictures :) My client brought her chair (that she had already painstakingly stripped of its upholstery fabric), beautiful lightweight linen fabric, and an inspiration picture. Mmmm... more linen :)

Here is the inspiration picture, provided by the inimitable L.S. Slipcovers of Houston (follow them on Instagram for more inspiration!)...

Amazing, right?

Here is our version...

I decided to self-line the linen so it would support the design better. And, of course, all the fun is around the back...

My client requested covered buttons for the back, the perfect finishing touch...

August Blues - Parsons Chair Covered Buttons

A timeless design in a timeless fabric.

There may be more of these coming (I may need to get one of those covered button making machines!) :)

Sherri

It's a Vintage Revival

April 16, 2015 Sherri Rice

Sometimes the right thing comes along at the right time, even if it wasn't quite what you originally had in mind. Such was the case for my client with this pair of vintage chairs. In perfect shape and at a great price, they filled the need for a couple of chairs for a sitting area.

Now it was time for a new look, something a little more neutral to show off the wonderful cushions she makes (see her shop here). So, she chose dropcloth and went with the 10 oz weight, which was perfect for the simple style she wanted. And, here is the After...

No piping, and a waterfall skirt give this chair contemporary, clean lines.

I wrapped the existing foam cushions in new batting and gave them an underslip before putting them in their new covers.

To manage the curve of the front and back, I followed the original seam lines with my fabric panels.

And now this pair has a new lease on life!

Have you found anything vintage for your home lately?

Sherri

New Life for a Nursery Rocker

March 27, 2015 Sherri Rice

We are all back to work/school after Spring Break (if you follow on Instagram, you will have seen some of our adventures), and it is good! This project is a great example of how a little creativity can prolong the useful life of a quality piece of furniture. My client had an adorable rocker that she had used in her kids' nursery. It was custom made locally, and was a great piece that she was hoping to save for her kids to use for their own families. But she didn't want it to just hang out in storage. Here it is...

You may have noticed that this chair has legs, not rockers. My client was able to remove the rockers and replace them with pretty legs. Now this chair can go anywhere an extra seat is needed!

My client chose linen for the slipcover (I believe it was Snow Glynn Linen from Covington). She requested a gathered skirt and piping trim. And here it is...

The gathered skirt was perfect for the curvy form of the chair. It was finished with a blind hem.

Reminds me of this chair I did in dropcloth...

Augusst Blues - Inspiration and Inspired

Because of the curves, we opted to do a zipper down the middle of the back, concealed behind a faux button placket...

The linen just seemed to need mother-of-pearl buttons :)

August Blues - Button Placket

Now the chair has grown up and is ready for it's new place in the guest room.

Do you have a chair, or other furniture piece, you can repurpose?

Sherri

P.S. Linking up here :)

More Velvet...

March 18, 2015 Sherri Rice

Velvet seems to be having a moment, and this is carrying over into my slipcover projects lately. In this case, we were giving a playroom couch a new look. We started with a basic couch that had been wearing a white cotton slipcover...

My client was looking for a new look, and one that would be durable as this couch lives in a well-used playroom. Here is the result...

New look accomplished! The slipcover is a little rumpled from being transported - this project was accomplished via an on-site pin-fitting, with construction happening at my workroom - but the rumples will smooth out over time. The fabric is from Famcor Fabrics (fabric here) and it's a heavy duty polyester velvet. She has also used this fabric for the upholstery on her living room sectional and found that spills are not absorbed and are, therefore, easily wiped up - perfect for a busy family household!

The sturdy nature of the fabric lent itself very well to the simple design that my client was looking for - a waterfall skirt and no piping.

The fabric was soooo soft, it was hard to resist petting it ;) And I can't wait to see the finished space - my client has a collection of botanical prints to go on the wall above the couch and French script pillows to accent the new slipcover. In the words of her young daughter "Perfect!"

What fabric would you choose for a playroom?

Sherri

An IKEA Refresh

February 16, 2015 Sherri Rice

It's fun when the friend of a client contacts me and says "I want to get on your list!" So, I was excited to get to this project - an IKEA couch and chair. And the fabric would be dropcloth. Here are the pieces before, with their original IKEA slipcovers...

I haven't looked at IKEA slipcovers lately, but these ones had no extra opening to make them easier to take on and off, and, over time, they had shrunk a little. My client was very excited to have covers that she wouldn't have to fight to get on and off! She provided the 10 oz dropcloth and specified a pleated skirt. Lots and lots of pleats later, here they are...

Hard to believe those are IKEA pieces! And, by the way, she has the cutest house :)

She requested piping only around the skirt, so the rest of the seams were left clean and simple.

The furry member of the family was eager to try them out...

Lots and lots of box pleats (with a 2" turned hem)...

And then, because these pieces float in the room, we had to dress up the back...

I know I said in an earlier post something about buttons needing to be functional, well, I'm eating my words now ;) My client wanted the button look, but wanted the security and streamlined look of a zipper. So, did both - underneath the button placket is a functioning zipper. And now the slipcovers go on and off with ease!

And aren't her pillows gorgeous?

These pieces are destined for a keeping room in Tennessee (I so love the idea of a keeping room!), so my client is playing with different ideas for accessories - I can't wait to see them in their new home!

Do you have IKEA slipcovered pieces? What do you think of how they work for you?

Sherri

It's All About the Velvet

January 29, 2015 Sherri Rice

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook (it's where are the fun is, you know ;)), you will have seen some velvet goodness happening in my workroom. This is the project... My client contacted me, looking for covers for her couch cushions. She has a leather couch and a largish puppy who was leaving his claw marks on the cushions.

As you can see, her first line of defense was to flip the cushions so the full leather sides were underneath. But, of course, this was not the look she was going for. So, covers were in order. She has a collection of South American textiles and thought that a rich velvet would complement these best. We found a delicious chocolate cotton velvet that was an almost perfect match to her couch!

After...

The fabric was very nice (lots of colors at fabric.com :)) and was a good weight - there was measurable shrinkage, but otherwise, it washed and dried beautifully. We added piping edges to the cushions and made arm covers as well. I made the arm covers extra long, so they would tuck under and be held in place by the back cushions.

August Blues - Velvet Cushions and Arm Covers

Velvet can have a tendency to "creep" against itself when it's being sewn together, but this was minimal with this fabric.

Looks comfy to me!

I hadn't had a chance to work with velvet on this scale before; I think I might need to see what other velvet projects I can come up with :)

Do you have velvet in your home?

Sherri

Welcome to August Blues - I'm so glad
you're here! August Blues Slipcover Studio strives to enable your home to better serve its purpose, by providing you with quality custom slipcovers that enhance the appearance and functionality of your furniture pieces. Established in 2011 and located in Denton, TX...Read More

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