Linen Slipcover (Part 1)

 OK friends and fellow DIY'ers!  I have decided to give making a LINEN SLIPCOVER for my EKTORP SOFA a try!  You may, or may not remember the gorgeous ruffled LINEN bedskirt I made for my daughters bed with it's amazing wrinkliness

 

 It wasn't easy-I'm not the greatest sewer and I have little patience-the sewing machine was close a few times to being thrown out the door! I'm not kidding! I was like.......just walk away...breathe!

I also made a LINEN slipcover for my thrift store chair. This was also frustrating BUT...IT CAN BE DONE!  Taking your time and thinking things through is the key. I searched all over for linen and found it to be quite pricey. I had already purchased a couple of the LINBLOMMA 100% linen duvet cover sets from IKEA and loved them but it took a while for it to CLICK! I realized because they were quite inexpensive for the amount of linen you get- purchasing more sets for my projects was the way to go!  Here in Canada the duvet cover sets are twin 69.99, full/queen 89.99 and king 99.99. When compared to fabric shops-this was the cheaper route. I am hoping I will only have to use my KING size duvet cover for the whole couch but I will see how it goes as I sew along.

I am not the greatest at giving step by step instructions, or following instructions for that matter!  I get a lot out of just looking at photos. I did find a lot of information on pinterest! OH HOW I LOVE PINTEREST! I read over a couple slipcover tutorials, and from those I decided to start, I am not following any one tutorial in particular at this point. You are welcome to ask me any question you may have! I started out by cutting 2 of the side seams out of my king duvet cover so I was left with one GIANT sheet of material. I laid one corner section of my large 'sheet' over the couch and I cut a section off to fit the seat and back rest. I am leaving this as one piece I didnt feel the need to cut it apart and sew it back together for the very back corner. The front section is about 6 inches from the floor because I will be adding a separate section for the skirt. Always keep in mind leaving that extra 1 INCH of material everywhere for your hems.

Next I laid another section over the top part of the arm to meet with base, and along the side I cut it at about 6 inches from floor since I will be adding a skirt.

Then I pinned all along the edges where the pieces meet up trying to be tight in the groove. There was some extra length of material hanging so I cut it down closer to my pins so it would be easier to see & sew.

Then I got a piece of paper and as best I could I cut it to the shape of the arm.

Then I pinned that to the material and cut a section that was about 1 inch larger than the paper. (it doesnt look like there is an extra inch in photo but there is)

Then I pinned that section to the part going up over the top of the arm

Then I sewed those sections together! and YES my pins are in the wrong direction but HEY!

One of the hardest parts about sewing sometimes is working inside out and backwards!!!
I did all the work on the left hand side of the couch-for the right side!  My brain isn't always that high functioning!

AND YES!!! It's looking pretty good so far! I chose not to add piping on the edges. Not ONLY because it is way less work, but the IKEA slipcover I have on this Ektorp sofa right now is the Stenasa and it doesn't have piping either and it kinda grew on me.

So this is the point I am at now, I will do a little more as soon as possible! It is Easter weekend and the Easter bunny will be hiding some chocolate eggs for the kids (me) and we will be enjoying a nice turkey dinner as well. I hope you all enjoy your weekend my friends! Mel