Another Slip

allie • Aug 18, 2011

I ran away to Wisconsin this week, for good reason.  Ryan took my last functioning toilet!  It really is a good thing because that means he’s onto plumbing, yay!!  But, I didn’t really care to stick around to watch him put in the pvc while peeing on a tree if you know what I mean.  So to Grandma’s house we go.  Oh how Grandma loves us:) wink wink

While I was at home I thought I might as well bring a project with me, and while it crossed my mind to throw my wing back in the trunk, I second guessed it when I needed to pack up actual necessities.  So, instead I threw in Kynlee’s little rocking chair we got for free when we purchased her bed on craigslist.  The nice family threw it in for us:)  It was cute, but just not quite the right colors, so since I am in love with slipping these days (the result not the process!)  I thought it would be the perfect project to do while I was at home.  Especially since if I didn’t do it here it probably wouldn’t get done until she was too big to acutally sit in the chair!  Anyway, here is her cute little chair before..

It was fun kind of Grandmas bedspread chenille fabric, but some of it was rubbing off and the stripes didn’t match the new color scheme. So, to the slip we go.

I started by buying 2 yards of duck cloth fabric, normally 9.99 a yard but I had a 50% percent off coupon and an additional 20% off the entire purchase, so it was only $8!!  I also bought some piping and a 1/2 yard of pink fabric to encase it in.

Once I got home I washed my fabric in hot water and dried it to shrink it up so it would still fit after I washed it once it was made (the beauty of slip covers!!)

Then I started by just draping and tucking the fabric on the chair.  This is allie’s version of “pattern making.”  Super precise :)  And I have a really great helper/expert sewer in the back helping me out!

After you tuck it you can start cutting it, and then pinning it tightly to fit. Some people say to pin it a little loose so you have a little extra room, but I’m not a fan of the extra loose, sloppy looking slips so I tend to pin it a little tighter and figure it will stretch if it needs to!

This was my first piece. I like to start with the back cushion seat and then the back of the chair. Then trim to leave about 1/2 inch. You really do want to try to utilize your fabric as best as possible, so try to be smart about placement.

Here’s the slip all cut out and pinned, and then after it is pinned I baste, which means to loosely hand stitch all the seams. Trust me, I’m a lazy girl on this kinda stuff, but it’s worth it on slipcovers!! After this you carefully take the slip off, carry it to your machine, and start sewing on your basted line. If you are going to do piping this is when you would insert it into the arms and top seams. I like to do it after I have it all pinned. I unpin one piece at a time, stick it in and pin it back up so I don’t loose the whole shape. After an afternoon of sewing with my sister, about 4 hours later I had this little cutie!

I forgot to mention that I added a gathered skirt on the bottom to flirt it up a bit. The skirt is the best part because it pulls the whole piece together.  Gathered skirts are super easy, you just measure how long you need it and cut a piece of fabric. Hem one edge for the bottom and then loosely hand stitch the top in about 1 inch stitches. Then pull your thread until it is loosely gathered, add your piping, and sew it on. I pin it and then sew it on the right side and just stitch in the ditch. Much easier than trying to flip it inside out!

It’s definately not perfect, and a cute little pillow with a “K” on it will help to hide some of that, but it’s a one of a kinder…and 8 bucks! Can’t argue with that:) Oh, and Kynlee loves it too, if you can’t tell by how relaxed she is, what a goof!

So I know some of you are super intimidated by slipping, but when I tell you that I am honestly not a good sewer, I mean it. You just gotta try. I always cross my fingers and say a little prayer that there will be no holes and that it will fit, and most of the time it does!! Let me know if you slip something at your house, I’d love to see it!!

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