Sometimes old furniture or seats in the car spoil the interior with their pretty shabby look. Throwing them away is not always desirable, or simply there is no way to buy new furniture due to the high cost. Sewing covers for a comfortable sofa, chair or seat will be the best solution in this situation. This will not only give a new life to furniture, but also save a significant amount of money.
Where to start sewing covers?
Refreshing old furniture with the help of new covers is possible for everyone who has a sewing machine at hand and has basic knowledge in sewing. For work, you will also need:
- cut scissors;
- pins;
- strong threads;
- crayon or special pencil;
- various elements for decoration (optional).
First you need to choose the right fabric. The choice in this case will depend on several factors, the main of which will be wear resistance. If furniture is not often used and rather performs a decorative function, then covers for it can be made of velor, tapestry or flock. In large families, where there are small children or pets, furniture covers are best made from very durable, wear-resistant and non-creasing fabrics. Relax or jacquard is best in this case. Their cost is much higher, but they will last much longer.
Sewing automobile covers must be made from specially designed fabrics. It is best to use car jacquard, flock or vinyl leather for this. These materials are characterized by high wear resistance. They easily tolerate oil pollution, frequent washing or cleaning.
We select fabric by color
The next step will be the choice of colors of the material from which the sewing of covers will be made. Furniture should harmoniously fit into the interior, so it is better that its colors are combined with the colors of the walls or be as suitable as possible in style.
If the interior of the room is made in the same colors and lacks zest, then for furniture it is better to choose a bright fabric that will favorably refresh the atmosphere.
Sewing covers on the car is made of fabric selected according to the same principle. The color of the material used should fit into the interior without damaging its interior. Sometimes the bright colors of the seat covers can enliven the atmosphere in the car, so you can give preference to fabrics of catchy saturated tones.
Building a pattern
The pattern by which sewing covers for furniture will be made can be done in two ways. The first is suitable for experienced sewing masters who can build patterns according to the taken standards. To do this, you need to measure the furniture and according to the received data to build a pattern taking into account allowances for seams and hem edges.
People who are not aces in sewing, it is better to use a different way. To build a pattern, they will need a greenhouse film. It needs to be applied to all parts of the furniture, whether it is a back, armrest or other, and outlined at the places of the alleged seams. After that, the details drawn on the film must be cut out, and the pattern is ready.
Sewing covers for chairs is the easiest, and inexperienced in the manufacture of such products, people better start with it. After the first satisfactory result, you can proceed to more complex work: sew a cover on a sofa or easy chair.
Preparation of fabric for cutting
So that new covers do not deform during use or after washing, the fabric from which they will be sewn must be specially treated. To do this, you need to wash, iron, dry, and only then take on the cut.
But it is worth considering that for some materials such treatment is contraindicated. If sewing covers on the car seats will be made of vinyl leather, then it is better not to conduct heat treatment. Too high temperatures can ruin this material.
How to cut parts correctly?
Transferring the pattern to the fabric when sewing furniture covers, it is necessary to take into account some subtleties. Seam allowances are best done more than sewing clothes. Ideally, they should be at least 7 cm. To exclude errors during cutting, you need to put a piece on the fabric, outline it and add the size of the allowances around the entire perimeter. If, when constructing the pattern, the size of the allowances was taken into account, then you only need to transfer the pattern to the material.
If sewing covers on furniture is made of fabric with a pattern, then the details of the pattern must be laid out so that after stitching it matches. Otherwise, the cover will not look very beautiful, and all your work will be in vain. To eliminate such a nuisance, it is better to use material with a simple pattern that does not require strict coincidence for sewing covers, or plain.
How to sew covers on upholstered furniture?
In order for the cover to look beautiful on the furniture, it should fit well to it. This is difficult to achieve, but still possible. Before sewing, the details of the pattern must be fastened directly to the couch (armchair, chair), having laid them out first in their places. In places of stitching they need to be fastened with pins. By sewing furniture covers in this way, you can make products that are perfectly sized.
After fastening the parts, the cover must be carefully removed from the furniture and the joints should be stitched with a bright thread. To be sure, after sweeping it can be tried on and adjusted if necessary. After that, sew all the seams on a sewing machine.
The finished cover must be ironed, the seams should be steamed, and only then put on furniture.
Do not be upset if sewing covers with your own hands did not work out a bit. Having shown a little imagination, mistakes can always be hidden with decorative elements. Uneven seams can be hidden behind beautiful lace, satin ribbons or fringe. If the errors are too large, and the cover is too small, you can increase it with various inserts, beautifully designed.
Tailoring of covers for the car
Car covers are sewn by another method. Fastening them to the seat is rather inconvenient, so after cutting all the details are swept away along the drawn lines. After this, a fitting is made. If the cover fits well with the seat, it can be stitched. Otherwise, it is necessary to correct the mistakes made. After the machine has sewn all the seams into the cover, you need to sew a "zipper", elastic or Velcro. The finished product must be ironed if the material can tolerate high temperatures. Leather products or other materials that are not suitable for exposure to high temperatures do not need to be ironed.
Sewing covers is a very interesting and useful activity. It allows you to spend time with benefit, transform an apartment or a car and save money. If the covers turn out to be very beautiful, then sewing them can become for you additional or even basic earnings. A successful product will always be striking to guests or passengers who may want to order beautiful covers for their furniture.