Ottoman slipcover

This ottoman slipcover was fairly straightforward.  The only unusual thing about it was making the top out of four pieces so that the design was "up" from each side.  But this helped contour the top, so is a practice I will consider doing for any rounded top, even when the design does not require it.

Here is the "before" picture.  The ottoman measures 37.5" on each side.









The pieced top.  The four triangular pieces came together in the middle.  I topstitched the seam allowances to give a flat appearance.







After attaching cording to the top and side and sewing the sides to the top.








I lined the skirts.  This picture shows mitering the corners on the inside after sewing the lining to the bottom and sides.

The serging is visible here as well.  As a rule, I serge all edges either right after cutting or after completing a seam.



This picture was taken after I basted on the skirt.  I decided it wasn't long enough, so I removed it and lowered it an inch.  Now it just grazes the floor.

You can (barely) see the cover button attached to the top center.  You can also see the separate skirt corner pieces that give it a pleated look.




A closer picture of the top.  The increased seam allowance toward the corners of the ottoman helps it lie flat and follow the contours of the top.  The slipcover is just loose enough to pull on easily, but snug enough to be fitted.  The client was "well pleased" !!

Leather Cushion Slipcover

This project was to slipcover the seat and back cushions from a red leather chair.  Adding to the fun was the fact the cushions were attached with a zip-apart connector to keep them from slipping.  So instead of a zippered or overlapped opening, I would need to leave an open edge where the connector was attached to each piece.

Here is the "before" picture.  The seat cushion is on the left, the back cushion on the right.  They are unzipped at the moment, but you can see the flap on the seat cushion that zips to the bottom of the back cushion.

Since the back cushion was an odd shape, I first made a pattern out of muslin.  I cut pieces of the muslin and pinned them together to fit.  When I got the fit right, I marked the seams with chalk.

I unpinned the muslin and cut proper seam allowances next to the chalk lines.  The next step was to baste the pieces together and do a test (left).

Making a pattern like this is a lot of trouble, not the least of which is undoing the basting so you can use the pattern to cut out the face fabric (which is actually spread out underneath the cushion in these pictures).  But if this client ever needs another slipcover for these pieces, I will be able to use the pattern again!

Cutting out pieces for both cushions and their cording took some planning due to the size of the pieces and the fabric design having an "up."  And I wanted to ensure the seat cushion and back cushion lined up, design-wise.

Here is the finished top.  The slipcover fit snugly, but not too snugly. You can't see it here, but the bottom edge of this cushion is open to allow the connector to attach.

 Here is the finished seat.  I also made a muslin pattern for it.

 The two pieces connected together.  They turned out well, I thought.

Ottoman Cover for Plastic Container for Camper Storage

Wow, I have been busy the last few weeks, and unfortunately got behind on my posts.  The smaller projects have included hemming a tablecloth, making pillow shams, making a lined drape panel, making stuffed animals, and various clothing and crochet projects.  The project I will describe here is one to solve a storage problem on our camper -- thinking of better ways to handle storage being a popular obsession for campers!

Liking to kill two birds with one stone wherever possible, I wanted the storage to double as an ottoman, since I like to prop my feet up sometimes.  So I decided to take a plastic container, add a cushion to the top, and dress it up as an ottoman.

Here are my materials:  the container, foam for the cushion, cording, and upholstery fabric I found on the remnants table.

The foam deserves a little explanation.  Foam comes in various thicknesses - this is 4" - but usually comes in squares.  This piece was a 22" square.  To get it to fit the shape of the container, I first cut it to the right width (17"), then used 4" of the 5" strip that was cut off to add to the length to make it 26".  I had just a couple of little blocks left over.  I used a kitchen electric knife to make the very presentable cuts, and used glue to attach the two pieces.  It will hold its glued shape well, especially inside a tight cushion cover.

After measuring the container, I cut the fabric - a top piece that follows the shape of the contaner lid, 4 rectangular pieces for the sides, 4 pieces for the skirts, two pieces to form an overlapped opening under the cushion, and cording.  The covered cushion, with its attached skirt, will sit on top of the plastic container.



As a first step, I loosely basted the cording.  By keeping the cording a little loose, I know that this first stitching will not show on the outside when I make the final stitching.  (By loose, I mean I did not stitch very closely to the cord.)

Here I attach cording to the top piece.  I am still basting with long stitches, and not sewing too close to the cord.  The tighter, closer stitches will come when I do the final stitching in this area - when I attach the sides.

 After attaching the sides around the top, making sure the seams that connected the side pieces align with the corners of the top, I topstitched around all sides to hold the seam allowances down.

After attaching the sides, I attached the hemmed skirt pieces.  Notice the skirts overlap.  The two end skirt pieces are under the side skirt pieces, which lap around the ends a couple of inches.

After attaching the skirt pieces, I sewed on the overlapping bottom pieces.  The seams have gotten a little thick at this point, but fortunately my machine can handle it!

 I knew it would be tight getting the foam inserted through the opening underneath.  But I got it in.  Who needs a gym, anyway, with this kind of workout available?

As a last task, I cut a piece of batting and inserted it to lie on top of the foam to give a softer appearance to the cushion top.  Not easy, but easier than trying to manage inserting the foam if I had already attached it!

The finished ottoman. The fabric was a perfect match for our camper upholstery!

Besides being a handy footrest/coffee table, it will allow us to keep some things handy without adding to the clutter.  We think the ottoman will be a good place to put our laptops and other electronics when not in use.

When you need an ottoman...

I am one of those people who appreciates down time, especially in a comfy chair or sofa.  When redoing my dressing room, I found a really nice chair - at Habitat Restore! - "on sale" for only $10.00.  It was a plush, comfy, well-made chair in great condition, except for one thing - the fabric.  Nice fabric, but not matching my decor.  I purchased some beautiful chenille zig-zag patterned fabric at Hancock Fabrics (of course, on sale!) and reupholstered it.  Loved it!

But I really wanted to be able to prop my feet up.  I needed an ottoman.  Not just any ottoman, but an ottoman that looked like it belonged with this chair.  Hence my ottoman project!

Things I wanted in the ottoman were:  To match the chair's cushion and height vertically, to match the shape of the front edge of the chair so that when it was pushed next to the chair it looked like one piece, and to have a footrest or cubby hole in the side facing the chair.

Here are my materials:  Two pieces of plywood, a length of oak (for the legs), eight metal brackets, some screws, and jute.  I also had foam for the cushion, batting, and my fabric.  And about 10" of 1.5" dowel.

 This is the shape of the ottoman, drawn on the plywood.  I will cut two, using a jig saw.  One piece will form the top, the second will form the bottom.  This shows the bottom piece, which will have notches cut out for the legs.  My plan is for the legs to go from the floor and up through these notches.  The ottoman top will go on top of the legs.  So the legs are the support for the entire ottoman structure.

I used a string held on one end at a center point and with a pencil on the other end to draw the arc I wanted.  The inner curved edge (on the left) was to match the curve of the front of the chair.  I laid the chair cushion down on the plywood and traced it!

 Legs.  I cut the oak 1x2 into about 11" lengths and cut the lower 5" of each one so they tapered to a 1x1 footprint.  I used a stain to match my chair and polyurethane to make them shiny.

Ok, I could have bought legs, but for one thing they would have been more expensive, and for another, this design provided the inner support I needed.

  

The ottoman bottom (on left) with notches cut and brackets placed in each so that the bottom of the bracket was under the plywood.  When I set the legs in, I will screw them to the part of the bracket that is sticking up.

(By the way, the dowel pieces on each end provide support for the rounded ends of the ottoman.)

On the right is the top of the ottoman, with brackets where the top of each leg will be positioned.




Before I screw on the legs to finish the ottoman structure, I cut a piece of thick rubber shelf liner and glued it to the surface of the bottom piece.  This will be the floor of the footrest/hidey hole inside the ottoman.







Cutting the foam that will go on the top of the ottoman was pretty easy.  I traced one of the plywood pieces, then used an electric knife to cut it out.  The electric knife makes this SO easy.  The only thing is, you have to pay attention and make sure the knife is perfectly vertical so your sides will be straight.













After screwing the legs into the brackets, I have the basic structure complete.  Here it is with the foam piece on top.  Looking good.







To provide support around the side of the ottoman, to give the fabric something to be up against, I stretched pieces of jute between the plywood decks and stapled in place.

Here you can see the cover for the cushion has been made.  I first covered the foam with batting and then slid the cover over it.  You may be able to see that a piece of fabric is attached to the lower edge of the cushion - it will cover the sides of the ottoman.


Finishing up - stapling the fabric attached to the bottom edge of the cushion to the bottom and trimming the edges of the bottom and of the footrest/hidey hole with cording.















The completed ottoman - front view.









The ottoman fits up against the chair nicely!

 A view from the inside showing the footrest/hidden compartment!

This project hasn't taken that long, and I love the results!

Nursery Project - The rest of the crib furnishings

This post is a continuation of the nursery project I have been describing.  I have covered the valence and pillows and the comforter in the two previous posts.  Here I will wrap up the rest of the crib furnishings - crib skirt, bumpers and ties, ruffled pillow, and rail pad!

The skirt was made from a beautiful gold fabric.  It was to be long enough to puddle slightly, and fairly full, with box pleats.

I folded up, ironed, and pinned the double 2" hem.  The hem was finished with an iron-on adhesive so stitching would not show on the front of the fabric.

 The sides were hemmed in a similar fashion, using a narrow double fold.

A crib skirt has four panels - one for each side and one each for the head and foot - attached to a rectangular fabric the size of the crib mattress.  I calculated, pinned, and basted the box pleats for each of the four panels of the skirt so the panels would fit the sides and ends of the crib.

The crib skirt, hung over a corner of my work table.

I determined the length needed based on the highest mattress position described in the specs for the crib, plus two inches.  When the mattress is lowered as the baby gets older, the skirt can just puddle more or the top can be tucked in farther underneath the mattress.



The top edge of the bumpers and the edging around the pillows call for a 1.5" folded gold satin ruffle.

 I went ahead and cut 4" strips enough for all the ruffles and sewed them together end to end.  Here you can see that I have folded the strips in half and pressed.  Then I serged the entire raw edge.

Fortunately, I have a ruffle attachment that makes ruffles easier!  I ruffled the entire length of sewn-together strips in one go.







 For the bumpers, we used a foam insert kit you can find at fabric stores.  It consists of six 26" long foam pieces.


Each section required cutting pieces for the front and back, attaching a ruffle to the top, sewing the front to the back, and sewing velcro to the lower edge.

Here you can see the lower edge with the velcro closure.  This will allow removing the cover for washing.

This is a closeup of the loops that will be used to tie the bumpers to the crib.  Originally, the bumpers were going to use red ties, and I wasn't sure it would be a good idea to wash red ties with the white fabric!  The ties will be separate and will go through the loops and around the crib rails to secure the bumpers.



The six bumpers.









My client decided to use long gold satin ties on the two front upper corners (shown here) and simpler ties for the other ten tie locations.







I made the simple ties somewhat like you would for double-fold bias tape, only not cut on the bias.  I took a 1.25" strip and ironed the edges in, the folded it half and sewed down the edge.





I finished the ends with a special fabric glue to keep them from fraying.

  The pillow is a 14" x 18" feather pillow, with satin ruffles around.  I used an envelope closure, with velcro to hold it together.

The finished pillow.









The rail pad is meant to cover the top of the crib rail, both to protect the rail and to provide a comfortable edge to anyone reaching into the crib.  It is 50" long and 8" tall (after being folded over the rail), with a double ruffle.  After attaching the ruffles to the lower edge of the upper side, it is sandwiched with the under side and batting, sewn and serged.  Leaving an opening, of course!

 
 The rail pad, turned right side out.  I marked two lines down the center, 1" apart, and sewed to make it bend over the rail and help it stay in place.















The rail pad, folded.  You can see the ties incorporated into the front and back to hold the rail pad in place.

All of these items will be put together in the nursery room in Georgia.  Pictures have been promised, after the crib arrives and the room is ready.  I am looking forward to seeing it all put together, and will of course post the pictures for you!