Sew Your Style: Ottoman Cover
Did you know it’s National Sewing Month? To celebrate this, JoAnn Fabrics has chosen 30 bloggers to create a project using quilting fabric without making an actual quilt. I decided to make an ottoman cover. As you know, I am more about no-sew when it comes to making decorative items for my home, but I can sew a straight line on my 1957 Singer sewing machine.
I use quilting fabric quite a bit in my decorating projects because it comes in so many colors and patterns and is super affordable when compared to using decorator fabric. I covered the seat of my office chair with it, made a reversible headboard cover, and a no-sew window treatment.
For this challenge, I went out of my comfort zone. I made this colorful slipcover with piping for a round thrift store wicker ottoman I bought to replace one I used to keep by my desk.
I liked the shape and size, but not the color of the ottoman.
I can’t decide on a color to paint it yet, so by making a fabric slipcover for it using pink to coordinate with the green fabrics already in the room, I will be able to see how the color looks before permanently changing it with paint.
I kept the slipcover long so it resembles a pouf style ottoman, but I may take the hem up to show the legs. Decisions, decisions…
How to Make a Slipcover for a Round Ottoman
supplies needed:
- Quilting fabric
- Lightweight Fusible Interfacing
- Iron
- Thread
- Cord for piping
- Straight pins
- Chalk
- Scissors
1. Lay fabric face down on work surface. Center top of ottoman on fabric and trace around it with chalk.
2. Remove ottoman and draw another line 2-inches away from the traced outline. This will be the excess fabric you need for seam allowance.
3. Cut fabric for skirt and a bias strip to cover cord for piping. To measure for skirt: Measure height of ottoman and circumference. Add 2-inches to each measurement for seam allowance.
4. To make a continuous bias strip for piping is not hard, but is a post all on its own. If you have never created it to cover cord and want to learn how, check out Kristi’s tutorial over at Addicted 2 Decorating on how to make a continuous bias strip.
5. To give the quilting fabric more body so it falls well, I ironed on .99 cents a yard lightweight fusible interfacing to the back of the top and skirt pieces of fabric. It is not needed for the piping.
You can see how the fusible interfacing gives the fabric a boost in body – soft folds instead of a limp looking fold.
6. Place the wrong side of skirt fabric to piping. Use a zipper foot to sew the piping to the skirt fabric.
7. Once the two pieces are sewn, notch the seam allowance with scissors. Do not cut to the piping, but just enough so that when you sew this to the round top the piping/skirt will curve easier as you sew.
8. Notch the edge of the round piece of fabric for the top also to help curve the fabric as you pin and sew the cover together.
9. Place the fabric top right side down on the top of the ottoman, then start fitting and pinning the skirt/piping piece to the top. Both fabrics should be right side down as you do this. As you pin – fit the skirt to the ottoman. Once you have pinned on the skirt -check that the fabric is laying flat and there are no bunched up areas.
10. Remove it from the ottoman – it will look like this. Take it to your sewing machine and sew the pieces together using a zipper foot.
11. Once sewn, press seams open with iron.
12. For hemming, I used fusible web to make a no show stitch-free hem.
I love how the pink coordinates with the green and white that are already in the room. It adds a nice pop of color to the empty space in the front of my desk.
Do you like to sew or want to challenge yourself to make something with fabric?
You can get in on the sewing challenge, too when you submit your project for a chance to win $1000 and/or a prize pack from Pellon and/or a Singer sewing machine!
Click to enter the Jo-Ann Sew Your Style Contest sponsored by Pellon between September 1 – 30th.
I was sent a gift card to JoAnn Fabrics to buy the fabric I needed for my project, however all opinions, tutorial and ideas are my own.