Saturday 16 March 2013

Recovered couch and cushions

Remember how I said I was in no rush to reupholster anything else?  Yeah, well, it's amazing how motivated you can be to completely recover four sofa squabs in a day when someone else is doing the work.


This Vono couch is part of a lounge set that includes two reclining chairs - which may or may not get the makeover treatment by me, my last attempt is still too fresh in my memory.  Look at it, being all sad and tired and blah.

And look at it now:


If this couch had a voice box, it would be totally be singing Oh Yeah right now.  Totally.  The fabric is an upholstery-weight material bought from Spotlight, which of course went on sale the weekend after we bought the material.  Roughly 5 metres was needed which was enough to cover the squabs and line the springs in the base of the couch.

And because we know that cushions make everything better, here are the zhushed-up cushions:


I made the cushion covers using some upholstery fabric remnants that I picked up from the ES Design sale on their $10 bundle table and the yellow ones were made from an old shirt of mine.  They are not my Forever pillows, but they'll do for now.


I'd love to say that this makeover was carried out mostly by me, but it really was more of a collaborative effort.  My husband bought me a nice shiny new overlocker a few months ago and I'm just a little bit scared of it. All those threaders and loops and things.  So, my lovely husband took the helm which meant I was tasked with the very boring important role of measuring, cutting and (of course) tidying up afterwards.

The ends of the couch squabs were boxed to achieve the square corners:


If you've ever considered attaching zips at the same time as overlocking seam allowances, here's a tip: DON'T.  The overlocker didn't appreciate that shortcut very much.  I have to say that my husband looks pretty darned cute sitting behind an overlocker.  He looked less cute after replacing one of the broken overlocker needles for a fifth time.


In my head, I was thinking that needle breakages would never have happened on my sewing machine.  Of course, we all know it is wiser to nod sympathetically, say nothing and hand over a new packet of overlocker needles.  If there is a next time, I would overlock the seam allowances and then attach the zips by sewing machine in two separate steps.

Time taken: 5 hours
Cost: $180.00
Result: Hellooo, Couch.  Oh Yeah.

14 comments:

  1. You need to try merino next if you have an overlocker! I dare you to make those girls some merino tights easiest thing EVER! The couch looks awesome, I can't believe Andreas can sew! Even the zips look good.

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    1. Didn't you learn anything from our years rooming and flatting together, never, ever dare a McCarty. Only bad things can happen if you do :). I do need to try a small project on the overlocker don't I, but first I have to swap the black spools of thread for white ones...it all looks so complicated! And yes, Andreas is very multi-talented :).

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  2. I can believe it. I've seen where he studied and what they did. I was however looking forward to scrolling down and seeing the cute photo of him at the machine. A good team effort. I like the corners. What's next?

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    1. I did take a sneaky photo of him but as he is very reluctant to feature on my blog I didn't include it. Little does he know he appears elsewhere on my blog. Next up are a couple more sewing-related projects including my first attempt at cross-stitch as well as *gasp* another crochet blanket. How's that stool project of yours coming along?

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  3. HELLO YEAH alright....love the transformation and your the story of your overlocker helper! :) Brilliant job x

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  4. Wow! You did such a great job. The cushions look great too. I love mustard yellow and grey together

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    1. I love the colour combination too, the problem is the cotton fabric creases easily, unfortunately and the iron and I don't really like each other much.

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  5. Your and your husband make a great team. Your couch looks fabulous! And I love the splashes of color that the cushions make!

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    1. Thanks Deborah! I'm breaking out the colour in my house one room at a time.

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  6. Gorgeous! I have total couch envy.

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    1. Thanks Meg, I just had a read of some of your blog posts and love your photos.

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