Introduction

If you love the idea of re-covering a couch, but don’t want to shell out hundreds on an entirely new one, this is the tutorial for you! I’ve got some tips and tricks up my sleeve that’ll help you transform your old piece into something chic and new. Read on for all the details:

Gather your supplies.

You will need:

• Scissors
• Measuring tape
• Sewing machine (this is not optional, you will be re-stitching the entire couch with it)
• Staple gun and staples (preferably 2½” long)
• Staple remover (having one around is always good to have in your toolkit)
• Hammer or mallet, if you have one available. A bullnose will work best if you don’t know what that means and are in an area where they sell them or aren’t very accessible then just use a hammer and hit it as hard as possible; it’ll be fine! 😉

Measure and cut the foam to fit your fabric pattern for the cushions.

Measure the length and width of your cushion.

Then cut out the foam to fit your fabric pattern for the cushions. Make sure you leave a little extra for error so that it’s not too tight or too loose.

Cut out the fabric pieces for your cushions.

• Measure the width and height of your cushion(s).
• Cut fabric pieces to size. You’ll need to cut enough fabric for each cushion, plus a little extra for seam allowances. The exact amount will depend on your particular fabric; try to get at least an inch of extra material so that you won’t run out!
• Check that you have enough material by laying out all of your pieces on the floor in order to check their size and make sure they cover the cushion(s) completely when laid out together.

Attach batting to cushion with duct tape.

This is the step where you can really get creative. You have a lot of options here, such as:

• Covering the duct tape with fabric. This will help prevent you from accidentally ripping through your new upholstery. The downside is that it will make your couch look less like a couch and more like a bed—which may or may not be what you’re going for!
• Covering the duct tape with batting (or some other padding). This way, if something gets caught on your fabric during everyday use, it won’t pull at all on any of those staples holding everything together! However, this also means that if anything gets caught on something else while sitting down or getting up off of it (like maybe another person’s foot), they’ll probably feel some pain right away since there will be nothing soft under them to protect them from falling onto hard metal edges that stick out around where we’ve stapled our cushions back together after taking them apart (don’t worry; they’ll be fine).
• Covering both items in question with fabric and leaving no room left over for anything else like batting; or covering one item instead but leaving plenty left over so as not to waste anything else whatsoever! Either way works equally well depending upon how much padding there needs to be between two surfaces so that neither side shows any signs of wear whatsoever due to repeated useage before re-covering took place initially; which depends upon how many hours per day every person spends sitting down every single day until finally deciding enough was enough!”””

Add a cushion cover and batting.

• Attach the cushion cover to the foam. If you’re new to upholstery, you might want to enlist a friend or family member who has experience in this area.
• Once you have one side stapled down, flip over the couch and staple down the other side.
• Attach batting as well. Be sure that it covers all corners and stays in place along each seam of your cover fabric so that there are no gaps between materials where stuffing will show through later on (this is called an “under-stuffed” look).

To re-cover a couch, you will need a few tools and materials.

To make your own foam cover, you will need:

• Measuring tape
• Fabric scissors
• Foam for the seat and back cushions (I chose to cut my own pieces of foam to fit each cushion)
• Fabric for the top and bottom covers (I chose two different patterns)
• Batting (to make the cushions extra comfy)

And some tools:

• Duct tape

Conclusion

Okay, now you know how to re-cover a couch! It’s not too hard and it will be much more comfortable than before. In fact, I think we should go do it right now.