Re-covering the seating

The seating in our living/dining room is varied. A 3-seater sofa, a roller chair and three of our four dining chairs are all ready for a refresh. However, a temporary solution would suit us since we plan to replace carpet and curtains in about three years. 

I managed to reuse the existing sofa throw, a large rectangle of cream upholstery fabric, with a subtle dandelion head decoration. It's draped so the good bits show (back, skirt and arms), hiding the inkstains under the seat cushions. The extension, falling behind the seat back, is only sheeting but doesn't show. The side panels were pieced from remnants hoarded from the same cream fabric as the throw. 

Contrast fabric was cream, grey and brown on a soft green background. The retailer calls it Splash, but it reminds me more of rock. DH dislikes flower prints, and I feel plain shows every mark, so this is a compromise. The cream and brown are good matches for the carpet and fireplace, we have some grey blankets around, and although the green is cooler than our curtains, we're both OK with the colours. I've used almost all of the four yards by 60" found in a charity shop.

I made a single shaped box cover for the sofa seat cushions, to stop stuff falling between them. Three of our four dining chairs now have new seat covers held by the existing screws. Since I don't have a staple gun, the folded corners have been 'assisted' using the hot glue gun and we'll see how it goes. 

At my desk, the roller chair has a new shaped foam box cushion, which works better than the 'ergonomic' seat for my short legs. It's now covered in the contrast fabric. The rectangle cunningly arranged around the seat is similar in colour to the sofa throw, so was reshaped to fit better but not replaced. Years ago, I had made a slipcover for the back, so took a pattern from it, cut it out in the contrast fabric, and just refined the shape slightly.

What did I learn? 

To prototype in fabric not paper, even though furniture doesn't move, at least not much. 

That you need to allow for compression and movement of the foam cushions / padding. 

To recheck the traced and trued pattern before cutting. 

That box cushions take a lot more fabric than you'd think. The bands each took more than a full 58" width. 

That I still don't know how to push curved needles or safety pins into taut fabric. 

To find suitable clamps when stretching to fit.

That the search term for our sofa is T-cushion slipcover, and it will likely be similar in price to a me-made one in new fabric.

That my memory for colours isn't accurate.

Overall, I'm happy that I've managed to visually bring disparate furniture together, so the room feels more coordinated and restful. 

2025 April summary. Repairs, weaving, and sofa cover. .

 This April has been warmer and drier than usual. It feels like an early Me-Made-May, because I've done loads of assessment and care-and-repair. A round of stain treatment on clothes and bedding now there's enough light to see what's what*. A round of the usual minor fixes: restitching popped seams and missing buttons; adjusting waist elastics; adding a dart at shoulder blade height...

* Obviously, spills get dealt with as soon as possible. Spring cleaning round is for the cumulative tiny dots and spots that just make fabric look tired. 

We have two relatively new backpacks. It'd be a big job to add a waist strap to the weekending bag (transfer weight to the hips not shoulders). But I could reuse some reclaimed webbing and clips to add a chest strap (keeps the shoulder straps in place). Looked for some cord and a small cantilever clip to help the day bag straps stay in place, but have temporarily settled for a lanyard with a very sturdy swivel clip. Think an oversized necklace clasp. It's just knotted on for now, but if a success I can use the lanyard tape, the swivel clip, and a small o-ring for a more permanent fix. 

The big repair job started was the Finchdale jumper. I've hardly worn it despite all those knitting hours, due to discomfort at the armscyes. Same symptoms as the Talvi had - and since I adjusted that it has hardly been off my back except for laundry. Added height to the sleeve caps. Hmm, better. However sleeve caps and sleeve bodies both need a tad more wearing ease. Before setting them in again, did some experiments on a scrap square with sprang weaving. I was able to improve the sleeves without reknitting the whole lot. Ladder a column of stitches, double twist the rungs pairwise and secure with a crochet chain, and it'll look deliberate while gaining two stitches width, about ⅓". Enough to feel the difference. Not done done yet, I'm considering filling in the bodice lower scye a little, but haven't checked against shirts as opposed to tees underneath. 

And a bonus craft project over the Easter break. I have a small table loom for a few weeks, the kind that uses a notched stick to create a shed. There's been time to make a teapot stand, using up long thin fabric scraps as twine. Interesting as an experiment, but too many weights and qualities of scrap to make decent twine. Plus, in practical terms, the shuttles and shed weren't designed to take this thickness. 

Also a small mat from all those two foot lengths of yarn that we** hoard. Started as an experiment in colour grading from a roughly sorted pile of scraps, ended up a little picture of meadow lake and mountain. I enjoyed doing this as an afternoon workshop kind of project, but not enough to want to store the loom permanently.

** 'We' meaning the author and quite possibly the reader.

Not much knitting. Finished an Aran toddler hat. And started another winter hat. For me! The loaghtan hat is permanently lost, I think because it was slightly small in diameter, despite reknitting. Different yarn to the recommended and didn't grow in use. So I've cast on another using my usual pattern. Start at crown, increase to 22.5", one hand span diameter, in 8 sections. Then increase gradually just a tad more for the brow bone. I can decide on rib/brim later when the fit is confirmed - I did like the horizontal ridges on the old one.

Also started a larger project. I don't want to have our sofa professionally recovered for two or three years - until building works on our estate are finished. But as a stop gap, I've been experimenting with the old throw, with paper templates, and with a length of curtain fabric. The current preferred option is to drape the old throw over back and arms and skirt, and under the seat cushions to keep it in place, and to hide the ink stains. Then make a single temporary cover for the three seat cushions. I'm reluctant to cover tham individually because I constantly lose pens, phone, knitting, etc between them. A few days into May I have a prototype cut, the fitted edges sewn, but only draped at the centre till I see how much excess to leave as an expansion joint to cope with foam compression when we sit.