Budget-Friendly Denim Perfect for Slipcovers
With a price tag of under $20, this natural cotton denim offers both quality and affordability, making it perfect for casual, comfortable slipcovers.
I’m thrilled my customer, Marilyn, loves her new natural denim slipcover! It suits her sofa so well it’s hard to believe this project almost didn’t happen.
Before Marilyn found my slipcover service, she was on the verge of replacing her perfectly good sofa. She really didn’t want to get rid of it, but the high price of decorator fabrics nixed her vision for an affordable custom slipcover. Sound familiar?
Here’s the thing, you don’t have to spend a fortune on good quality fabric for your slipcover.
When you are on a tight budget, choose the best washable, long-wearing slipcover fabric you can afford. I recommended this cotton bull denim from Big Duck Canvas in undyed natural for its durability and versatility.
It’s a 12 oz heavyweight twill weave that offers good coverage and the creamy neutral color works in any space.
Think outside of the high-end decorator box and explore multi-purpose fabrics in natural fiber like 12 oz cotton denim and 10 to 12 oz canvas for slipcovers that get daily use. And, medium weight 9 oz Bedford cord and 8 oz chino twill for covers that moderate use.
Lucky Marilyn and lucky me. I used the same fabric for the two wind back chairs you made slipcovers for. Thanks Karen, I love a beautiful, economic deal! Barb
Love your work! would this type of fabric work with a feather down couch??
Julie — Absolutely! This denim is beefy but also supple so it will work beautifully on feather/down wrapped
sofa cushions. Be sure to pre-shrink the yardage.
How much do you charge to create the white denim slipcover shown here?
Here is an overview of my pricing for slipcover labor. https://slipcovermaker.com/prices/
How do you get the wrinkles out of the denim. I bought 14 yards,from big duck canvas via your link, ran it through the wash and dryed it. Now it looks terrible and the wrinkles won’t iron out! Please help.
Hi Katerina,
I use the 12 oz. denim from Big Duck Canvas for most of my customer projects and never have wrinkle problems. It’s one of my favorites because it doesn’t wrinkle and crease like canvas.
The key is to wash only one 5 yard cut at a time in the oversized machines at the laundromat and dry only one 5 yard cut at a time in the oversized dryers. It’s super important not to crowd the dryer, the fabric must be able to tumble loosely — that’s what keeps the wrinkles and creases from setting. It’s also important to stop the dryer after 15 minutes, remove the yardage and untangle it before continuing to dry all the way.
Permanently wrinkled yardage is impossible to make smooth. I have tried many different methods over the years without success. The only thing that might minimize some of the wrinkles is to wash and dry the yardage again per my instructions above.
Thanks, I think I will try re-washing it and line drying, per the Big Duck website. I had already cut the yardage to fit my washer but I think the water didn’t permeate the fabric completely. Big Duck recommends running it through two wash cycles to saturate the cloth. I plan on line drying it this time and using a high pressure steam iron as well (have wanted one of those for a while.) I will let you know if it works.