A quality heavy weight linen makes a beautiful and long wearing slipcover. One of my favorites is Manchester Natural Brown.
This linen has a European look & feel that never goes out of style. I especially like the authentic flax color, a warm neutral that works with everything.
Manchester Linen is thick and weighty. It’s best suited for classic, washable slipcovers that have simple details — an ideal choice for my customer’s pair of Cisco sofas.
I recently got hooked on 12 oz. Brazil linen while making a very detailed, traditional sofa slipcover for a customer.
As I was working with this beautiful linen I wondered how it would look in a very simple, easy to make slipcover. Something with a loose fit and no details at all. I put it to the test and love the results! Here are a few tips for making your own:
1. Use a heavy weight linen for best results. For my chair slipcover, I used 12 oz. Brazil Linen in color Off-White from InstaLinen. Read my review on my Fabric page.
2. Pre-shrink your yardage. The natural beauty of Brazil linen comes through after it’s washed and dried. It takes on a soft crumple and floppy drape. No hard wrinkles, no pressing necessary. Here’s how I pre-shrink slipcover yardage.
3. Pin a loose fit. I loosely pinned muslin on one half of my chair to create a pattern and then cut it out in the linen. Learn the half pattern method from Paul A. Carter’s videos.
4. Forget about the details. No need to add welt cord, ties and zipper openings. A slipcover void of detail puts the focus on the lovely linen.
I stitched my simple slipcover on my home sewing machine using a no. 12 size needle. Linen ravels so be sure to overlock or zigzag the seams.
If you like the idea of a relaxed linen slipcover but don’t want a lot of wrinkle this linen and cotton fabric is a good alternative.
It’s a thick yet supple cloth featuring a tiny box texture that shows off both the un-dyed flax and natural cotton color. Slubs and nubs are part of its charm. The look is more rustic than refined — think casual farmhouse style.
Here’s what you can expect when working with this Upholstery Linen in color Oatmeal from Gray Line Linen:
Curves, tufts and bulges, oh my! This roly-poly chair was a doozie to slipcover. I had to tackle it with just the right fabric and a few strategically placed shaping seams.
The fabric: I used 8 oz. grey linen blend from Big Duck Canvas. It’s the $5 fabric find I told you about earlier this year. It worked like a charm for this project: pliable enough to drape and shape over the bulges and thick enough to hide the plaid upholstery and tufting. (As of today it looks like this fabric is out of stock. I knew it would go fast! Check with Big Duck for next availability.)
The fit: A soft, relaxed fit was the way to go for this chair. Fabric doesn’t lay smoothly over puffy contours without some help from shaping seams. So, I created two of them on the inner back and one over each arm elbow. They’re like princess seams in a blouse. I edge stitched the seams to give them a finished look.
Happy New Year everybody! I’m kicking off 2016 with a couple of slipcover projects using this $4.99 linen and cotton fabric in the most beautiful soft grey color. Yes, really it’s only $4.99 per yard!
I love how this linen cotton blend beefed-up and softened when I preshrunk it. Minimal shrinkage (about 3″ on the length) and very low wrinkle…nice! The weight and coverage are just right for slipcovers.
I have already made a set of Euro pillow shams with it. Next up, a slipcover makeover for a pair of these cute, chubby chairs.
Big Duck Canvas is currently offering this fabric on clearance. I have a feeling it won’t last long.
