Why I Cut Up This Brand New Pottery Barn Slipcover

I copy a lot of old slipcovers. They come to me thread bare, stained, shrunk and stretched. That’s the norm for a worn & loved cover.

Most well-used covers are in such bad shape they are ready to be thrown out. For that reason, I’m never hesitant about cutting them apart to use as a template.

But this project was different. My customer, Nicholas, sent me his brand new a Pottery Barn Comfort Rolled Armchair slipcover to duplicate. Yes, brand new! It was was perfect in every way. Well, almost perfect.

Nicholas ordered his PB chair with a red slipcover. When it arrived he discovered the color was all wrong. Pottery Barn doesn’t offer a slipcover exchange for their Comfort models. His options? Live with it or return the entire chair.

Since neither of those options were ideal my customer reached out to me for a slipcover replacement. I was happy to help.  But I have to tell you I was a little nervous. I think my shears were shaking when I made my first cut into that lovely, pristine cover.

All ended well. Nicholas loves his slipcover copy. And, I enjoyed duplicating a slipcover that didn’t require any fit adjustments. That was a first!

For this project, I used 9 oz. Organic Cotton Duck in color Dandelion from Carr-Textile.  This is a medium weight fabric with a soft hand-feel and moderate shrinkage. Be sure to preshrink your yardage if you’re planning to make a washable slipcover.