Bar Stool Slip Cover

 Turn an ordinary bar stool into something spectacular.  Not that mine is spectacular. lol

I have a client that will slip cover anything!  I'm surprised she hasn't asked me to slipcover her car! hahaha

I had some difficulty with this one, because the bottom of the legs were a good bit wider than the seat.  This was allowing the legs to show, and she wanted them hidden as much as possible.  We were limited in fabric, so I couldn't make an extra flap underneath.  I chose to overlap the skirts all the way around to pull them tighter up top while allowing them to hang normally at the bottom.  I also added drapery weights to the hems of the side skirts to keep them in place.

Here is the overlap.

It's about an inch.  This is how it looks if you pull the back skirt up.

Oh and another little tip.  Don't you hate when the slip covers slide forward when getting up from the chair?  Me too.  I recently took a slip cover course from Craftsy, and she recommends a flap underneath with velcro to hold it in place.  How genius is that??

That little flap is stitched to the seam allowance where the seat meets the gusset.  Very easy.  I just serged around all 4 edges.  The hook piece is hot glued to the wicker underneath.

And a couple of other views.  I did not press this slipcover, because my client is not going to press anything she owns.  I have to take that into consideration when making anything for her.  We have to analyze fabric all the time to see how it's going to look when washed and dried.  I wash and dry all the fabric to see how it will hold up before I ever make a stitch.

And here they are in their happy home.

Please feel free to ask questions.  I highly recommend the Craftsy class on making slipcovers.  However, you must need at least a basic understanding of how they are made, and it's really meant for the intermediate to advanced sewer.

Happy Monday.
Angela

Flanged Euro Sham with Zipper

Ever had anyone tell you that a zipper would not go into a flanged pillow sham?  Well they were wrong!!  Wrong I tell you!  I have tried numerous ways to get these blasted things into a pillow sham.  I looked everywhere on the net trying to find a tutorial on how to install one - properly!

I had forgotten that I had some similar pillow shams on my bed that were professionally done many years ago.  They aren't flanged, but I thought it would work anyway.  I got those puppies off my bed and took a very close look to see how it was done.  And that was my "aha" moment.  I couldn't believe I had made it so difficult in the past.  This was going to be a breeze.

This is one that I just finished.  This is for a client and measures 48x24 with a 2" flange.  It was so big, it wouldn't fit in my camera lens.  I chose to put the zip on the side so the pillow could be inserted easily from the end.

Are you ready for the zipper?  Here it is. It's not perfect, but I don't think the average person will be able to find the flaws. :)

And opened.

And guess what else?  I took pics along the way, and I'll have a tute for you on how to do this very soon. Yay!  I hope it helps you.  You'll never again curse, grumble, shout or throw tantrums when you want to put a zipper in a flanged pillow!  My way might not be the right way, but I promise it is easy peasy!!

Happy July 4th - a little late!
Angela

Suede Leather Pillow with Piping

I made 2 of these for my dd's boyfriend.  She wanted a little more manly, so rather than do a 2" flange which is typical of me with Euro shams, she chose welting with the same material.  I'm very pleased with how they turned out.  I think we need just a tad larger pillow inserts though.

And I installed an invisible zipper at the bottom behind the welting.  This is how an invisible zipper should look - invisible!  It is a huge pet peeve to see these done when the zipper is not so invisible.  And people are charging for them!!

And a little closer shot although a little blury.

All that you see is the zipper pull, and that's how it's supposed to be.  That corner looks a little loose though but should pop out when we get a larger insert.

Incidentally, this is a great video tute on how exactly to install an invisible zipper with welting/piping.  The only thing I do differently is that I use a welting foot and let the zipper teeth ride inside along with the welting. 

If you have questions, please ask.  It took me a while and lots of practice to get to this stage.  I'm happy to share my experience to save someone else the trouble!

Happy Monday.
Angela