Put Your Feet Up #1 - Custom Ottoman Slipcover

Goal: Custom-fitted slipcover for a 62" across octagonal ottoman.

Original condition: The original upholstery is constructed in eight wedges and tufted in the middle with a self-fabric covered button. A wooden skirt mounted below the upholstery ends in four tapered legs connected underneath by an x-stretcher.

Fabric: Four yards of green, brown, teal and orange Ikat print* heavy upholstery for $2.70 per yard, originally $9 per yard (Bought along with three yards of lime green "leather" (100% PVC Face/ 100% Polyester) for $3 per yard, orig. $29.99 per yard) from Hancock Fabrics during their liquidation sale.

Construction: The fabric was just wide enough to cover the ottoman with a few inches of overhang. I arranged it over the ottoman so that the two selvage edges hung down equal. 

Turning the fabric inside out, at each point of the octagon I pinned the fabric into a dart, creating a snug fit. I basted the darts and retried the slipcover. Re-pinning some of the darts till I liked the fit I then trimmed the length around as even to its shortest side as I could.

Because of the thickness of the fabric I catch-stitched the darts down, making sure they all faced the same direction. Amazingly, the fabric print is such that the stitches seemed to disappear.

Can you see the catch stitches? No?

I pressed the darts from the wrong side with a little steam and used my temporary "clapper" (my quilting ruler) to press down and distribute the heat throughout the dart until it cooled. As you can see the dart is now as flat as possible.

Now?

Starting from the selvage on the remainder fabric I cut lengths of 7 inches deep believing this to be a good length for the cover. I used my quilting ruler and rotary cutter, cutting enough fabric to go around the sides. I pinned the fabric on and took a few days to debate what would be the best length. Floor is out of the question as there is a small ledge underneath that we keep magazines on that needs to be reachable. So the choices were halfway down the legs or tucked up to the length of the wooden apron.

 

Oh, look what I found after I was completely done...

*Note: I couldn't get the colors to come out accurate on these photos. But the fabric is amazing and matches the existing sofa, loveseat, and throw pillows exactly even though I chose the fabric purely from instinct and memory. Hurrah!