Monday, August 4, 2014

Tutorial: How To Recover An Ottoman

Love my ottoman.


Found the little lady on my local classified ad website and she was in need of some TLC.


Besides the tears in the top of the vinyl she was in good shape so I found some old curtains of mine and made a new cover. I measured the top (3'x3') and sides (3'x16"), adding 1/2 inch to each side to account for seam allowances and about 2" on the bottom to tuck under. I sewed the cover together with invisible thread and used the already finished curtain hem for the bottom of my cover.

Demolition time! I removed the feet and the mesh lining that was covering the bottom of the ottoman. The original tufting was created with a string (no buttons) that was tied and stapled underneath so I cut those strings and carefully peeled the vinyl cover off, leaving the foam and batting untouched. 

I placed my slipcover on, reattached the feet and stapled any loose fabric that needed it. You could leave it like this but I wanted the tufting like it originally had. And I wanted buttons. 


So I added my own covered buttons that I made with some leftover scraps of fabric. You can make your own buttons using the same fabric as your slipcover with a cover button kit from Walmart. They're cheap, come in lots of sizes to choose from and make covering buttons easy. BUT... make sure you check out my tufted fabric headboard if you're using a thicker fabric. I used 4 large regular buttons on the underside of the ottoman. These buttons allowed me to pull tight when knotting so that it made a deeper tuft.


I could have pulled the bottom right button a little tighter...


The great thing about this is that you can remove it if you need to wash it. I debated about using velcro on the bottom like Tiny Side Kick did here which looks very nice and easy!


But my ottoman's feet were much bigger than hers were so I figured they'd hold the majority of the fabric under for me. One day I may switch the feet and copy her to make removing it for washing easier. I would still have to untie the buttons each time but it's worth it because I love them.

OH! And it's not pictured here but I was able to use a leftover piece of fabric to make another pillow (since I'm clearly in desperate need of some more pillows). I used the "wrong side" of the fabric for my pillow so that the color of the pillow wouldn't match the ottoman exactly. It's shiny and a bit darker so it works well.

Ain't she cute? Soooooooo comfy. I will never go back to a hard coffee table again. Top her with a cute tray and you're good to go!


This is easily my most favorite piece of furniture. I love the color, how comfortable it is and the tufting. What's yours and why?

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