The Little Red Couch...

We love hand-me-downs.  My boys have been clothed almost exclusively by the generosity and goodness from others who have passed what they have on to us.  We missed out on this with the girls as there didn't seem to be anyone who matched up with their growth.  It is great to be able to "shop" in the boys' closet when on a Saturday evening they are picking out their Sunday finery only to find that their pants are suddenly 3'' too short!    

We don't stop at hand-me-down clothes around here.  For our first 10 years of marriage all of our furniture was second hand all having been refinished and reupholstered.  There is something about taking something that someone else doesn't want or need anymore and giving it a new life.  The little red couch came out of a grandparent's basement and was in great condition when we got it.  It folds out so little visiting friends have often used it for nap time.  The kids also like to fold each other up in it and sit on each other hot dog with bun style, as they haul the couch from room to room and up and down the stairs. When the babies are around 1 year of age they seem especially fond of the couch as it is just their size.  For these reasons and more I was disappointed when it started to rip out.  In a fit of wanting to throw away everything that was laying around, which happens about every other week, I almost carried the couch to the burn pile.  Breadwinner suggested maybe I should recover it.  After he endured my snarling he reminded me how much the kids actually use the couch and that I would be better served taking out my need to relegate to the burn pile other offending objects.  I have to take a minute to say that burning excess articles is wound tightly in the recesses of my double helix.  My dad was a notorious burner.  Ask Mom sometime about the piano.  I would tell you about the bedstead that matches my chest of drawers and dresser, but I might start crying again...

So, I set the couch aside and began to consider what material worthy of taking the place of the parading pachyderms.  Still feeling a bit snitty, I didn't want to use just any old fabric.  This is another area in which we have been blessed.  When the fabric stashes of others grow out of control they pass on the love.  I was not enamored with anything in the cupboard enough to put the energy into using it as a replacement.  Then we were the recipients of some used blackout curtains.

My sis-in-law thought maybe I would like to have them for the boys' room.  I too thought this would be grand.  They are a delicious chocolate brown that is rather suede-like.  The only problem was there were 2 curtains and 3 windows.  Even this didn't bother me too much, and the boys wouldn't care if we hung the laundry to dry on their curtain rods in lieu of window coverings.  Fortunately for me I hadn't gotten around to swapping out the existing curtains when I decided the thing to do would be to use the curtains to recover the couch.  Turns out blackout material is a dream to sew.  Hope you don't mind, Missy.  Believe me they are well loved in their new life!  

We checked online and found that the cost to replace this little gem was way more than that which we were willing to part.  The price of the foam alone would make you cringe!

I removed the original fabric to use as a template.  Only take off as much as you are ready to work with.  I do things in sections or I can't remember what gets sewn on where.  Digital photography can be a lifesaver if you have to stop and restart later so you can remember how things are supposed to look.

Here is the back and bottom cushion that flips out.  It is hard to see even though I used red thread because it was what was in the machine, but I swapped out the zippers for Velcro on the back.

The completed cushion on the couch.  Yeah, it fits!

I only took off one arm rest at a time.  Here we are just checking to see that they fit .

This was a tricky spot for me. ( Someday when I don't have to stop to escort my royal subjects to the restroom or break up the occasional insurrection I may wonder why everything used to take so much thought...)  A small rectangle of fabric sewn onto a straight side just right.  I only took off one side to use as a pattern so I could reference how to sew it back together.

I stuffed this "sausage casing" 3 or 4 times before I was finally done.  I used the original bottom piece of fabric which had a full length zipper.  When recovering never throw things out or cut them up until you are positive you will not have to use them.  It is a good idea to have a dedicated garbage bag that is discarded after you have a finished product.  That way you only have to dig through one bag rather than the whole dumpster...

The final step was to cut slits to pull through the plastic buttons that hold the cover in place.  Pliers are a reupholster's best friend!

This couch actually seats 7 when we are reading in the boys' room...