Recover Project for My Chaise Lounge

Recovered! My chaise now wears traditional fabric slip covers!

I also made a slip cover for the lumbar pillow

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I have such a wonderful balcony to enjoy! When I first moved into my condo I bought a chaise to relax, read, and nap on.

My chaise is the perfect spot to recline while enjoying my balcony. This photo shows the piped edges of the bottom cushion which give the chaise too contemporary a look for my liking.

My rather contemporary chaise lounge with its "dragon's blood" colored cushions.

However, as time went on I noticed a dichotomy as I exited from my Paris Apartment/French Country-styled condo onto my balcony.

My chaise had orangy-red cushions and a "too-contemporary" style. I decided it was time to bring my meager DIY skills to bear and make my chaise fit into my overall decorating scheme.

While painting the chaise frame was an option, the problem actually lay with the contemporary, piped "sunbrella-ish" fabric and its orangy-red color that went with nothing I already had.

I decided not to re-paint the frame - a "coffee bean" brown - and instead create a more traditional look by changing out the fabric. Rather than buy new cushions or cushion covers my plan was to buy a vintage look toile and sew slip covers - sans piping - that would give the more traditional, relaxed look I wanted.

I removed the old cushion covers which was a bit of a chore as they were fitted on rather tightly. The inner cushions were of good quality and encased in a gauzy netting that kept the foam inner parts confined and shaped.

A scan of the Internet brought me to a Colonial French-style toile fabric on eBay on sale for $9.00 a yard. The fabric is made of flax and of great quality.

I ordered eight yards to allow for shrinkage. I wanted to be able to launder my slip covers. My balcony is covered so I didn't need a weather-proof fabric. Also, if desired, I can remove the slip covers in Winter, or simply store the cushions and covers in my storage room.

After the fabric arrived I measured it then laundered it in cold water and dried it on the lowest heat setting. It shrunk over a foot but remained colorfast. Phew"! Over the years I've learned to launder first any fabric I'm going to sew to accommodate shrinkage. I took a chance with the eBay fabric as it's cleaning instructions were to dry clean! I had no plans of dry cleaning the fabric. It stood up beautifully to laundering and I'd purchased extra to allow for the shrinkage I knew would occur.

Using the back cushion and bottom cushions as patterns I turned the fabric right sides in/ wrong sides out, trimming out two sides for each cushion so the pattern would run right. I left excess for sewing side seams and hemming the ends, and pinned it to the cushions.

I used the excess I'd trimmed away to make the ties. I would need 32 ties for bottom and back cushions and a small lumbar pillow!

I began with the smaller back cushion. This one would be sewn closed on three sides, then hemmed at the bottom and four pairs of ties would be sewn along the bottom opening to tie the slip cover closed and to secure it to the chaise frame.

The back cushion is sewn on three sides. The longer bottom cushion is sewn on two sides with pairs of ties at both ends.

Using my old Kenmore I sewed my slip covers as shown in the photo above.

To get the tailored look on the top corners of the back cushion, I pushed the points/corners where side seams and the top seam met into the casing and hand stitched it into place. The four sets of ties at the bottom end close the cover and secure it to the adjustable back frame of the chaise.

The bottom cushion was cut about four inches longer than needed at the "foot" so that I could wrap it under before tying it to the frame to give a tidy look and conceal the ties.

Folding the extra few inches of the slip cover under the cushion, I tied the two sets of corner ties to the chaise frame. The two pairs of center ties close the ends of the slip cover.

Once the slip covers were finished, including the lumbar pillow's envelope, I spent several hours fabricating the ties from spare fabric. I cut 32 strips of fabric 1-1/2 inches wide and 9-inches long

After cutting the strips I ironed each side to meet in the center.

Then I folded the fabric in half to conceal the raw edges...

...then ironed it flat and pinned it closed.

I sewed a seam down the length of each tie. I started sewing down the length about a half inch, reversed over what I'd just sewn, then forwarded the stitch to the opposite end of the tie, then reversed over it half an inch, forwarded again to complete the stitch which will prevent the stitching from loosening at the ends of the ties.

I attached the ties in pairs evenly across the top and bottom of the openings and sewed them in place using the machine in short forward and reverse modes until each was secured to its hemmed end.