Slip Covers e-Course

Slip covers! A quick and simple way to update your entire home’s look. Learn multiple ways to construct and embellish your slip covers to take them from ick to SLICK!

We’ll spend five weeks together making five styles of slip cover:

• boxy with three styles of skirt
• loosely constructed with tie-backs
• fitted with Velcro closures
• fitted with hidden drawstring to snug it up
• “upholstered” with piping and a covered cushion

While I sent out my sofa recently to be professionally upholstered, my preference would always be to DIY as much as possible–it’s cheaper, it can be faster, and it gives me the thrill of knowing I’ve done it on my own.  Making a slip cover seems like a big job, but like eating an elephant, when broken down into smaller chunks, it’s a simple way to make a huge difference in the look of your home.

We’ll begin with a “shopping trip” on video, where we’ll head right to an upholstery shop and look at the home dec fabric options available to you.  From there, we’ll tackle an ottoman, a dining room chair, a bar stool, an occasional chair, and a sofa-like chair-and-a-half.  If you’ve ever thought of making a slip cover–or even trying your hand at home upholstery–this class is the technique-building one you need!

In this online class, we’ll cover the following skills

• measuring furniture
• working with piping
• selecting home dec and upholstery fabrics
• working with large-scale prints
• making pleats and gathers
• making skirts for ottomans, chairs and sofas
• hemming heavy fabrics
• using drawstrings and casings
• creating an original pattern from an oddly-shaped piece of furniture
• matching patterns across seams
• inserting long zippers on cushions
• making a boxed cushion cover
• using upholsterer’s tacks

It can be really exciting to begin to see that some tasks that are expensive and daunting–like upholstering–can be tackled with basic sewing skills.  If you can sew a straight line, you can make the slip covers in this class.  Add that to your skills making boxed cushions (included in the class!) and you’re on your way to rule the home dec realm.

Because of the way the class is structured, you won’t need to “be” anywhere at a particular time–lessons go live at noon each weekday, and you’re free to access them as you’re able.  With a five-week class and real, live classmates, though, you’ll get plenty of one-on-one interaction with me; chances to ask your questions and have them answered; places to share your images and concerns with other folks in the same boat as you; and opportunities to have your work assessed in real-time by your instructor.  It’s such a great way to learn a new skill and really get the feedback you crave!

The Slip Covers e-course begins Monday, Sept 16, 2013 and meets weekdays through October 11, 2013–five weeks of instruction in all.  Content is live and accessible through early Dec 2013, giving you three months to work at your own pace and learn to make techniques in this class work for you!  Registration fee of $99 includes five weeks of lessons, delivered online via video, audio, chat, PDF downloads and blog post, plus community and personal guidance, motivation and the thrill of knowing you can do it!