Are there any decent sofa slipcovers or am I just wishing?

[volvomom]

I have a sofa and a loveseat my MIL gave me when we moved here 5 years ago. It's green plaid and in good condition (meaning it's not lumpy or saggy) except it's starting to look worn and faded.

(The sofa and loveseat were left in the house my MIL bought and she said since the previous owners had dogs she knew the furniture would be okay for us! LOL! Bwa ha ha ha! She didn't mean any harm as we have 2 dogs but you can see how I initially laughed at her funny comment! It's good enough for you! LOL!)

I bought slipcovers from Target and they looked like a frumpy bedsheet on my sofa!

Are there any decent looking slipcovers? I try to look for more tailored ones that fit better than the bedspread type you simply lay over your furniture.

I am very frugal and we have 4 children ages 20mos to 8 years old so I can't have nice things since nothing stays nice for long!

I can sew but I've never sewn something bigger than a ladies dress.

Right now I just use my steam cleaner and periodically clean them as well as vacuuming them weekly.

All thoughts appreciated!

[Sontanned]

I bought a sure-fit cover which I returned - I have now dubbed it as the "sure-don't-fit cover".

[mamabear]

I haven't found one. I had a surefit with the elastic, then found a pretty green one at Target on clearance for $25 that didn't have the elastic, which I like better. Nope. It doesn't stay on five minutes.

Our couch is a 15 year old Castro convertible that is in fantastic shape underneath a horribly dated and holey cover. I mean it's REALLY bad, the upholstery. But the guts of the couch and the foam cushions are fantastic. I'm considering paying to have it reupholstered but first I was going to post on Amity's sewing forum to see if anyone's done it and what they thought of the process. (I think Shannon/Cheekybabies has.)

There are some books at the library that show you how to reupholster and/or make slipcovers. It's not too hard, the slipcovers, anyway. I was wondering if covering the cushions separately and making the slipcover go underneath would work? Or velcroing the slipcover to the back of the couch? I don't know.

But thanks for bringing this up...I could have posted the same thing. LOL!

[xt]

The Pottery Barn ones are a really nice fabric - very heavy, not cheap. They are reasonably price at the outlets from time to time, and you can sometimes snag them online cheap (ebay and closeout places). But even they shift around some, and they only look great on rolled arm sofas, preferably with attached back cushions.

My sofas were purchased with manufacturer-made tailored slipcovers. I love them. They fit perfectly and don't shift (velcro on the seat helps there).

You might want to try your hand at sewing tailored slipcovers. I see heavy denims and uppholstery fabrics for $1-$4 at walmart all the time.