I managed to do a tiny little makeover project for my cottage bathroom recently. I’ve included the basic instructions in case you want to tackle something similar.
I started with this rather old and grubby little bench that I’ve been using as a vanity seat in my bathroom.
I wanted a cover that I could wash easily and feel clean and fresh. So I decided on terry towelling, i.e. towels! I picked up two large white bath towels in the clearance section of HomeSense and I was well on my way. Be sure to wash them in hot water and put them in the dryer, to avoid any shrinkage.
I measured the top and sides. This is also where you figure out how long you want the slipcover to be. I wanted to make sure the legs weren’t showing so I went almost to the floor. I also wanted the yoke of the towel to line up on all four sides and for the finished end of the towel to become the hem.
I added 1/2″ for any necessary seam allowances, so on each side I added 1″ as there are two sides to sew and 1/2″ on the top of each side piece, which is sewn to the top of the bench. The photo above shows the process of cutting out the sides from the towel.
Once all the pieces were cut, I sewed the four sides to the top piece at the edge of the seat.
Then I proceeded to pin the sides together, being careful that my towel yoke (is that the correct term?) was lined up. To do this I put the slipcover on the bench, inside out to ensure the fit was fairly tight. I should also mention that I zigzagged about 3 times over each raw edge to help with fraying. This was when I wished I had a fancier sewing machine or a serger but alas, I don’t.
And here’s the finished slipcovered bench.
It was pretty easy, only took me about 2 hours from start to finish and I zigzagged the edges on the remaining pieces of towels to use as rags. Waste not, want not 🙂
